October 12, 2002



I read article after article regarding search engine placement and how to rank high. Paid inclusions are not what they are represented to be as only 17% of people will click on them as opposed to the top ranked site. This is my advice:



First step. Your page title should include your keywords. If you can incorporate a choice keyword into your domain name...do it.



Second step. Make sure your copy includes keywords which can be tough when you have a graphics site but it can be done. I don't always rank #1, but I am often in the top 10 and that is pretty good considering the thousands of sites out there. Write good copy and spell check.



Third step. Meta tags. These are very important. Some engines look for meta tags and some read the copy. They read from top to bottom so put your most important information and keywords near the top of the page. If you utilize both you are covering all the bases.



Below is an example of what is in my head tag from my main index page. I have taken out the html markings so that it appears as text. If you right click on my index page you can view it as it should be:

"head" "title" Outlaw by Design Graphics Index "title"
"meta name="resource-type" content="document">
"meta name="generator" content="Sausage Software HotDog Professional 6">
"meta http-equiv="author" content="Outlaw by Design">
"meta http-equiv="description" content="Custom and linkware graphic web sets and web design">
"meta http-equiv="distribution" content="Global">
"meta name="keywords" content="graphic design, free psp tubes, paint shop pro, linkware, graphics, sets, designs, beautiful, art, multimedia, illustration, backgrounds, images, html, stunning, unique, faerie, fantasy, triple border, themes, coordinated, elegant, custom, flowers, purchaseware, quality, personal, fairy, fae, USA, america, American, african american, personal homepages, patriotic, military, romance, romantic, buttons, beautiful women, website, outlaw by design, exclusive, internet, bars, textures, search engine tips, articles, woman, payware, commercial images, decorative, templates, PSP" >"/head"



Yes there are lots of meta tags. LOTS. Be careful not to duplicate words or the engines might think your page is SPAM and reject you. A good rule: Don't have the same word repeat more than 3 times in your meta tag section.



Another secret to high placement is link popularity. By linking (text) links of popular sites you actually increase your chances of being picked up. If you use a graphic banner make sure you use an alt tag along with the graphic. Search engines cannot read images without an alt tag and they cannot read flash.



While adding links to your competition, not only are you providing a service to those searching by providing them with more options, you look damn good in doing so, and you increase the chances of your site being spidered by the search engines and ranking higher. You can't lose with this one. Text links not only read quicker, they load quicker and are much more attractive than a page of conflicting graphics, especially if some are animated.. a pet peeve of mine from the start. I do have a few graphic banners on my site but you notice they are the same color where I can help it and are not placed together in a major jumble with the exception of my index page which is a difficult page to keep clutter free. Few people sit and wait for a page of banners to download unless they are limited in number and load quickly.



The use of alt tags is debated as to their effectiveness...can't hurt. I have only started using them myself in the last several months.



The use of cascading style sheets will help the engines read your site better although I don't practice this myself.



Submit to the search engines every 2 to 3 months. Submit your main pages. Submitting every page could backfire as it could be considered SPAM. If you have a page that can stand-alone and has decent copy on it, submit it, all positive attributes in the eyes of the spider.



On my main entrance page, www.outlawbydesign.com/, you will see some text below the main graphic. This is for the sole purpose of search engines. Another trick would be to include the text and make it the same color as your background...visitors will not see it but the spiders will. I chose to display it rather than hide it to explain my site to those who are unfamiliar with a graphics site.



The use of "doorway" pages will only backfire on you. It was once common practice to make many doorway pages to redirect to your main site. Search engines consider this SPAM and you will probably end up hurting yourself in the long run.



Another trick is to go to a high ranking site in your category (your competition) and right click and read their code for the meta tags they are using. Some of the ones listed you never thought of? There you go. Add them to your meta tags.



If you use effective keywords in your title, meta tags, and copy (which will be well-written right?), utilize link popularity and submit regularly to the search engines you will find your site climbing higher in the rankings. Even being in the top twenty of 20,000+ sites is a good thing and could lead to potential traffic.



DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion and should be taken as such. Take from it what you will and leave the rest.


(c) Outlaw by Design 2002-2004


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