Google Optimization Tips: Optimizing Web Content

Staff Writer | Last edited 12/29/04

Okay, here's a reality check for many site owners. Not every page on your site can be optimized for search engines. Why, because of the constant jockeying of position by your competitors and the very organic nature of search engines.

Much of it can keep you guessing, but there is hope.

How do you beat the Google game? Pick and choose less competitive sell keywords and focus your efforts around converting your traffic around them.

What's so difficult about Writing and Optimizing for Search Engines (Google)?

Writing successfully is an art form, but writing successfully for Google, in many respects is really mathematic.

Let's say your favorite keyword, 'website design 'receives about 2000 unique searches a day. You've done your homework and you also realize that better than 1.6 million competitors optimize for that keyword. Depressing, huh?

SEO and Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI)

The key to aligning your resources effectively lies in the KEI scoring system. Based on that system, 'website design' would score a 3.7. Not so good. The higher the KEI the better your chances are at optimizing it.

Conversely, the keyword phrase 'cheap website design' receives better than 75 searches a day, but at the time of this writing, only 4 competitors actively optimize for this keyword. The KEI for this phrase is a very healthy 400.

Here' s how you can increase your chances of being indexed for 'cheap website design' and several others like it:

Selecting Your Keywords

1. It seems obvious, but worth mentioning. Consider how your audience might find your page through search engines. What keywords might they use to find the page? Identify no more than 3 keywords and create a theme around them. You say you have more than 3 keywords? Fine. Create another page.

Researching Your Competitors

2. If you have time, run a google search against those keywords you just came up with. See how the top competitors actually use the keyword. Evaluate their style, if it helps. What can you do better?

Building Effective Page Titles

3. Get right to the point. When creating page titles, start with that keyword, e.g best webdesign - , instead of just inserting the name of your company in the page title and some additional details., try this:

<title>Best Web Design - Shopping cart Integration Just $24.95</title>

A page title shouldn't be longer than 8 words. Google cuts them
off typically at that point.

Establish Keyword Weight and Prominence

4. Use the <H1> Tag as the lead in subject line of the page. Don't worry, you can add a CSS so the tag doesn't look any different from what you've already been doing.

Creating Keyword Density and Placement

5. When writing your copy try not to use the keyword more than 10 to 13 times in the body. You can mix in synonyms. As a general rule, try not to generate more than 600 words a page. If you need more, create another page.

The keyword should be strategically dispersed in the beginning, middle and ending. Often within 25 words of the location.

Inline Linking and Using Headers

6. Link to other pages within your site with keyword rich anchors, e.g The keyword is hormone balance.

<H1>Suffering from Hot Flashes?</H1>
Natural Progesterone Cream may relieve < symptoms of hormone imbalance.> Tip: When the link is selected the header begins with Symptoms of Hormone Imbalance.

versus

Need Menopause Relief?
Click here to order a bottle of Natural Progesterone.

Writing Copy for Humans and Search Engine Spiders

Writing copy for customers and Search Engine Spiders is tricky, but using these general guidelines will ensure that your great copy will be found while reducing the amount of time spent optimizing pages moving forward.

Metaclix can help you successfully measure all of your key site areas from shopping carts and online applications to pay per click campaigns. Measuring your site can be both fun and profitable. Now what can we help you measure, next?