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Getting the Most Out of Your Website continued...

...Search Engine Optimization – There are volumes of information about Search Engine Optimization or SEO. SEO is simply how to make your Website more attractive and acceptable to search engines. Google provides the world with their requirements and preferences for choosing which Websites to list when asked for specific information on their Search Engine Website. The links for this info can be found at the bottom of the Google Search page. This will be your most important SEO information. After all, most people who find you will have used Google to search for you.

...The following is a list of items that I find most important when making your Website optimal for search engines.

...Keywords – These are the words listed in the code on the back pages of your Website that best describe the most important features of your Website. When someone types search criteria into a box on a search engine, like Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc., and hits the search button, the search engine crawls through the many keywords from Websites it has indexed and decides which Websites best match the criteria. So how does Google, for example, decide which Websites to index?

...The answer to that question is complicated. That is why there are SEO specialists. SEO is a science. But as far as keywords are concerned, the important thing to remember is your keywords must match the content of your Website. Otherwise, Google will ignore them. Type in as many keywords as you want on your back page. Just make sure you repeat them on the front page that the viewer will actually see.

...Submission – At one time, Websites needed to be submitted to each search engine in order to be indexed. Now search engines are much more sophisticated. If your Website has been published to the internet, it will be found; in fact, Google discourages frequent submissions. If you have pages that may not be discovered, you may submit individual page URLs (Uniform Resource Locator - URLs are World Wide Web addresses) to Google separately. Once Google has found your site however, you will need to verify ownership of it or it will be mostly ignored.

...Verification – In order to verify your site with Google, go to Google Business Solutions and click on Webmaster Central. You will need to open a Google account if you don’t already have one. Then go to Webmaster Tools and add your Website. Google will then ask for verification and you will be able to verify it.

...Other search engine’s rules for verification change regularly. You will need to check them from time to time.

...Google will also automatically locate you in their Map section and you will need to verify your physical locale as well. Make sure your location is correct by going to Google Places.

...XML Sitemap – Another way to make sure Google sees all of your pages is to submit an XML Sitemap. This is not the same Sitemap your viewers will see. This Sitemap lets crawlers know right away the pages they will need to index. To do this, Google XML Sitemaps and choose a free XML Sitemap builder. Give them your “Home” page URL and they will email you the page you need to add to your Website. Just follow a few simple steps in Webmaster Tools.

...Outside Links – Once your Website has been verified, the single most important item when being considered for page rank (the order in which sites are served to a searcher) is the number of
outside links there are for your Website on the internet. This is how Google knows the importance, validity and popularity of your Website. Getting listed on other sites used to be tedious. You had to shop yourself to forums and listings and buy advertising on other sites individually and that takes time. With the birth of Social Media Outlets on the Web however, this task has become less tedious and more fun. Unfortunately, you still must invest your time into socializing on the Internet.

...Social Media Connectivity – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. This action is best described as being like mingling at a cocktail party. Register your identity with each of these sites. Follow many people. Be followed and friended. Read their thoughts and ideas and jump in with your own, eventually mentioning your site to the masses. Do Not just mention your site over and over to your social media followers without first making friends. No one will care. This is a social event. If people are interested in you and your products and services, they will pass your interests along to others who will pass them along and other sites will have links to yours. You can still place ads, register for listings, etc. Every little bit helps. Don’t forget to place links to your social media pages on your Website so people can connect with you through them if they want to.

...Website Management – A static Website is a dead Website. Your Website should be ever growing and changing. You will have new products and services and new ideas. With these normal business changes plus all the necessary marketing steps mentioned above, how in the world will you have time to stay current on the World Wide Web? In most cases, unless you employ someone and dedicate them just to this purpose, you won’t stay current without support.

...This is why I have discovered so many who are frustrated with their Website. People purchase Websites without ever considering the future of the site once it has been designed and paid for. The designer failed to mention it or they set up a freebie thinking original set-up was all that was necessary.

...If you are considering a new Website, consider how it will be continually managed and marketed. Ask the questions and make sure you are confident that you are dealing with a reliable designer and manager. If a reasonably priced service contract that includes timely and professional support is available, it will come in handy. With most products and services, the least expensive is not always the best. In this case, you get what you pay for and free is probably a total waste of your time and finances.

...Remember, in today’s economy, your Website should be your best marketing tool.

 

 

John Abato, President
www.AVCOdesign.com
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The Angel Valley Company
All Rights Reserved