kina
08-29-2006, 11:35 PM
I've learned a lot from here and want to give something back.
This is my top of my head advice for beginners:
1) Don't do any tricks - it's just not worth the worry or potential punishement. If you do the basics right, you don't need that stuff.
2) Page titles are very important. By this I mean the title tag (not just content header).
3) Description and keyword meta tags are useful, but not of great effect. Sites can rank high without them. Similarly with being listed in directories.
4) Perhaps this should be number 1). Think about search terms when writing your content and links (the text used for an insite link is very important - dont just use 'click here').
Example, I just realised I had pages titled (title tag and header) 'X photo gallery' but that a person searching would probably type 'X photos'. I tested this out - poor result - so you must, and this is a general rule, make sure that terms people will use to search for your site actually appear verbatim on it.
5) Make sure all your links work and that every page can be reached from a simple text link.
6) Get at least a few links to your site from other sites that share the same topic.
7) page name (file name) - keywords in - can help a bit, but beware that changing page names you have already made public will cause months of lost ranking, and is probably not worth the hassle.
8) If you establish intersting content, your site will rank higher and higher naturally, but it takes time. A niche can gain page 1 quickly but where there is a lot of competition it is a difficult task and one would best focus on content once one is sure the basics are correct. Be original, take a new angle. Don't be a 'me too'.
9) If you have a great site, it is annoying that poor sites can rank higher, but it is pointless to do battle. The search engines will surly improve their algos - spend your time on improving your content. It's a long distance event, not a sprint (there may be exceptions).
Steve
This is my top of my head advice for beginners:
1) Don't do any tricks - it's just not worth the worry or potential punishement. If you do the basics right, you don't need that stuff.
2) Page titles are very important. By this I mean the title tag (not just content header).
3) Description and keyword meta tags are useful, but not of great effect. Sites can rank high without them. Similarly with being listed in directories.
4) Perhaps this should be number 1). Think about search terms when writing your content and links (the text used for an insite link is very important - dont just use 'click here').
Example, I just realised I had pages titled (title tag and header) 'X photo gallery' but that a person searching would probably type 'X photos'. I tested this out - poor result - so you must, and this is a general rule, make sure that terms people will use to search for your site actually appear verbatim on it.
5) Make sure all your links work and that every page can be reached from a simple text link.
6) Get at least a few links to your site from other sites that share the same topic.
7) page name (file name) - keywords in - can help a bit, but beware that changing page names you have already made public will cause months of lost ranking, and is probably not worth the hassle.
8) If you establish intersting content, your site will rank higher and higher naturally, but it takes time. A niche can gain page 1 quickly but where there is a lot of competition it is a difficult task and one would best focus on content once one is sure the basics are correct. Be original, take a new angle. Don't be a 'me too'.
9) If you have a great site, it is annoying that poor sites can rank higher, but it is pointless to do battle. The search engines will surly improve their algos - spend your time on improving your content. It's a long distance event, not a sprint (there may be exceptions).
Steve