Search Engine Optimization 1

Introduction Whenever you enter a query in a search engine and hit 'enter' you get a list of web results that contain that query term. Users normally tend to visit websites that are at the top of this list as they perceive those to be more relevant to the query. If you have ever wondered why some of these websites rank better than the others then you must know that it is because of a powerful web marketing technique called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

What is SEO Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's unpaid results—often referred to as "natural," "organic," or "earned" results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content, HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.

Search Engine Basics Processing queries: When a request for information comes into the search engine, the engine retrieves from its index all the document that match the query. Ranking results: Once the search engine has determined which results are a match for the query, the engine's algorithm (a mathematical equation commonly used for sorting) runs calculations on each of the results to determine which is most relevant to the given query.

Why should we do SEO Brand awareness – A web site having a high ranking means more people see the name of the company and become familiar with the company and its products, even if they haven’t made a purchase. Targeted traffic – Search engine optimization brings paying customers to your door step.   Your competitors – Keeping ahead of your competition in the organic search results can help boost the perceived position of your company in your marketplace.

How it Works Search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, scour the World Wide Web. Their automated "robots" (also called "spiders") move from page to page and site to site by following links. Along the way the read the code for the pages they visit. The information from the page code is incorporated into the search engine's vast knowledge base.

Paid and Unpaid

Types of SEO White Hat SEO White hat SEO is ethical SEO. It's SEO techniques that search engines accept. White hat SEO techniques are beneficial for site visitors as well as for search engines. The goal of white hat SEO is to improve search engine result positions via methods that won't cause search engines to penalize the site. Successful white hat SEO is slower than black hat SEO and is an ongoing process.

Types of SEO… Black hat SEO Black hat SEO is the use of techniques that are unacceptable to search engines to boost a page's position in search results. These techniques are intended to trick search engines into giving pages higher positions in search results, and they have no benefit to site visitors. The goal is to improve search engine result positions no matter what it takes to do it. Black hat SEO techniques are used for two reasons: They work — until search engines find out about them and they don't work. Some people don't understand that black hat SEO techniques can get their sites penalized by or banned from search engines.

Types of SEO… Gray hat SEO Gray hat SEO is SEO techniques that take more risks than white hat SEO techniques but aren't likely to get your site banned from search engines (although a search engine penalty could result). They're questionable SEO techniques but not in the same category as black hat SEO techniques. However, what's considered gray hat SEO today might be black hat SEO next year.

Site Loading Page time optimization Meta keyword optimization On Page Optimization Title Optimization Site Loading Page time optimization Meta keyword optimization Internal Linking URL Optimization etc.

Press Release Submission Article Directory Submission Web 2.0 posting Off Page Optimization Press Release Submission Article Directory Submission Web 2.0 posting Social Bookmarking Directory Submission etc.

Fundamental Principles of Off-site SEO The Principle of Search Engagement The optimizer must choose which search engine(s) for which content will be optimized. The Principle of Resource Engagement The optimizer must leverage links by providing them with context, recognition, and an active framework in which people find the links to be part of useful resources. The Principle of Message Engagement The optimizer must take responsibility for shaping the message that people see about a given site on other Websites.

7 Basic SEO Techniques Technique #1 – Optimize your title tags Every page on your website should have its own unique title tag. From an SEO perspective, a good title tag should: Be no more than 70 characters (including spaces) Include both product or service-related keywords and your company’s/institution brand name Be both intriguing and informative enough to prompt search engine users to click through to your page

7 Basic SEO Techniques Technique #2 – Create compelling meta descriptions Along with your title tags, the section of every page on your website should contain a customized meta description. These brief page summaries should be no more than 150-160 characters long and should include at least one mention of your page’s target keyword phrase.

7 Basic SEO Techniques Technique #3 – Utilize keyword-rich headings Both the title tag and meta description should be included in the section of every page on your website – but what about the rest of your page’s content? When it comes to your pages’ body text, one of the best things you can do to improve your overall SEO value is to include <h2> and heading tags containing your target keyword phrases in your content. Not only do the search engines place added weight on the words found in these particular tags, the visual relief they provide to your website’s readers will help them to move more efficiently through your site’s content.

7 Basic SEO Techniques Technique #4 – Add ALT tags to your images If you choose to add images to your web pages, make sure to add ALT tags to them as well. ALT tags originally came about to provide visually impaired website visitors using text-to-speech devises with additional information about the content on their screens. Again, you shouldn’t “stuff” your ALT tag full of target keywords and keyword variations. Instead, use your ALT tags to clearly and accurately describe your website’s images, working in keyword phrases as they occur naturally.

7 Basic SEO Techniques Technique #5 – Create a sitemap In the world of SEO, the search engines’ indexing programs – commonly referred to as “spiders” – play the important role of analyzing new websites (or new content added to existing websites) and adding their content to the lists of pages that can be displayed in response to user queries. As a result, facilitating the easy movement of these spider programs throughout your own site is an important part of optimizing your content for natural search traffic. One of the best things you can do to help the spiders index your website is to create a sitemap – a page listing links to all the other pages on your site.

7 Basic SEO Techniques Technique #6 – Build internal links between pages Another way to help the search engine spiders to catalogue all of your site’s pages is to create internal links that connect your different pieces of content. As an example, instead of simply linking to your “Contact” or “About Us” page from your navigation bar, consider adding text links to these pages from within the body content found on your home page. Doing so is a great way to help your visitors find the information they’re looking for, in addition to providing a major SEO boost to your site’s content.

7 Basic SEO Techniques Technique #7 – Update your site regularly One final SEO technique you’ll want to implement is to update your site periodically. Because the search engines’ top priority is serving up the results that will best meet their users’ needs, they prefer to share websites that contain the latest, most up-to-date information. In addition, the more content you post to your site, the more keywords your website will include – increasing your odds of generating search engine traffic.

Advantage 1. It’s cost-effective. You don't have to pay the search engine to be "advertised". At this point in time is when you have to pay for almost everything; it's good to know that there are still some things which are free. 2. If well ranked, has your company greater chance at becoming visible around the world, while you stay at home. Internet is an effective marketing tool. It is actually the marketplace itself with numerous potential clienteles. 3. Once your website gets a good place, you somehow your reputation as one of the best. This implies that somehow you are properly valued in the SEO community.

Disadvantage Your position in the search engine is unpredictable. Everything depends on the algorithm. As a result, you know not when the return of the investment will happen. This is time consuming. It takes a long time before you see your standing improve a notch. Sometimes you have to wait for months or even a year to be in the spotlight. Participants can make use of the black hat tactics. These unfair practices hinder the tree of your company.

Conclusion While nobody can guarantee top level positioning in search engine organic results, proper search engine optimization can help. Because the search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, are so important today it is necessary to make each page in a Web site conform to the principles of good SEO as much as possible. To do this it is necessary to: Understand the basics of how search engines rate sites Use proper keywords and phrases throughout the Web site Avoid giving the appearance of spamming the search engines

Thanks…. PPT Source: www.studymafia.org