Archive for August, 2009

The main navigation of a website usually provides the best way to view the various pages within a site. Hyperlinked clickable text known as anchor text is another form of navigation. Using anchor text within the content of a page allows you to lead someone to specific areas of the website.

Web pages should be a well-organized presentation of words and appealing graphics, but don’t go overboard. When your anchor text only has an underline when the mouse hovers over it could be hidden from the eye of the viewer. If the anchor text blends in with the words around it, someone may not find the link you want them to see.

The average person online is familiar with those blue underlined words and they know it will take them to another webpage. Don’t make your anchor text hard to find, let it stand out on the page.

Does your website have a high ranking with the search engines? If not, one reason could be as simple as the text on the page.

The text should be written well, relevant to the subject matter and sprinkled with carefully researched keywords. Don’t write for the search engines, know your audience and write to them.

Search engines love when the text on a website changes. It encourages them to come back more often to see what is new. If you can’t remember the last time your website was updated or changed, now is the time to change it.

The next time you are searching online take a look at the total number of web pages found. The total number of pages found will be some where in the millions!

Everyone wants to be at the top of the list to tell the world about their product or service. How can you increase the chances of how your website ranks with the search engines?

Search engines are designed to index the text on a web page not images. The more text for the search engine to index, the more chances of your website to ranking better.

Also consider:

• The text must be relevant
• People don’t read web pages, they skim them
• Scrolling down is fine, but not for very long
• Spread the text over multiple pages

Assuming your web pages are optimized and structured properly, websites with eighty pages have more chances to rank better than a five-page site. Another way to add more pages to a website is with a self-hosted blog. Every new blog posting is a new web page and provides more text to be indexed by the search engines.

People searching online want to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. If they have trouble navigating your website they’re just are one click away from searching somewhere else.

No matter how they arrived on the website there was an investment of your time and or money. Don’t lose them quickly; make it easy for someone to find out about your products or services.

Place the navigation at the top or left hand side of the page and keep it consistent on every page throughout the website. Website navigation should be simple to follow allowing someone to find where they are going and how to get back.

All business owners ask the question how can my website have a high ranking with the search engines. Prior to asking that question, you need to know if your products or services relate to the local, national or global marketplace.

If your business relates to the local marketplace, someone searching for an Italian restaurant in Concord, California is not very interested in a restaurant located in Concord, New Hampshire. Your website must appear on the first page of the local search engine results in your marketplace to draw customers to your business.

One-way to improve your local website ranking would be to use the Google Local Business Center. Create a free business listing with your address, phone number, hours of operation, and more. In addition, you can use the power of Google’s data to learn where your customers come from and what they search for to find you.

According to an April 2009 survey from the Pew Research Center 88% of American adults use a search engine to find information online. Performing a search will produce thousands of pages of results with links to millions of websites. These pages are known as the search engine results pages or SERP.

If you are not on the first page of these results the chances of someone viewing your website is very slim. Some people will look at the second page, but very few look beyond the third page.

There are numerous search engine optimization tips to improve where your website appears in the search engine results. Providing good content is one of the best ways to improve how your website ranks in the search engine results. Search engines love good content that is useful, rich with information and accurately describes your subject matter.

Provide good content and update it often to drive more traffic to your website.