By: Matt Ahles
Lancet Consultant
"I want my Web site to be listed near the top of search engine results!"
Every Web-site manager should have this important goal in mind. But the strategies to achieving it seem to change as fast as a news headline on CNN. The key to getting started down the right path — and ultimately to getting your company's return on its Web investment — is to implement the basic essentials.
There are three important elements in optimizing a Web site for search engines. These include writing proper title tags, meta tags and the use of the "image alt" attributes. When writing these, it is important to include words and phrases that match the content on your Web page.
Below are elements that you can use to create them for your Web site. In all the examples we will use an existing athletic apparel company, DangleAthletic.com, which specializes in hockey apparel.
Step 1. Use the Title Tags
The title tag is the most important element. This is the piece of your page that search engines usually use for the title of your listing in search results and is a significant factor in determining page rank. Tip: Most engines require at least five words and no more than 60 characters.
Step 2. Use the Meta Tags
These tags can increase your search-engine rank and display important site information on the search results page.
Most search engines use meta tags as one component of their ranking formulas. The tags can increase your search-engine rank and display important site information on the search results page.
Use plurals for your keywords. Use of plurals will match singular and plural searches. Meta tags also have two popular categories where you can add data: description and keywords.
A "description" is what is in the body of the Web page. Most search engines display the content of the description tag as the site description on the search results page.
Put your most important information early in the description, since most search engines cut off the display after about 200 characters.
How-to example:
Keywords are words and phrases that pertain to your Web page. Your keywords are the search terms you expect people to use to locate your site. Separate each keyword and keyword phrase with commas and limit the total size to about 256 characters. Too many keywords can reduce the relevance of a site.
The key is to choose the words your potential visitors are likely to type into a search engine. Try including phrases that a user may type into a search engine. Use this site for detailed info on how to pick your keywords: http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol3/promo_no9.htm.
Step 3. Use the "alt" attribute
Add "alt" attribute to any image on your page. This adds a text hover-over to your images. An informative description of each image can help you with search engines and makes it much easier for visitors with text-based browsers to use your site.
Be sure to use the keyword phrases that you also used in the body of your page as well as in the title tag and meta tags for "description" and "keywords."
How-to example:
Here you can sneak in some keywords again and also provide directions.
Implementing these three elements in optimizing a Web site for search engines will have a lasting impact on being listed near the top on search engines' results. Remember, it is important to include words and phrases that match the content on your Web page. The great benefit for you is driving more customers to your Web site and recouping the dollars invested in the site by selling the products and services or information to your target audience.
Matt Ahles is the Webmaster for Eagan-based Lancet Software Development Inc., which specializes in business intelligence services, data warehousing and other customized Web-centric applications.
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