Everyone with a website wants that site to rise to the top of the list when potential customers run a web search. But how can you make that happen? While the answer to that question can get pretty complicated, there are a few relatively simple tips that can help make your website more search engine friendly.
1. Make your site easy to navigate, with plenty of links.
Making your site easy to navigate does more than help site visitors. The purpose of spiders is to find text and links. Search engines can find your home page, but not the deeper pages of your site. The key to helping search engines dig deeper into your site is the proper use of site navigation and links.
First, it’s important to know that search engines simply will not search sites that use JavaScript navigation. So if you use JavaScript, also employ a simple HTML navigation system, using links on each page of your site. Search engines love links, and using internal links can help you rise to the top. Place them at the top and/or bottom of each page, and also insert links into the text itself. Whenever you can, use keywords or keyword phrases as links and avoid using images.
2. Include a site map.
If you want a search engine to index every page of your site, a sitemap is essential. Be sure to put a link to the map on each page of your site, along with the other main navigational links.
3. No hidden links!
>In the past, some web designers tried to flag down search engines by including links that were visible only to the search engines and not to the readers of the page. They used white text on a white background or turned punctuation marks into links. But search engines have caught on to this trick. Hidden links now violate quality guidelines, and if you use them, your site will be banned forever by search engines. Not good.
4. Use keyword phrases properly.
While selecting keywords and keyword phrases is too broad a topic for this article, there are a few simple tips for using them that will help search engines find your site and report it in search results. First, be sure to focus on one or two keyword phrases per page and use them near the top of the page whenever possible. Also use them throughout the text on the page, being careful not to overdo it. If search engines see a preponderance of keywords in relation to the total text length, they will count it against you. Also be sure to use your most important keywords throughout your site.
While most search engines are not sensitive to upper and lower case for keywords, they do distinguish between singular and plural forms. So be sure to use some of each.
5. Images, images, images.
The reason that the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words” has become a cliché is because it’s true- especially in the hospitality industry. Show off your property in its best light. Use good photography, but make sure the images load quickly. You don’t want your visitors to get frustrated waiting and move on. Use captions, too, because search engines “see” words, not pictures.
6. Use meta tags to your advantage.
The words you use in your meta tags should be carefully chosen. Most browsers allow you to see the source code by choosing “Source” from the drop-down “View” menu. While site visitors may never notice meta tags, search engines sure will. The two most important are the < DESCRIPTION > and < KEYWORD > meta tags.
The < DESCRIPTION > tag is also very important. Place it just beneath the < TITLE > tag and again use strong keyword phrases, not to exceed 250 characters. Use some of the keywords that are contained in the text of the same page.
While the < KEYWORDS > meta tag is not as important to search engines as it once was, you should still take advantage of it, using carefully chosen keywords.
7. Backlinks: Yes, they ARE important.
One of the best ways to improve your search engine ranking is to have other sites link to your own. When search engines see other websites linking to yours, they think your site is important, so it will tend to rise in listings of search results.
While keyword phrases are important in search engine rankings, many competing websites are likely to be as rich in keywords as yours. It is the number of incoming links to your site that will help set it apart.
The relevancy of those links is also important. In the hospitality industry, this means you should try to have other travel and tourism sites link to your page. Submit your property to several travel directories like Trip Advisor. Work with local organizations like the chamber of commerce or convention and visitors’ bureau. If they link to your site, your ranking is more likely toimprove.
The more of these tips you can put into practice, the better your chances will be of improving your searchengine rankings. Good luck!
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Comments (2)
Greg Jorgensen added these pithy words on Jun 13 07 at 9:00 amPoint #6… the metatags you are telling us about were stripped by Wordpress. Can you put them back? Thanks.
admin added these pithy words on Jun 13 07 at 9:14 amThanks for pointing that out Greg, I have put them back in.
