So What is SEO? - Part 2
3 years ago, I wrote the above titled article, which I am happy to say has been both viewed and downloaded many times since then and what is particularly heart-warming is the many kind comments that I have received as a result.
Much of course has changed within the SEO landscape since then and although my intention was to keep updating the information contained in the previous article, I kept on putting it off mainly due to the age-old gripe of Internet Marketers’ the world over, a distinct lack of time.
To recap, SEO or to use its’ full acronym is Search Engine Optimization, the idea being to follow a certain set of rules to make your site more search engine friendly and rank better for the keywords and phrases that make up your product or service offering.
When writing about such a thorny subject both web savvy experts and novice marketers alike do scratch their Internet heads to come up with a constant set of predetermined rules and guidelines to follow.
And of course that is precisely what the search engine “think-tanks” do not want you or anybody else to know for the much argued reason that SEO experts will game the search engines and create an unfair advantage for their clients and themselves.
Nevertheless there does exist a set of guidelines that will help you to gain top search rankings.
In placing this article into the public domain, I know that I am courting criticism from my fellow SEO professionals who strive to create an aura of mystique for the sole purpose of higher client fees.
Needless to say though, that the scope of this article is not to make an SEO expert out of everyone who reads it but more to serve as a simple point of reference in this extremely demanding and ever frustrating topic.
So without further ado let’s get straight to the meat of this article - Just what do the search engines want?
Let’s start first with these on page factors that will help to rank your site correctly
1. Title - Make sure that you pick the correct title for your page (hint: your main keyword)
2. Copy - Your copy content must be original & accurately represent what your site has to offer
3. Content- It is commonly known that search engines read your pages from top left to right, so make sure that the first thing that they find is your content!
The most critical element in gaining top search rankings is the off page factor and by that I mean simply the number of websites that link to your own site.
Within this caveat there are however some crucial elements that make up the ranking count namely:
- Number - The number of sites that link to you
- Page Rank - The page rank of the linking site
- Page Title - The page title of the site
- Anchor Text - The anchor text used in the link
- Outbound Links - Number of outbound links that the site linking to you has
- Authority - If the sites linking to you are authority sites or not
Bear in mind that, that this is one of the critical areas for top search rankings so my advice is, do spend a good deal of time to making sure that it is right. And even though you may find it both tedious and time-consuming, your efforts will pay off handsomely in the long run.
So there you have it! The SEO Holy Grail to top search rankings. Follow these simple rules of SEO and you will be well on your way to top search engine rankings.
Darryl Antonio is an SEO Expert with over 10 years of experience and based in Bristol UK.
Darryl Antonio is an SEO Expert with over 10 years of experience and based in Bristol UK.
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Tags: SEO
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