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WEB160 » Search Engine Visibility

Properly preparing your website for search engine visibility increases the probability that web searchers will visit your site. A properly performed search engine marketing campaign can also provide long term return on investment (ROI).

So… How Does SEO Work?

Two main components must be present on a web page to get the best overall long-term search engine visibility:

1) Text Component

Search engines will find the key words in your website text. Keywords and keyword phrases should be placed in the following places whenever possible and applicable:

• Titles
• Meta Descriptions
• Body Copy
• Anchor text (links)
• Alt values for images
• Domain and file URLs

See Also:

• 10 SEO Techniques All Top Web Sites Should Use | FreelanceFolder
• Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide – Google [PDF 560kb]
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in WordPress without Using a Plugin | Premium Design Works

2) Link & Popularity Component

The way your pages are linked to each other and other websites are important. How many quality links to your site are there?

See Also: What is Link Building? Strategies & Examples | SEOmoz

How Do I Select Key Words?

In order for your site to come up in search results your website must contain keywords and phrases that match how your audience is searching for information. Google will use these key words to track and then display in their Search Engine  Results Page (SERP).

How do I get this tutorial found by people searching with different words and phrases?

• Ask your current customers how they would search for you on the web—their words may surprise you
• You must also determine the various word combination that your user will search for—create a keyword list

Lets say that I have a tutorial on Wireframing in Illustrator. If someone searches for “Wireframing in Illustrator” via the Google Search Machine, I come up on the first page (of about 90,200 results):

“Wireframing in Illustrator” – Google Search

But, what if someone searches more generically for “Website Wireframe?” Not bad. This time I am on page two (of about 2,190,000 results):

“Website Wireframe” – Google Search

So… How did I do that?

1) Google AdWords: Keyword Tool

You can use Key Word Generators like Google AdWords: Keyword Tool.

But you might find that the words generated are a bit mechanical:

“Wireframing in Illustrator” – Google Keyword Tool

2) “Related” Search Engine Results

Instead, I would suggest that you conduct a Google search with your known key words like “Illustrator Wireframe” and “Website Wireframe” and see what key words are associated with them in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) like:

• Create
• Build
• Designing
• Tutorial

You can also look at the “Searches related too…” function at the bottom of the SERP:

Searches related to Illustrator Wireframe

Searches related to Website Wireframe

3) Wikipedia

You can also use the Wikipedia Machine:

“Website Wireframe” – Wikipedia Search

We can see tons of key words in the first few paragraphs when describing what a “Website Wireframe” actually is:

• Schematic
• Framework
• Prototype
• Content
• Interface
• Page Layout
• Navigation
• Systems
• Functionality

Using Google & Wikipedia to find associative keywords is a great organic way to see what people might be using with their search terms. You can then gather these keywords to make your list.

Where Do I Place Key Words?

Once you have created or gathered this list you should then implement those keywords into your page titles, body text and links.

See Also: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in WordPress without Using a Plugin | Premium Design Works

1) Meaningful Page Titles

Title text is the first text shown by all of the search engines:

“Website Wireframe” – Google Search Engine Rresult

Titles will often be read out of context found through a search – so, these titles need to make sense when read out of context. Ironically that means in your titles you may need to include more text that is descriptive enough to stand on its own in a sea of titles found through the Google Machine.

Titles that show why the page is unique will stand out and will let the user know what is actually there. This will ensure the user will feel like they came to the right place.

A good formula to use is as follows:

1	<title>Description | Category | Business Name | City, State</title>

For example:

1	<title>Creating a Website Wireframe in Illustrator | WEB200 | Premium Design Works</title>

Another Example:

1	<title>Brand Strategy | Services | Premium Design Works | Seattle, WA</title>

2) Meaningful Body Copy

We should also remember that people searching through Google will also read the body copy that is caught in the search result.

This keyword dense copy should read comprehensively and appear above the fold in your webpage:

Website Wireframes are black-and-white schematic diagrams that illustrate blocks of content, navigation and functionality of a website design. They are used in the process of designing the content layout for pages of a website.

This tutorial will walk you through creating a Website Wireframe document using Adobe Illustrator (CS3):

Premium Design Works is a small design and development group in Seattle, Washington. We specialize in handling the visual communication needs of your business, organization or artistic endeavor.

Our mission is to present your brand to new clientele via: logos, collateral, advertisements and websites.

Notice the links around some of the key words. This prioritizes them a bit.

How do I get Quality Links to My Page

Since the Google Machine looks to see what pages are legitimately popular on the series of tubes, you should place a link to this page from one of your blog postings or something. That way I will actually dominate the world one day.

But, sure enough… I will then become bored of world domination and will ride a horse to Montana.