| Domain
Name |
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If
possible, obtain a domain name that's the same as what
people will search for.
For example: You're a plumber in New York
People there looking for a plumber will
probably search for:
"New York plumber" or "New
York plumbers".
The perfect domain name for you would be:
newyorkplumber.com (or .net or
.org)
This is because search engines figure if the website name
matches what the searcher is looking for, it may be relevant.
If the domain name is not available, you may be able to
add something to the end of the name. Example: newyorkplumberavailable.com
or newyorkplumber123.com |
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You
can search for available domain names at Moniker
Their pricing is good. Website hosting: We use HostGator
for hosting and recommend it--customer service is excellent
and pricing is competitive. HostGator has some website
design software available, too. |
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| Meta
Tags |
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Search engines
look at meta tags.
Be sure your metatags include key words or phrases people
will search for.
"Title"
tag is very important: Use keywords!
"Content" meta tag is important! Use keywords!
"Keywords" meta tag is less important, but
put keywords there, too.
If you're
not familiar with meta tags, here's
everything you ever wanted to know about them.
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Use
our meta tag generator |
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| Use
Key Words Or Phrases On Your Page |
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Search engines
will look at your page content for key words or phrases.
Include key words and phrases near the top of the page,
but don't overdo it.
For example,
the New York plumber might include this on his first
page:
| If you are looking for a New
York plumber, you've come to the right
place. At Smitty's New
York Plumbing, we work diligently to
ensure we provide the best plumbing
work, the best plumbing
supplies, and the best plumbers. |
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I've highlighted
(above) the key words included for the purpose of optimization.
This might be a bit of overkill, but you get the idea. |
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| Use
<alt> Tags On Pictures And Graphics |
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Search engines
also look for <alt> tags on pictures and graphics.
Use keywords for the <alt> description.
For exmaple,
the New York plumber might include a picture of a sink
and label it with the <alt> tag "New York
Plumber".
Here's
everything you ever wanted to know about <alt>
tags.
Roll your
mouse over the image below to see <alt> and <title>
tag info:
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Links Are Important, Too: |
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Google
looks for links back to your site.
The more links to your site, the more popular it is, google
figures.
So try to get some links to your site.
Trade links with other sites, start your own blog and
include links, post links to your website in forums. Wherever
you visit that you can post a link, do so. |
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| Monitor
Your Web Log |
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Your website
should have a web log that shows you visits and where
they came from. Monitor your web log and look at referrers--what
they searched for when they found your site.
The web log should tell you on what search engine page
they found you.
Here's an example from this site's web log which shows
a visitor arrived by clicking on a link at www.propertypreservationforum.com/:
| A visitor from 200.100.0.223 (200.100.0.223)
arrived from www.propertypreservationforum.com/StartAPreservationBusiness.shtml,
and visited www.websites205.com/index.shtml
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Here's an
example which shows the visitor arrived from google:
| A visitor from 100.20.90.75 (100.20.90.75)
arrived from www.google.com
contractor websites
1-10, and visited
www.websites205.com/index.shtml |
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This gives
me three bits of information:
1. They arrived
from google (blue)
2. They searched
for "contractor websites" (red)
3. They found
it in the first 10 listings ("1-10") (green)
So, by monitoring
your web log, you can see where hits come from, what
key words are working (or not working) and how well
your site ranks for searches.
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