HOWTO: Optimize a web page
Introduction.Many want to know the secrets to optimized web pages. It means fame, fortune, and prestige. All it takes is figuring out the secrets of the search engines. Well, you won't learn how to become the next Big Fish in the website game. However, you will learn the basics, for creating optimized web pages the search engines will love.Title tag.This tag is one of the most important factors for ranking highly, in some search engines.Typically, they use 3-9 words (60-80 characters). They contain no fluff. Avoid anything sounding like ad copy or marketing-speak. They are direct and to the point. This is the first thing a user sees, in search engine results, as a link to your web page. Do not try to sell using this tag. There is simply not enough room. Besides, do you want to be sold something before visiting its web page? The title tag, briefly, tells the visitor what to expect, when they click on the link. META - Description tag.This tag usually consists of 25 to 30 words, or less. It generally uses no more than 160 to 180 characters (including spaces). Often, The META description tag is displayed, in many search engine results, as a summary of your site.Directories, such as Yahoo! and the ODP (Open Directory Project - dmoz.com), show the page title and description entered using their manual submission form (after any editor modifications). Be sure the META Description tag is relevant to the content on the page. META - Keywords tag.At one time, the keywords tag was one of the most important, after title and description. This is no longer true. It has been abused so much, there is very little (if any) weight given to it, anymore.If you want to spend the time, optimizing this tag, do the following. Use keywords and keyword phrases from the title tag, description tag, heading tag and first one or two paragraphs of visible content. Try to limit it to 15 to 20 words, if possible. Be sure the keywords are relevant to the content on your page. Heading (h1, h2, etc.) tags.Use ONLY one top-level header tag, <h1>. Place it at the top of your page. Be sure it is well written, using primary keywords and keyword phrases.Optional: Use CSS to control the appearance of the heading tags. Try using external style sheets (file.css). Be sure the heading tags are relevant to the content on the page. "Alt" attribute.This attribute is used to show text, in a tooltip (in Internet Explorer, see note below), appearing when the cursor is over an image. In addition, this text is displayed when the user has images turned off in their browser (this is the intended behavior).Note: Internet Explorer displays alt text when the cursor hovers over an element using the alt attribute. This is not why the attribute was included in HTML. Other browsers such as Opera and Mozilla will not display the alt text on hover. It is highly recommended to use this attribute to comply with accessibility guidelines. The web page becomes more visible, when indexed by the search engines. Do not stuff the alt attribute with irrelevant keywords or phrases. It should reflect the content of the image. If using a graphic header, use the alt text to copy the message in the header. Try not to exceed 80 characters in length. If more are required, use the longdesc attribute as an alternative to alt text. Hyper-linked text (or, anchor text).Often, this is overlooked during search engine promotion. Many web pages use graphics for links. They are visually appealing, but the image text is ignored by the search engine spiders.To avoid problems with image links, use an additional text navigation bar somewhere on the page. Some conventions are to put it at the top, right, bottom or left-hand side of the web page. Be sure the link (or anchor) text is concise. Use keywords and phrases. Follow the same structure, as the graphic navigation. Visible Content.Write content to grab users' attention. Use target keywords and keyword phrases. There is a method, to the placement of keywords and keyword phrases. It helps a web page gain better placement in the search engines. Balance is essential. Creating a good balance takes knowledge and experience.Make a goal to add at least one new page of content a day, if possible. Otherwise, try once a week. The goal is fresh content. Give your visitors an incentive to return. Stale website content, unless it is reference material, does not perform as well as fresh content. At least, this is true for many search engines. Here's a tip: Use last modified dates on your pages. It gives visitors an idea when the page was last modified. They will know if anything has changed since their last visit. e.g. Last modified: 2003-12-15T07:43:19-0800 Note: The above example uses the ISO International Date Format. File Naming.Many search engines index file names. Using relative keywords plays a role in the overall search engine marketing strategy.Instead of naming a file, optimizewebpage.asp, name it, optimize-web-page.asp. Use hyphens (-) to separate words in a file name. Use lower-case for file names. This includes images. Visitors appreciate clean URI (e.g. URL) paths. They are easy to remember, in case you forget to bookmark. Try to provide the visitor with the shortest URI path possible. Once again, do not stuff keywords. Name files according to the overall theme of the web page and website. It should reflect the file content. Directory Naming.Directory names are used by search engines. They often affect the position a web page appears in the results.Be descriptive, when naming directories. However, don't get carried away. Be sure at least one keyword, or keyword phrase, appears in the name. Remember, use hyphens (-) to separate the words. Do not stuff keywords. Notice a pattern. Besides potential search engine penalties and possible removal, it sometimes confuses visitors. Name directories to reflect the files it contains. It helps the search engines. It helps visitors. It helps you, by being clear about the content of the files it contains. Conclusion.There is more to building optimized web pages. However, this provides some of the basics. These are tips to use for newcomers (and some pros) to improving search engine placement.Other things, to consider, are page layout, positioning of elements, and balanced use of HTML. Xanga Myspace LiveJournal | free pics images | free My space Backrounds |