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"How You Can Avoid The Internet Marketing
Mistakes That
Are Costing Businesses £1000's"
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Let's Talk About On Page SEO, Shall We?
What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say “On Page SEO?” If you've been involved in Internet Marketing for any length of time, your answer is probably “Keywords”. And you're absolutely right. Keywords are a critical part of each and every page or post on your website. But they're not the only thing that the search engines are looking for when they send their spiders out to crawl your site. When looking for ways to improve your on page SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, you first need to understand just what it is those search engine spiders are looking for.
Search engines, like Google, MSN, and Yahoo, to name a few, are service providers and their customers are the people who use their search boxes to look for information on the Internet. Each of these search engines are competing for the same customers – the searchers. So it behooves them to provide the best search experience possible to keep the users they already have and attract new users from the other guy.
Now you might say that searchers aren't actually customers because they don't have to pay to use the Google or MSN or Yahoo search boxes. But in the end they really are paying for that service. If Google makes it easy for that person to find exactly what it is they're searching the Internet for, then they will more than likely buy it. And if they don't buy it, they will probably click on an Adsense link to move onto another site. Either way, Google is collecting a fee from an advertiser somewhere nearly every time they help a searcher find what it is they're looking for. And the same is true for all of the other search engines. So Google doesn't really care where the searcher spends money as long as they go through a Google link to get there.
Your job, as an Internet Marketer, is to work with Google to make that search experience enjoyable for the searcher and keep them on your site long enough for them to buy something or click on an Adsense link. So your website is essentially the bait that Google uses to attract searchers. And, as any good fisherman knows, different fish prefer different types of bait. And those spiders are crawling your site to see what type of bait you've got on your hook. The more information you give them, the better they'll be able to match your site up with the right fish.
Let's take a look at some of the things those spiders are
looking for when they crawl your site.
Keywords – Perhaps the most important thing you need to focus on when looking at your on page SEO is the proper use of keywords. Keywords are the words or phrases that searchers type into the search boxes when they're looking for information on the web. And since the spiders crawl your site on a regular basis, they know what keywords you're focusing on. If, that is, you're using your keywords properly.
The title of your article or blog post should contain one of your keywords. And you should use that same keyword or keyword phrase in the body, or content, of the post or article, too, so as not to confuse the search engines. Make sure to include it in the first and last paragraphs and once or twice throughout the body, depending on the length of your article.
It's important to remember why Google is sending people to your site. They want them to be able to find the information they're looking for so they'll be more apt to spend money. So those keywords are not only important because they tell Google which searchers they should send your way, they also tell Google which ads they should place on your site. Match up the searcher with the site with the Adsense and someone is bound to make money somewhere.
Now maybe you're thinking that you don't really care if people click on your Adsense so why bother concentrating so much on keywords. You'd probably prefer that they buy the product you're promoting because you make a lot more money. And that' right. You probably do. Those keywords are important for attracting people to your site. People who are specifically interested in the products you're promoting. But you have to use your content to sell them the product once they get there.
And remember, research has shown the the average Internet shopper has to be shown the product at least 7 to 10 times before they're convinced to buy it. So if they've come to your site you already know they're looking for information. But if this is only the first or second time they've seen it they probably won't buy yet. However, if you have an Adsense ad that shows them where they can find even more information about the same keyword, then instead of just randomly clicking off your site they might just click that ad. And when they click it, you make money.
Now that doesn't mean they're going to follow that ad and spend their money somewhere else. It just means they want more information. And if they weren't ready to spend money on your site anyway, at least this way when they do leave your site, you'll still be making some money.
Navigation - Those spiders are also looking at how easy it is for a visitor to find their way around your site. Do you have clearly defined navigation links set up for the different pages on your site? Are your category links clearly marked? And are all those links working? Can a visitor to your site easily find their way from one page or post to another or are they going to be trapped there forever?
Headings and fonts – Use your H1 and H2 tags to highlight important headings and use bullets to create lists and set them apart from the rest of your content. Yes, it helps the visitors have an easier time reading your content, but it also helps the spiders read it better, too.
Images, videos, links, banners, etc. - Any time you insert an image or a banner or a video, etc, into one of your blog posts, be sure to give it a description or alt tag or label. Something that lets the spiders know what it is, preferably using one or two of your keywords. The spiders don't “see” images – all they can read is code and text. So if it's anything other than text, label it with an alt tag so the spiders can see it, too.
Categories – The spiders look at all the links on your site, including those different categories you have set up over there in your sidebar. And so do your visitors. Make sure that your categories are clearly defined so your visitors can find your way around but also remember to use keywords in each category so the spiders can find them, too.
Sidebars - Most blogs have their categories, recent posts, comments, blog rolls, etc. set up in the sidebar. And then they also have Adsense and banners for affiliate products and banners for services and calendars and videos and polls and....you get the picture. You can't see the forest because of all the trees! And if YOU can't see it, you can bet your visitors – and the spiders – can't either.
You might think that banner for Hostgator hosting and GoDaddy Domains looks perfectly fine in the sidebar on your Gardening Blog but how many sales has it actually produced? Very few people who visit your site for gardening tips are also going to be interested in web hosting and domain names and those banners are just a distraction and an eyesore. Remove the clutter from your sidebars so that your readers and the spiders can get to the information that they really came there for.
I found a very informative video on On Page SEO featuring Matt Cutts from Google and in it, he's reviewing sites created by people just like you and me and he gives some very interesting insights into what it is that Google – and the visitor – are really looking for when they come to your site.
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