There are several places on your web pages and website where you should place your keywords so that the search engines will find your site when someone is looking for a site like yours. These are a type of easy-to-miss Internet marketing strategy that you can use to optimize your website for the search engines. Think of it as “behind the scenes” Internet marketing.
There are several important places on your web pages and website where you should
place your keywords in order to impact how the search engines will rank your site.
4.4.1 META Tags
Web pages are built using Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), which is full of different commands that execute what you see when you load the page in your web browser. When designing your webpage, you want to be sure that your keywords are used in your <META> tags. This tag on each page defines the date, purpose, author and name of a web page. The search engines read this information and use it to help “catalog” your site in comparison with other sites.
Note that the <META> tag is specific to each page of your website. So, the tag on each page should contain a different keyword that is still related to the site but is specific to that page. For example, your homepage might have “weight loss supplements” as the <META> tag keyword, but then you might also have a product page with the <META> tag “weight loss pill” and another with the <META> tag “vitamins for metabolism” or whatever the main topic on that page might be .
Think of the following keyword placement information as “behind the scenes” Internet
marketing.
Your <META> tag field can also include a description of your website. You should write a description that includes the main keywords for your site and that describes the context of your webpage. For example, for your weight loss supplement site, the homepage <META> tag description might read, “our weight loss experts have designed the best weight loss supplements for healthy weight loss and decreased appetite.”
4.4.2 ALT Tags
HTML for a site includes an <ALT> tag that is used by the browser to describe an image if the image cannot successfully be loaded. However, since it is more information about your website, it can be used strategically to give the search engines another dose of information regarding what your website is about. For example, if your weight loss supplement has a picture on the main page of a smiling, fit woman, you could use the <ALT> tag to describe it as “healthy weight” or, if it is a picture of pills, describe it as “weight loss pills.”
4.4.3 Page Name
Every web page has a file name that is used to identify that page, or file, on the web server. Although the ending of the file name has to be either .htm or .html, you can create the rest of the page name so that it includes your keywords as well. For example, if you have an order page, instead of calling it order.htm, call it order-weight-loss-supplements.htm. Or, if you have an order page specific to a product, name it by the product name such as “metabolism.supplement.order.htm.”
4.4.4 Page Title
Use the page title space to create a title for the page that includes the main keywords for the page. The search engines will notice and use this information as well. Do not leave this valuable space empty and do not fill it with vague information like “Welcome to Our Site,” or any other generic information.
4.4.5 Page Headings
Search engines will scan your web pages and will add weight to the headings on the page more than the words in the body. So, be sure that your headings on the page are also versions of your main keywords. Don’t be afraid to be more specific to the product or content on the page with the page headings than you would be with the page title.
4.4.6 First Sentence
Your first sentence is important for both the live human and the search engine bot. Not all search engines will review your entire page of text before determining what your page is about, just like not all humans will read beyond the first sentence or paragraph before deciding whether or not your site has the information they need. Be sure that the first sentence of your page includes the keywords for that page and that it is a clear description or summary of what information can be found on that page.
Your first sentence on a page is important for both the live human and the search engine bot. Just like a human reader, the search engine may make a decision about
your site in part based on the first sentence.
4.4.7 Text Inside Links
If you create any links on your site, whether to other locations on the site or to another site, the text that is “clickable” is another way to include your keywords for the search engines. Text links are highly weighted by the search bots, so be sure you use the tool appropriately.
4.4.8 Keyword Rich Content
If you have ever visited a product website and found that it is full of useful information that is related to that product, you’ve found someone who understands SEO. Yes, it may be a natural response to customers to develop content that provides them with information they want or need when buying your product, but it can also be a strategic decision. If you have quality, keyword rich content on your website, the search engines will give additional weight to your web site in its search engine rankings. There are two important keys here:
1. The content needs to be high-quality, relevant, and useful to your readers.
2. The content needs to use your keywords naturally.
To elaborate, you need to understand that search engines have gotten smarter over time. Do you remember seeing a site that had a list of keywords “stuffed” into the bottom of a web page? At one time, just having keywords on a site would help pull that site as a result when someone searched for one of those keywords. But now, the algorithms that determine search engine results are able to recognize “keyword stuffing.” So instead, to get into higher rankings on search engines, you need to create content that uses keywords naturally - in language and in contexts where people would normally use them.
Content must be high-quality, relevant, useful to your readers, and include your
keywords in a natural context.
Some ways you can incorporate keyword rich, natural content on your website include:
• Writing articles that give the reader information about your products or services
• Creating a FAQ page that includes the keywords on your site in different ways that people might search for them
• Creating and offering a free informational product, such as an e-book or white paper that uses all of your keywords
• Writing a company newsletter or E-zine (electronic magazine) that includes relevant, keyword rich content
• Creating a blog where you use and discuss keywords and related topics and continually refresh or update the content
• 📷Writing product descriptions or summaries that use the keywords
• Allowing visitors to the site to write their own summaries or comments, assuming that they will also use the keywords somewhat
Some of these options have additional benefits that we will discuss in more detail, but know that adding quality content to your site is a powerful way to draw search engine results.
There are several places on your web pages and website where you should place your keywords so that the search engines will find your site when someone is looking for a site like yours. These are a type of easy-to-miss Internet marketing strategy that you can use to optimize your website for the search engines. Think of it as “behind the scenes” Internet marketing.
There are several important places on your web pages and website where you should
place your keywords in order to impact how the search engines will rank your site.
4.4.1 META Tags
Web pages are built using Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), which is full of different commands that execute what you see when you load the page in your web browser. When designing your webpage, you want to be sure that your keywords are used in your <META> tags. This tag on each page defines the date, purpose, author and name of a web page. The search engines read this information and use it to help “catalog” your site in comparison with other sites.
Note that the <META> tag is specific to each page of your website. So, the tag on each page should contain a different keyword that is still related to the site but is specific to that page. For example, your homepage might have “weight loss supplements” as the <META> tag keyword, but then you might also have a product page with the <META> tag “weight loss pill” and another with the <META> tag “vitamins for metabolism” or whatever the main topic on that page might be .
Think of the following keyword placement information as “behind the scenes” Internet
marketing.
Your <META> tag field can also include a description of your website. You should write a description that includes the main keywords for your site and that describes the context of your webpage. For example, for your weight loss supplement site, the homepage <META> tag description might read, “our weight loss experts have designed the best weight loss supplements for healthy weight loss and decreased appetite.”
4.4.2 ALT Tags
HTML for a site includes an <ALT> tag that is used by the browser to describe an image if the image cannot successfully be loaded. However, since it is more information about your website, it can be used strategically to give the search engines another dose of information regarding what your website is about. For example, if your weight loss supplement has a picture on the main page of a smiling, fit woman, you could use the <ALT> tag to describe it as “healthy weight” or, if it is a picture of pills, describe it as “weight loss pills.”
4.4.3 Page Name
Every web page has a file name that is used to identify that page, or file, on the web server. Although the ending of the file name has to be either .htm or .html, you can create the rest of the page name so that it includes your keywords as well. For example, if you have an order page, instead of calling it order.htm, call it order-weight-loss-supplements.htm. Or, if you have an order page specific to a product, name it by the product name such as “metabolism.supplement.order.htm.”
4.4.4 Page Title
Use the page title space to create a title for the page that includes the main keywords for the page. The search engines will notice and use this information as well. Do not leave this valuable space empty and do not fill it with vague information like “Welcome to Our Site,” or any other generic information.
4.4.5 Page Headings
Search engines will scan your web pages and will add weight to the headings on the page more than the words in the body. So, be sure that your headings on the page are also versions of your main keywords. Don’t be afraid to be more specific to the product or content on the page with the page headings than you would be with the page title.
4.4.6 First Sentence
Your first sentence is important for both the live human and the search engine bot. Not all search engines will review your entire page of text before determining what your page is about, just like not all humans will read beyond the first sentence or paragraph before deciding whether or not your site has the information they need. Be sure that the first sentence of your page includes the keywords for that page and that it is a clear description or summary of what information can be found on that page.
Your first sentence on a page is important for both the live human and the search engine bot. Just like a human reader, the search engine may make a decision about
your site in part based on the first sentence.
4.4.7 Text Inside Links
If you create any links on your site, whether to other locations on the site or to another site, the text that is “clickable” is another way to include your keywords for the search engines. Text links are highly weighted by the search bots, so be sure you use the tool appropriately.
4.4.8 Keyword Rich Content
If you have ever visited a product website and found that it is full of useful information that is related to that product, you’ve found someone who understands SEO. Yes, it may be a natural response to customers to develop content that provides them with information they want or need when buying your product, but it can also be a strategic decision. If you have quality, keyword rich content on your website, the search engines will give additional weight to your web site in its search engine rankings. There are two important keys here:
1. The content needs to be high-quality, relevant, and useful to your readers.
2. The content needs to use your keywords naturally.
To elaborate, you need to understand that search engines have gotten smarter over time. Do you remember seeing a site that had a list of keywords “stuffed” into the bottom of a web page? At one time, just having keywords on a site would help pull that site as a result when someone searched for one of those keywords. But now, the algorithms that determine search engine results are able to recognize “keyword stuffing.” So instead, to get into higher rankings on search engines, you need to create content that uses keywords naturally - in language and in contexts where people would normally use them.
Content must be high-quality, relevant, useful to your readers, and include your
keywords in a natural context.
Some ways you can incorporate keyword rich, natural content on your website include:
• Writing articles that give the reader information about your products or services
• Creating a FAQ page that includes the keywords on your site in different ways that people might search for them
• Creating and offering a free informational product, such as an e-book or white paper that uses all of your keywords
• Writing a company newsletter or E-zine (electronic magazine) that includes relevant, keyword rich content
• Creating a blog where you use and discuss keywords and related topics and continually refresh or update the content
•
📷Writing product descriptions or summaries that use the keywords
• Allowing visitors to the site to write their own summaries or comments, assuming that they will also use the keywords somewhat
Some of these options have additional benefits that we will discuss in more detail, but know that adding quality content to your site is a powerful way to draw search engine results.