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1. Key word rich text - Pick 5-10 key words/phrases that you think are going to draw the most traffic to your site. You will use these words throughout your site - any more than 10 and you're starting to dilute your content - google likes targeted content. Choose one key word for each page and include it in the title. Don't spam, but definitely try to incorporate it as much as possible.
2. Use keywords in the title - One thing that I've noticed is the fact that google likes to see the keywords you've chosen for that page in the title. Try to use it at least twice - it could look something like this: "Widgets - Do Widgets Work?" Notice the keyword "widgets" is included twice and provokes interest. Also, include your title as high as you can within your header - you want it to be the first thing google sees when it visits your site.
3. Links, Links, and more Links! - The more you link up the easier it is for google to find your site and makes your site seem more important. One key link to grab is a spot in the DMOZ - one I get included in there I was quickly found within all spider search engines. Shoot for 5 a day. If google updates approx every 30 days or so that's 150 links for every update - a lot of exposure to the engines and the net.
Well, there you have it. I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not a google expert. Although the application of the above principles has really helped me to gain a large presence on google and the web in a very short amount of time. Feel free to add your thoughts and comments! Good Luck!
yourkeyword +add link
yourkeyword +submit link
yourkeyword +suggest site
yourkeyword +links
yourkeyword +directory ;)
... you'll prob end with tons of good directorys and very specialized portals that can 1) bring you nice traffic and 2) prob. increase your pr.
In all seriousness AskJoe, I too was always amazed at how simple the ALGO really was. You take your three things, make it 10 - you know alt text, h1s, plural/sing and you are doing what 99% of the marketplace doesn't do. Our "brillance" doesn't come from years of study, it comes from the application of these 10 things and the overwhelming ignorance in the marketplace relative to these things.
So what do we talk about around WW all of the time? The exception to the rule. The 1%. The highly competitive markets where everyone is doing the 10 things. The ever changing SE marketplace.
Good stuff... but remember, because it is so simple it will not last for ever.... keep it going to continue to stay on top. That is what we do.
That will be 120$ an hour please!
Hehe
Askjoe
Is there a way to create a keyword as a "theme?" That is, can you make google associate this word with your site. I notice that several of my competitors come up with good listings for words(products) that aren't even on the page being listed.Are these websites creating some sort of "theme" for these keywords? I just don't understand.
I think this is getting into an area typically referred to as "authority sites" or something similar. SERPS are essentially a listing of what the SE believes are the most authoritative sites for your search query. They have a number of ways inside the algorithm(s) to determine which sites are authorities on which topics. I'm sure quality of incoming links is one of those ways an "authority" is determined, along with content analysis across a site/domain, etc.
This, to me, is a bit of a grey area still as none of us fully know all the factors being used in Google's (or any SE's) algorithm. But there are obviously factors which lead to certain pages/sites being considered more of an authority on certain topics, even though the keywords associated with that topic don't appear throughout the page listed in the SERPs.
Hope that made some sense.
Geez...I thought what we did was magical. Geez.. Title, Links, and Keyword...anyone can do that. Your telling everyone our dirty secret..
Anyone and everyone can do these things. Not everyone, and in fact I would say very few people, can actually combine that with really good content and really good site design (mechanically and cosmetically).
TJ
[edited by: WebGuerrilla at 10:34 pm (utc) on April 22, 2003]
[edit reason] fixed formatting [/edit]
So yes.. very few people do things seemingly so simple. And yes, even more do not do them well.
There is no need to overcomplicate things if you don't have to, and I think that may be what AskJoe is pointing out- as he starts by asking essentially why is something actually so simple but yet so elusive.
[edited by: Chicago at 8:17 pm (utc) on April 22, 2003]
I'd like to hear from some of you who've become these "authorities" within the serps. I'm talking about moving up from the minors into the majors.
But go do a Google search for "auction", and eBay comes up first. The word auction appears only once on their home page, in a link to their "Live Auctions" section. It appears twice in their keywords and twice in their classification meta. By any account, that's not a very dense use of a keyword -- yet Google knows that eBay is the authority on this topic.
I think it's largely based on quantity and quality of incoming links, as well as the text used in the actual links (probably a lot of "ebay auction(s)" links on the web), as well as the contextual text that appears near links to eBay, and many other factors that the engineering geniuses who build and run SEs have worked into the algorithm.
BTW, if you're not familiar with the "classification" meta, it's relatively new and there's a lot of doubt about its support by the big SEs, but interesting to see eBay using it for sure. Here's a recent thread on this meta [webmasterworld.com].
And, you're right, it's about getting quality backlinks - that's how google decides whether or not you are an "authoritative" site.
If you have a good idea, good brand image, great site, fantastic design, are in there first and have a lot of luck you'll manage it.
Having said that, I have seen very very few sites that I would say are good design in the last few years, but quite a lot that have become very succesful. So I guess it depends more on originality and luck.
TJ
You will use these words throughout your site - any more than 10 and you're starting to dilute your content - google likes targeted content.
Instead of 10 words across the site you might want to choose one or two for your homepage, the most important ones. Then on other pages choose other key words that people interested in your site will use. It is somewhat natural. For example your page or pages on 'widget repair' for example would bring people looking for that specific aspect of widgets. In the end you can have many key words and phrases optimized on different pages.
Or, know someone who is a Zealot that will do you a favor. Zeal listings often are far more useful than ODP ones. And, little waiting with Zeal.
Anyone and everyone can do these things. Not everyone, and in fact I would say very few people, can actually combine that with really good content and really good site design (mechanically and cosmetically).
You'd be surprised how hard people imagine things to be. The hardest thing though can be to make something simple. One of the geratest paradoxes I've come by time and time again and not just in web design.
