Archive for search engine optimization
Top 4 Ways to Optimize WordPress for Search Engines
Posted by: | CommentsWe like WordPress for a lot of reasons: It’s easy to use, it manages our content in a way we never could on our own, and it also presents a pretty nice front, what with all those loose themes running around. We’re also tremendous fans of its ability to optimize our sites for search engines with little to no effort on our end. However, just because a few plug-ins can handle most of the load, does not mean we’re taking the most steps possible to fully maximize our Google-spotting potential. In fact, WordPress’ functionality in terms of SEO has only been scratched, if you’re still simply relying on the All In One SEO pack. There are plenty more steps (all of which are extremely simple) you can take to ensure your WordPress-powered website is noticed by such heavyweight search engines as Google, Yahoo, Bing, and DogPile.
Our best suggestion is that you review our methods below, and then work your hardest to integrate them into your daily workflow. It’s much harder to SEO an entire mountain of content once it has been created. It’s much easier, however, to create SEO-content from the get-go. With that fair warning in mind, may we now present our top ways to optimize your WordPress site for search engine notoriety.
1. Tell WordPress to Rearrange Itself
As much as we like WordPress, we have noticed it has one or two nasty habits. The most notable we’ve come across is its tendency to put the name of the website itself in front of the title of the blog post. This is problematic for a number of reasons, but we would simply like to mention right off the bat that there is a quick fix: So, in other words, don’t panic and bring your towel. But why is this such a big deal? Well, for starters – search engines use your titles to determine what the blog post is actually about. Typically, a search engine will only crawl (that means search and record) the first 50 to 64 characters of your title, too. With that in mind, having your blog name in front of your blog post title can cause some problems. You’ll want to reverse this, that way sites like Google get an accurate picture of your newly minted content, rather than a repeat of the blog’s name. A quick way to do this is to swap the title and name sequence within the All In One SEO pack. On another note, if you don’t have this plug-in yet, you should go ahead and snag it, as we’ll be referencing it often.
2. Create Unique and Accurate Meta Tags
A case in point, we will again be using All In One SEO with this point, as well. The idea here is that the automatically created meta tags published by WordPress are typically not specific enough to warrant any interest from the larger search engines. Usually, these self-created tags are somewhat generic, and lack any kind of specificity sites like Google desire. With that in mind, the easiest way to correct the problem is to add meta tags yourself. How does one go about this? Well, the easiest method is through that handy plug-in we mentioned earlier. Using the keywords slot, you’re free to add as many meta tags as your heart desires. Just try to be specific, avoiding generic terms like “iPhone,” “Android,” or “Mac.”
3. Stick Around with Permalinks
When WordPress creates a new post, it typically does so with a URL that’s less-than desirable for search engine optimization. This is because, more often than not, WordPress attaches an incomprehensible string of numbers to each and every new piece of content, allowing URL crawlers no added access to what in the heck your post is about. However, this isn’t hard to change, and typically only requires a quick jaunt over to the WordPress admin panel.
Within this panel, look for the settings tab, and then “Permalinks.”
You’ll see a list of various URL methods, but the only one you want is called “Custom Structure.” Yes, you’re going to have to enter something here, but lucky for you, we’ve already written the appropriate string. Click this box, and then type: /%category%/%postname%
Now, every time you create a new post, it will be listed in the URL as http://sample.com/your-category/the-proper-post-name. This makes your post infinitely more readable to search engines, and can go a long way toward fully search engine optimizing your content.
4. Make Meaningful Connections
Another fantastic way to optimize your site for search engine use is to link related sites and content pieces within your article.
This means that words like “phone” should be linked to other articles about similar models, operating systems, etc. Your goal is to create a map within the blog post that directs the user—and search engines—to other content that’s closely related to your own. With that in mind, blindly adding links with no regard for what they mean will not help you at all. If you’ve written an article about how to cook a turkey, and you link it to an animal rights page, Google won’t get much out of it, and may even scrap your site in its ratings. There’s also a limit on how many links Google is willing to stand. If you attach a URL to every word in the post, most search engines will treat it like spam.
A great way to avoid this is to use a “Related Posts” plug-in. There are about a thousand in the WordPress plug-in library, so we won’t offer any specific suggestions. Just know that these create a separate box for these helpful links, alleviating the need to bugger up your viewers’ reading experience with bothersome links. Likewise, there are plenty of plug-ins out there that will automatically generate in-text links, should you decide you’d rather have plenty of those. Typically, they work quite well, but the only way to guarantee your optimization is to add these links yourself.
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Search Engine Optimization tips for Bing
Posted by: | CommentsYou know that there are other search engines beside Google, but many do not consider this within their SEO initiates. It’s a hassle to try to make your page more search-engine friendly for more than one search engine, and besides, how many people even search outside of Google? What if I told you that that answer was as high as 30% of all searches? After all, did you really think that there was an IT market that Microsoft couldn’t muscle its way into?
With rare exceptions, what helps you with one search engine will help you with another. Very little will get you forcibly pushed down the listings. This means that whatever you do with Bing should also help you at least a bit with Google and all other search engines. So since you don’t have anything to lose by doing so, let’s look at some of the most commonly offered tips for making sure your site gets well Binged.
Pay it forward
Google also places some value on having relevant links out, but it appears from most metrics that Bing scores this even higher. As always don’t overdo it. Search engine programmers are well aware of how much you want to game their systems. Keep it well populated, but not overcrowded.
Say anything
Bing also gives more attention to pages with a significant amount of text. You’ll want at least 300 words of original text on your page. Keep it relevant, and keep the keyword stuffing to a dull roar: once or twice per 300 word block is the most common recommendation.
Title your pages
Once, the title of your page was one of the more important page rank considerations. Other search engines seem to have dropped that. Bing is bringing it back, so make sure you put your most relevant keywords in there. Again, though, don’t overdo it: one site recommends no more than 65 characters for this field. This is a one-line-per-page fix that could make a huge difference.
Structure your site well
Bing puts more emphasis on site architecture than other web search engines. Some ways to take advantage of this include the following:
- Make your site “crawlable” – Ensure that your site is easy to navigate. You can use a robots.txt file to help guide Bing along.
- Invest in a sitemap – A single page that maps out your entire web site is a good, comprehensive way to make sure your site is fully indexed. For that matter, make it, and then go right to Bing and submit it there.
- Keep it text-based – Have as much of the information you want Bing to find in the form of text. If you have to have a heavy multi-media presentation, make sure that for all of if you have sufficient alternate text.
To make it clear that we’re not just posting a useless guide, consider that one study ranked Bing higher than Google in “search efficiency.” This is the metric of how much users click through on the engine’s suggested results. This means that Bing just might soon be giving Google a run for its money, seeing as how results relevance is the #1 goal of a search engine. If you are trying to get your site noticed, then this is not something you’ll want to miss out on.
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Are Search Engine Optimization Companies – Worthy of the Cost?
Posted by: | CommentsSearch engine optimization is a true example of the modern cyber economy, in a way that can seem unreal if you think about it for too long. It’s sort of the 21st century equivalent of a gold rush: companies fight tooth and nail to get the very best “land” available, even if that land is nothing more than a few 0s and 1s on a machine thousands of miles away from them. Land which constantly shifts by someone else’s directive. Land which looks different depending upon how you look at it. Land which can suddenly be yanked out from under you without you knowing it.
Seems a touch hallucinatory, doesn’t it? You might feel the desire for something of a technical shaman to guide you through this wonderland. But do you actually need one? There isn’t an easy answer to this question. Let’s try to summarize the arguments for both cases.
The argument for “yes”
The important thing to remember about search engine optimization is that it is a continually evolving cat-and-mouse game. Like playing the stock market, there cannot by definition be any one way, because if there was, everyone would be using it, and you’d have to find something new to one-up everyone.
This, combined with the increasing rate at which search engines change their algorithms, and the eternally growing size of the web that they are indexing, make it harder each day to keep up with the Joneses. This is an effort that you could work at every day if you wanted to, which means that it’s also a job you could pay someone else to do. Let’s not forget also that there are “white hat” and “black hat” methods, meaning methods that are considered fair and unfair play, and not knowing the difference can in worst-case scenarios result in your site being blacklisted.
The argument for “no”
You should be relying on far more than search engine results to drive traffic to your site anyway. While all of the above will constantly change, what won’t change are links to your site that customers/users can reliably use to find you: add in old school advertising to that list as well.
Moreover Google and other search engines have for some years been giving personalized results, meaning that there’s no one right measure anymore of how your site does in various searches: while a company can simulate this by pretending to be multiple users with different preferences, this is a lot of work for quickly diminishing returns.
Then remember that your site will naturally fluctuate in the ranking no matter what you do, and that not all traffic to your web site becomes paying customers (or whatever equivalent is important to you). You need to try to estimate just how much extra traffic you’re getting, how much that is resulting in extra business, and whether or not the amount you are paying for this higher ranking is worth it (and how much higher is it? Be sure to check yourself now and then).
There’s no good answer to this: Google has become one of the prime economic forces no matter what your business is, and other search engines like Bing only add to this importance, as well as the difficulty in doing it yourself. This is a tricky one. Take careful stock in the differences in your traffic, do the math, and remember that in the end, there’s still no substitute for just having a quality web site that represents a quality business.
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Add-Ons That Will Save Your Web Hosting Business
Posted by: | CommentsTo quote my grandfather, “Things is heating up all over!” Yep, Pappy, this economic climate sure is a nasty one: Advertising spots are being put on a premium, stiff competition from small-time hosts is getting nasty, and more and more users are ditching traditional hosting for WordPress.
With such oppressive conditions, how on Earth are you to improve your web hosting business’ numbers? Well, it’s not time to bring out the End is Near signs just yet: Use the following add-ons to up-sell to your customers, increasing their productivity and improving your marketability while raking in revenue cash.
Video Conferencing:
Companies the world over are advancing video conferencing as a viable alternative to traditional travel. An over-the-Internet conference is cheap to free, whereas a plane ticket and a hotel room is anything but.
Video conferencing has grown in the workplace by 15% each year. Pretty soon, you won’t be able to walk ten feet in an office without finding someone on Skype. You should tailor your web hosting services to match. Include programs like Voxwire — which is our favorite video conferencing provider—in your standard features set. Voxwire makes it easy to collect revenue off your consumer’s streams, allowing both parties to win-out in the end. If Voxwire doesn’t sound like your thing, you can also try WebEx or GoToMeeting.
Search Engine Optimization:
If you aren’t on this one, then shame on you, Web Hoster Joe! Search engine optimization (or SEO) is one of the hottest topics around, and almost every web designer you meet will be worrying his head off about it. Thankfully, most SEO providers also include referral programs that will land cash in your pocket while making it easy for anxious consumers to streamline their sites.
All good web hosts should provide at least one recommended SEO service—some of the best offer three or four. Feel free to offer a basic program like the I Need Hits reseller brand, and if that just doesn’t quite cut it, look to create a partnership with a larger marketing firm. You never know what you’ll find until you start poking around, and even if you can find a freelancer willing to work for a flat fee, that will be just fine with your consumers.
Just remember that adding services for your consumers doesn’t have to be a painful (or expensive) process. By up-selling products to your users, you can earn cash via referrals, and strengthen your brand name, to boot.
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The Dummies’ Guide To SEO
Posted by: | CommentsSearch engine optimization (or SEO) is an absolute jungle. Just like chocolate, cancer, and pregnancy, the rules for effective SEO management seem to change just about every other day, leaving most of us bewildered, slightly disgruntled, and all the way confused. Thankfully, there are a few trends you can be sure to capitalize on. Even more graciously, we’ve compiled them all here. Starting with the top, Pilgrim, enjoy your Dummies’ Guide to SEO Management!
Repeat After Us: “Keywords Are My Mates”
Seriously, though, keywords are just about the most important part of search engine optimization. If you haven’t got them, it’s like eating a BLT with nothing but chicken underneath the hood: You need a different foundation.
Keywords are what the major search engines look for when they spider your site. If you have the right density, those engines will start to favor your content over other articles that also feature the same keywords. The proper keyword density should be about 3 per-cent. This means that, if your article is about web hosting, the words “web hosting”—or some derivative thereof—should be included across 3 per-cent of all your total words. Any more, and Google might think your site is spam. Any less, and Bing might not know what your article is about.
Also: “Titles Need Keywords, Too”
Don’t forget to be snazzy with your webpage titles. If your page is about buttery spreads, and your keyword is some isotope of “buttery spreads,” then include the phrase in the title and perma-link of your page. Not only does this give Google some idea what to expect from your content, but it also helps clue in your readers, as well. The proper density for your title is somewhere between 30 to 70%. Just keep in mind that creativity is good, but only if the core keywords are there.
Finally: “Links Are More Or Less My Mates, Too”
Search engines like to see links, because links to other related pieces of content make it easier to form topic-based associations between sites. With this in mind, include as many appropriate links to other sites (yours or not) as you can. If your article is still about butter, include some links to buttery recipes, or the health of effects of butter. Try to keep to links that include your keywords, or are closely related.
However, don’t over do it: Many search engines are trained to ignore sites with too many links, so just be sensible. What would you like to see when booting a site for the first time?