Forum Moderators: open
for example:
the number of keyword in title,
the number of keyword in meta keyword tag,
the number of keyword in meta description tag
the keyword density in the webpage,
the content's size
the ALT tag
the Javascript code
[edited by: engine at 9:10 am (utc) on May 25, 2004]
The title is probably the most important of all, since it's what will attract clicks and counts for a lot with scoring.
For Google it's best to stay with no more than 8 to 10 words because the rest will be truncated. Other search engines display more, but it's best to use the prime keywords for the page at the beginning and try to vary the length among different pages to see which works well for you
>>the number of keyword in meta keyword tag,
Opinions vary and nowadays it's of little importance but still worth using since it serves to focus and define the page. Use only words - preferably phrases - that pertain to the page, and avoid excessive repetition. it's probably best to stay with only the primary phrases for the page to avoid dilution.
>>the number of keyword in meta description tag
It's fairly important now because some engines use it in scoring and it will often show as the descripion on the search engine results page. It should be attractive and appealing, and anywhere from 20 to 30 words is good, because in some cases the engine will use 20-25 words in their description and then pick up the first relevant words at the top of the page itself.
>>the keyword density in the webpage,
Opinions vary and it depends on which search engine. The density of individual words will be lower than that for phrases simply because it's calculated a little differently. Density for Yahoo can be somewhat higher than for Google. With Google it isn't so much density as number and placement of occurrences, and whether or not the words are used individually or in phrases.
>>the content's size
It can vary, but probably around 200-250 words and up is OK, with 75-100 being a bare minimum if at all possible.
>>the ALT tag
Use the alt attribute because it's an important usability factor, and especially useful in some cases with images that are linked to other site pages. They should describe the content or the purpose of the image without keyword stuffing or excessive repetition.
>>the Javascript code
Keep in mind that JS navigation should be supplemented with plain text navigation, some folks surf with JS turned off. Avoid code bloat by linking to the Javascript in external files.
Here's a basic checklist that was done a while back just as an outline. It says Google but most pertains in general:
Optimization Basics
[webmasterworld.com...]
