Basic SEO Article - Focusing on Quick Optimization Techniques For The Newbie
by: Brad Callen
Basic On-Page SEO
On-page optimization is often ignored by the top sites on Google - after all, who cares about a few percentage points when you can literally buy your way to the top of the search engine result pages (SERPs) with a bucket-load of inbound links?
Today I?ll discuss a bit about why, contrary to common practice, why on-page SEO is so important and then tell you how you can quickly optimize your web pages even if you have very little time!
On-Page SEO - The Benefits
A lot of webmasters (including some self-proclaimed SEO experts) claim that on-page optimization is obsolete - that the only thing that matters is off-page optimization (i.e. link building).
So is that true?
Actually, like most SEO hype, there?s some truth involved. Inbound links have become the overwhelming determining factor in a website?s search engine rankings, but theres more to the story then that.
Why bother with On-Page SEO?
Here are just three reasons off the top of my head:
? With everyone chasing after links, the playing field is leveled somewhat. This means that well-optimized pages will have a better chance of ranking higher if they might not beat the top websites on link count (but come close nevertheless).
? Because of keyword spamming, search engines paid more attention to links. Now, because of link-spamming, search engines are moving back towards paying more attention to other ranking factors, including on-page optimization.
? Over 90% of your competition probably doesn?t know how to optimize their web pages, or are doing it wrong, or are probably committing some sort of search engine spamming, so that you can immediately place yourself within the top 10% of your niche by just spending a few minutes on each page and getting things done right (or hiring someone to do it for you if you have a huge site).
I?ll be honest. No one knows exactly how important on-page optimization is. Of course, you should still be paying a great deal of attention to link-building, but the key is this ? link-building is a long-term process, whereas on-page optimization a short, one-time thing. With its obvious ranking benefits, why wouldn?t you be optimizing your web pages?
On-Page SEO ? A Quick Tour
Before I go over the techniques, I want you to remember these things:
Search engine optimization is a lot about doing things in moderation ? you can?t do too little of it otherwise your pages won?t rank at all, and if you go too far (and start spamming the search engines), you?ll get your website banned and essentially kiss your online business goodbye.
Secondly, before you are optimizing a particular page, make sure you write down a short list of core keywords for that page. This is extremely important ? search engines rank pages, not websites, so all your efforts should be directed towards making sure individual pages rank best for their own primary keyword.
Title Tag
The Title tag is where most webmasters make serious mistakes (in case you didn?t know, the Title tag contains the text that you see on the top of your browser window). Now the best way to write a Title tag is to make sure that you get your best keywords for that page in there. Don?t bother with words that are not needed, such as ?and? or ?the? ? stick with your core keywords.
Using the example of a website owned by a professional resume writer looking to start their online business, for the home page you would probably use the following Title tag:
?Professional Resume Writer | Guaranteed Resume Writing?
Not only do you have your core keywords in there, you have also managed to combine them in one line without using the needless words like ?and? and ?the?.
Of course, you can always go too far and stuff the Title tag with as many keywords as possible. If you are thinking about doing that, DON?T! That sort of optimization will land you into trouble with the search engine algorithms, which automatically flag any website that uses spammy optimization techniques ? and once you are ?red-flagged? like this, you?ll be going down, not up in the rankings.
The next step is to take care of all your header tags.
Header Tags
Also known as H1 and H2 (and so on) tags, the header tags in your page give the search engine spiders an idea of how your page is structured. Therefore, if you can put in important keywords that are relevant to your page?s content in the header tags, the search engine will then ?know? that this particular page contains information on topics relating to those keywords ? thus helping your page rank better for those keywords.
It?s actually simpler than it sounds. Sticking with the ?Resume Writer? website, let?s suppose you have a page that?s titled ?How to write a Resume? (bear with me here). Now, you might have two sections on that page ? an article on resume writing and general resume writing tips. Now instead of lumping it all together, here?s what you could do:
? H1 tag for the page heading ? including a variation of the Title tag
? H2 tags for both sections ? ?Resume Writing? and ?Resume Writing Tips? in this case.
Textual Tags
When a search engine spider is scanning a page, it?s looking for several factors to determine what is important and what?s not. In particular, it looks for text tags ? bold, underline or italics, to help it rank the page. Why?
Quite simply, the search engine spider is programmed to ?think? that any text that is put in bold, italics or underlined is considered important information by the user, and therefore it ?might? be important. This is where bullet points come in handy as well.
I said ?might? be important because search engine spiders have very sophisticated algorithms that look at hundreds of other factors, including the relevance of the surrounding text.
So if you concentrate on putting bold or italics tags around your core keywords (while maintaining a natural flow of content), you will be directly improving the chances of a search engine spider ranking that page higher for those keywords.
Similarly, if you have an important list of points that you want to emphasize (or perhaps summarize), you could put them in an ordered (numbered) list or just a plain bulleted list on your page ? this will set that portion of text apart and alert the search engine spider that this text is more important.
The Image Tag
This is an interesting tag because it?s not that widely-used, and when some webmasters do use it they tend to stuff the tag with keywords in a futile attempt to influence search engines.
The Image tag is supposed to help the search engines ?read? into what the image that you are displaying is about ? thus the need to plug in your relevant keywords into the tag. Note that if your image is, let?s say, a picture of a hiking resort and your website is an adventure tours business, then you might plug in keywords that relate to hiking resorts ? remember to focus on the core keywords for that page and not just the website on the whole.
About The Author
Brad Callen - SEO Professional, owner of http://www.seoelite.com and Internet Marketing Consultant for http://www.Textlinkbrokers.com .
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Job Search Tips for Hispanic Job Seekers
Job Search Tips for Hispanic Job Seekers
by: Simone Emmons
Finding a job has become much more of a challenge in recent years. Using the Internet as an additional resource will increase your options to find many great job opportunities, which are not always advertised in the newspaper. Many employers will place an online advertisement in conjunction with or in place of an ad in the local newspaper. Job boards, as they are called, allow you to search online among many jobs in your category of choice. They allow you to narrow down prospects, and many will even provide a direct link to a company's Web site, fax and e-mail address. Through job boards, the submission of resumes is almost exclusively done in the form of e-mail correspondence. This offers benefits to jobseekers as well as to the employers.
Sending resumes by e-mail saves time and money.
You don?t need to buy envelopes and stamps and go to the post office, then wait for a...
Sample resume > Job Search Tips for Hispanic Job Seekers
Sending Samples With Your Press Release-- Should You Or Shouldn't You? Here's A Guide?
Sending Samples With Your Press Release-- Should You Or Shouldn't You? Here's A Guide?
by: Dianne Beiermann
When you begin to send out your press releases, you will start to get calls and emails from the editors requesting samples of your product. What do you do? Well that all depends. Below are some tricks and tips for gauging when you should or shouldn't send samples.
When you should send samples with your press release:
1) When the item is very low cost: If the press release you're sending is about a product that is under $10.00, you may want to consider sending a sample of the product to the editors. Since the item is low cost, it makes sense to send a sample. Sending a sample can help improve your chances for getting some free publicity for your company.
2) When it is a major publication: Another good time to consider sending a product sample is when you're dealing with a major publication. If the publication has a wide distribution...
Sending Samples With Your Press Release-- Should You Or Shouldn't You? Here's A Guide?
Sample resume > Sending Samples With Your Press Release-- Should You Or Shouldn't You? Here's A Guide?
How to Write a Resume That Stands Out From The Crowd
How to Write a Resume That Stands Out From The Crowd
by: Rumki Sen
Today?s job market is competitive. Many companies receive hundreds of resumes a year, making it difficult for yours to stand out from the crowd. However, that should not keep you from getting interviews. The following 10 tips will help you learn how to get employers to read your resume and get your phone ringing.
1. Include a profile
Begin your resume with a profile, which contains a synopsis of your varied skills and educational qualifications. This profile should match the particular job you want to apply for. State your career objective clearly so that the reader gets an overall idea of your background and areas of expertise. Write this section in such a manner that it immediately catches the attention of a hiring manager, and he calls you instead of someone else.
Sample resume > How to Write a Resume That Stands Out From The Crowd
Don't Rush It or You?ll Lose the Job
Don't Rush It or You?ll Lose the Job
by: Nell Taliercio
You've searched for months for the telecommuting job of your dreams. You've spent countless hours online hunting down a job. You've had the perfect resume crafted and brushed up on your interview skills. And all of the hard work and preparation has now paid off in the form of the perfect job!
You scanned the job ad and found the contact information, pasted your cover letter and attached your resume. You pause before you push the send button and think "better make sure that I have everything they need", but then that other voice tells you that you HAVE to get this to them ASAP before someone else beats you to the job...so you hit send. OH NO, you think, you realized that you misspelled the job title in the subject line of the email and you forgot they needed your phone number. But, now it's too late! The email is in internet outer space.
Has this ever happened to you? You've become so...
Don't Rush It or You?ll Lose the Job
Sample resume > Don't Rush It or You?ll Lose the Job
Understanding Resume Styles
Understanding Resume Styles
by: David Green
Perfecting the perfect resume style can be tricky.
Many job seekers don't really understand the ins and outs of resume creation and only think about their resumes when they are actively seeking other employment.
Many recruiters agree that such an approach can actually leave your resume lacking in both style and content.
Living Resume Style
Do you have a living or non-living resume?
A living resume style is a document that is continually updated over the course of months or years.
It isn't simply updated when you are looking for a job.
So if your employer gives you a new task or you learn a new skill, you would update your resume to reflect that. This resume style is ideal for a number of reasons.
First, it lets you get a clearer picture of where you may be headed in your career.
You may begin to notice patterns and...
Sample resume > Understanding Resume Styles