SEO 101: Basic Search Engine Optimization
Search engines can be a huge referrer of traffic when used properly. In this post I would like to explain exactly how these search engines rank and how you can improve your search engine ranking.
I would like to begin by saying it will take time for search engines to index your site after you’ve submitted it. Do not submit more than once. Google may blacklist you for this.
Do not worry about submitting to every search engine either. Some search engines are portals to Google.
If you’re crawled (when a bot goes to your website and checks it out) by Google, you’ll eventually appear on all search engines.
Meta Hype
The <meta> HTML tag is quite old, and used to be a large factor in Google’s rankings. Since then, people have made attempts to “game” the system, so Google has retired this feature.
These tags are still used for the text under the heading that says a website, so it’s still important to create meta tags. Read more information about meta tags.
How Google Operates
Google’s primary system for ranking is through backlinks, which is when someone links to you. Obviously, people have abused this, so Google now only counts 1-way links. For example, if AmberWeinberg.com linked to TPlack.com, that would be a 1 way link.
The reason this is helpful for Google is because links show the quality of content. If content has high quality, it probably has lots of backlinks.
This makes it difficult for someone new to start, unfortunately. Google assigns sites “PageRank”. This PageRank shows the quality of content and is the amount of sites linking to another article or site.
I hope you now have an idea of how search engines operate.
Your SEO Questions…
Have any questions about SEO or any great tips to share? Leave a comment below!
Image by Danard Vincente
About the author
Tyler Plack is a website designer and geek blogger. He enjoys creating websites, content online, projects, and gaming. Tyler blogs about his projects and life at tplack.com
Amber,
Meta tags are still an important part of SEO. Within the source code of a site you’re pretty limited to the what you can optimize but the meta description is still very relevant. Not only does it allow you to control what text is displayed on a link title but it gives you the ability to add keywords relevant to the content on every single page. What I think you are referring to when you say that google retired the meta tag feature is the meta “keywords” tag. Even though google removed this from their search algorithm a while back, it is still important to add meta keywords because other search engine (i.e. yahoo) do still take them into consideration when your website is crawled.
It’s also important to add that the tag is a big factor in seo. The maximum recommended length for page titles is 70 characters so finding relevant keywords to add to the title is important.
It’s hard to keep up with all the latest SEO trends these days, especially ever since google added the social search feature.
Jeff
Sorry, I meant Tyler not Amber
Apparently the blog ate my html so I’ll use quotes instead, the second paragraph should have started…It’s also important to add that the “title” tag is a big factor in seo.
You don’t even have to submit your site if you get backlinks, ofcourse from an already indexed site because then the spider will crawl to your web page from there, and sometimes when you submit your site it takes quite a while for Google to index it, having some backlinks makes the process faster
Google’s pretty quick at indexing though, most of my blog posts get index within hours of posting them.
yup it is pretty quick after the initial indexing… its the initial indexing that can take quite a while
Great post Amber!! I had not thought about the importance of meta tags and how google has changed in a while. Good info.
Haha it’s not my post, it was Tyler’s
hi buddy i’m from indonesia,how are you? i’ve heard that google would make google caffeine if it’s true? and whether the meta tag is still on applied by google…cheers..
Thanks for the post Tyler. Is anyone getting results these days with the old multi-way linking versus 1-way links?
Meta tags are still very important in SEO. Just because Google throws out the keyword tag doesn’t mean that all meta tags should be neglected. Most search engines will use the description tag if available. Otherwise, they will display some of the text from early in the page relevant to the searched keywords.
Geotags are also important to some search engines. (Google disregards them, but allows you to set the same information in Google Webmaster Tools).
Also, Google does not only count one-way links. Google has provisions in its algorithm that help determine if a reciprocal link is a bought/traded or natural link. Just because a site that you linked to on your blog links back to you later down the line does not mean that the link juice suddenly stops flowing. If the link appears to be natural, then it will not be discounted.
Also, good use of rel=”nofollow” on anchor tags can help control the flow of linkjuice. Google still sees the link and the link still adds a credibility vote to the destination, but Google does not include the link its PageRank algorithm. This is good to use even on your internal pages such as your Terms of Service and Privacy policy that you might want indexed but don’t want showing up high in Google’s SERPs.
There’s so much to consider for optimal SEO and while most clients don’t quite understand the architectural tactics, they do (or can) understand important factors like well-written copy, reciprocal links and the effect that social bookmarking can have (although sometimes they assume the results are guaranteed).
I’m finding your blog threads very captivating and I’m learning a lot. Thanks for the help!
Currently traveling between Scotland and Leeds, reading this on my PDA. Will read it in full when I get back, and I will also post a back link on my own internet site. Many thanks.
Hi and thanks. I am definitely interested in articles and information on web-site seo. You never know where you are going to discover completely new tactic (well, new to me at least). Even though there are always general Search engine optimization methods, just a little adjustment here and there, and your web site will get significantly better positioning. If you are using WordPress having the most suitable plugins along with a first-rate premium theme will help your Seo. Additionally it is necessary to keep up to date with the changes in search engine algorithms.Best wishes
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