Choosing Effective Page Titles
Grand Rapids Michigan Search Engine Optimization Training
Choosing effective page titles is essential to the ultimate success of your
website. In reality, this is what makes the whole thing work! You may have an
incredibly powerful title, but if it is not a term that the public will search
for, you won't gain anything by optimizing your site. Literally millions of
websites may fall into the same search category as yours. Clearly, the challenge
is to have YOUR site show up in the top 10 of as many different search results
as possible. The answer to this challenge is really very simple!
Keywords Research  GET A QUOTE NOW!
Researching Key Phrases
Select a two to six word phrase that tells what the MAIN TOPIC of each page is.
The next step is to thoroughly research the selected key phrases. The goal is to
determine the most likely key phrases the public will use to find specific
information about each of your topics in the search engines. The most common
method the public uses to search is with key phrases rather than a single
keyword. It doesn't matter how elegant a key phrase is. Essentially what is
important is choosing an effective key phrase that the public will in fact
search for!
DO NOT GUESS! Use the keyword tools provided
for you, to research this information. Please note that some of the keyword
tools don't make a distinction between the plural and singular version of a
word. Once you decide the best key phrase for each page, you will need to
examine this factor further, by conducting actual searches in the search
engines.
Your Business Name as a Key Phrase
The Most Effective Use of Your Business Name
Using your business name as a key phrase is the very first mistake that we all
make. Think about it for a moment. Unless you own a BRAND NAME BUSINESS like
Dell Computers or Microsoft, people are not going to type the name of your
business into the search bar. Understand that when people are looking for a
product or service on the net they are looking for something specific. They are
going to type the phrase that they think will lead them to the product or
service with the least hassle. ONLY RARELY does the key phrase they choose
include YOUR business name.
The key to success on the internet is really very
simple. You have to be on the FIRST page of as many DIFFERENT search result
pages as possible.
Once you have selected the best possible key phrase for every page on your site,
you're ready to title those pages and are already well on your way to creating a
site that will be successful in the search engines.
Powerful Page Title SEO Tips provided by Grand Rapids Michigan Search Engine Optimization
• Every page on your site must focus on ONLY ONE TOPIC. If you currently have
pages covering multiple topics divide them up by adding additional pages.
• Quit trying to cram everything into one page. THE MORE PAGES YOU HAVE, THE
MORE ENTRANCES YOU WILL HAVE TO YOUR SITE. The more entrances you have to your
site, the more traffic you will have. By the time we're done there will be
entrances to your site ALL OVER THE NET!
• Remember, it doesn't matter which page they enter your site on. Your
navigation will be set up so it won't matter! Think about it, if the information
or product they're looking for is on page 99 of your site, you don't want them
coming in on page 1 and trying to find it. The internet public isn't patient. If
they have to spend time finding what they are looking for they will look
elsewhere.
Making the Title Tag
Title Tag Fundamentals
How should the title tag be constructed?
HTML Coding for Title Tag
Once you have decided on an effective key phrase for the topic you are covering,
then you will need to insert that key phrase as the title of your page.
<title>This Is The Title Of Your Page</title>
Where should the title tag be located in the document?
Title Tag Location in the HTML
<html>
<head>
<title>This Is The Title Of Your Page</title>
The title of your page is displayed in the upper left hand corner of many
browser windows. It is also used and displayed by many search engines on search
result pages. It is best to use no more than 60 characters, including spaces.
The title to every page on your website must be selected according to the topic
on each page. (Click thumbnail to view full size image) <meta name="description"
content="Use an ATTENTION GRABBING description here"> <meta name="keywords"
content="keyword,keyword phrase,another phrase"> </head>
Research Resource Links
• Good Keywords Tool
This is a free download available for PC's. Please download and install this
tool. Take some time to learn how to use it effectively. There are help files
located within the program. You will want to place a short cut for this program
on your desktop, as we will be using this tool quite frequently.
• Keyword Suggestion Tool
This is a free online tool that we will also be using very frequently, when we
are fine tuning the titles for our pages. Please add it to your favorites or put
a short cut on your desktop. DO NOT click on any other links on this site. I am
ONLY recommending the use of this specific tool.
Choosing Effective File Names
Search Engine Optimization Training
Monday 17. October 2005
During the process of choosing effective key phrase titles for your pages, you
may discover pages that contain more than one topic and need to be divided into
new pages. When creating new pages, which of course will also need effective key
phrase titles, I want you to carefully choose the file name for the new page to
closely correlate with the new title that you've selected for the page. Choosing
your files names carefully can and does have a positive impact on search engine
optimization techniques. The evidence is indisputable that there does appear to
be a slight advantage to using your keywords or phrases as file names. This
benefit seems to be most advantageous when a hyphen is used as a separator
rather than an underscore.
• www.mydomain.com/mykeyword.html
"Scrunching" the keywords together has no impact on search engine optimization,
simply because "scrunched" together creates a new word.
• www.mydomain.com/my_keyword.html
Although you can easily see the separated words, research shows that the search
engines spiders do not use the underscore as a separator.
• www.mydomain.com/my-keyword.html
Which File Names Use Keywords?
Once again it is vital to remember that search engines will return search
results in the exact order of their perceived relevancy to the search phrase
requested. The more relevant your site appears to be to the search requested,
the HIGHER your page will show in the results. All files (even images) related
to a specific page need to be named using your keywords. Google really appears
to focus on "themes" of a page. The more techniques you use to strengthen that
"theme" (your keywords and phrase) the higher your results will be!
Changing Current File Names
Careful thought needs to be given when considering changing file names for SEO
purposes. If your server allows for the simple creation of 301 permanent
re-direct to the new page, it may not be a big deal to change file names. If
however your skills have not yet grown to this level, it is best to consider the
following guidelines:
Consider Changing Ineffective File Names If:
• The page is not yet indexed in search engines
• The page has poor search results placement
Do Not Consider Changing Ineffective File Names If:
• The page is already indexed in the search engines
• The page has acceptable search results placement
Final Notes on File Names
The strongest benefits are received from this technique when it is used together
with all of the other techniques. Used alone, you will see very little advantage
in search results. When you do change page file names, consider making a
301 permanent redirect for the moved pages, or
at least design a custom 404 page. This is so your visitor can
still find the correct page while a new one is being indexed. Each server
handles these types of files differently so you will need to contact your domain
host for help. If you have a control panel with your hosting service, often it
will have step by step instructions in the help files. For more information, contact Grand Rapids Michigan Search Engine Optimization Services.
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