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Search engine optimization /SEO/ is a set of measures and techniques that shall be applied to a website with the main purpose of ranking it as far as possible in front of the search engine keyword result (usually made by Google).
E.g., when you ‘re searching in Google by keywords 'web site development Stara Zagora' and 'web design Stara Zagora', the present website is ranked on top of the search engine results.
Optimization is a continuous process that must start along with the initial steps of a website design in order to provide the best possible results.
Optimization should not be done for once because the website content is continuously updated, and the search engine algorithms change also.
To understand how to make good SEO, you need to know how search engines work. What are the mechanisms and algorithms for a website ranking?
The first step of optimization is the choice of keywords on the webpage (for example, about the present website I chose 'web site development Stara Zagora', 'Stara Zagora web design' and 'SEO search engine optimization Stara Zagora', and tried to use them as much as possible to improve the keywords density in this website. The keyword density can be fixed by dividing the number of keywords in the number of all words on a webpage. The size content and the keywords order are important for the search engines.
To maintain a high keywords density, while you’re increasing the content, it is often necessary to repeat more times the same words, without using synonyms, even sometimes the content does not appear to be well written. Remember, that links and images must contain the combination of keywords you have chosen.
META TAGS
LINKS
PAGE CONTENT
IMAGES
TITLES
Do not forget to add:
About the URLs of your pages
Periodically check up
Be aware
Why is important to make search engine optimization of your website?
What can you do to make it useful for users, visible for search engines and efficient for yourself?
Nowadays, everyone is supplied with requested information by Internet. Each month search engines as Google, Yahoo and certain others process millions of unique searches. If consumers are looking for a product or service, it is very likely to make the next step - the purchase. If they fall across your website looking for a product that certainly increases the chance to buy from you.
Therefore, it is very important that your website is better ranked in the search engine results then your competitors’ ones. All measures taken for this we call website SEO optimization, or search engine optimization.
Optimization, in general, can be classified in two types:
On-page
All those things that must be done first in the website design process by the professional web designer, and secondly, by yourself when you prepare and update the website content.
Off-page
These are actions which are not made directly to your site. They mainly include the creation of links from other websites to your one. It can be done by you when you make online comments on websites such Internet directories, specialized websites, professional organizations, social networks, or by other publishers who appreciate your content as useful and wilfully create a link to it or cite it.
To be clear what measures must be taken for your website optimization, you need to know: How do search engines work?
In general, they do three actions:
Crawling
Probably you have heard of so called 'Spiders' of the search engines as Google, Yahoo and others which main task is to crawl websites and discover content. These, in fact, are computer programs that seek information on the web pages, 'read' it and continue their search by following links from page to page.
Periodically 'Spiders' return to already crawled pages to make monitoring of any changes. The amount of changes is one of the criteria for the search engines ranking. If for any reason 'Spider' can not 'see' or 'read' your content, search engines can not 'index' and rank it.
What might be the reasons?
Indexing
'Spiders' not only find content, they store it in databases. This is called 'indexing'. The purpose of each spider is to keep every bit of content in order to be provided subsequently to those who are seeking information. The most important task of the search engines is to consider how far is the indexed content relevant to different keywords used by users to do their search in Internet.
Ranking
And the most important and critical part of the search engine work is the decision making about the order in which the indexed websites will be shown as a result of a keywords search. Aiming this, the search engines use sophisticated algorithms which generally are not exactly well-known.
They are not public but they are constantly improving and changing in order to deliver to users the most appropriate information.
What are the main factors that influence the websites ranking?
1. Good content
This is the most important factor. You must make sufficient efforts for it. Your website can be perfectly developed from a technical point of view but visitors are looking for correct, up-to-date, and interesting information. If your content meets this, they will return again. If it's sufficiently valuable, they will make a link from their own websites to your one. The more inbound links you have, the more briefly the PageRank (PR) increases and your website is ranked forward in the search results’ listing. It’s better if links come from websites with higher PR.
The content updating and the permanently publication of news are very important part of the website maintenance. Otherwise, you will lose very quickly the interest of users.
Currently, the number of so called “dead” websites in the network is bigger than the operating ones.
The worst advertising is a website offering outdated, incorrect, and inaccurate information. Leaving your website without regular maintenance means two things: 1.You spilled out the money you have paid for its design. 2. Your website will not help your business. In fact, it will prevent!
Continuous updating of content will give rise not only to visitors to return again to your website, but to the search engines also. The more often search engine spiders crawl your website, the faster they will index your new content. Definitely, this is a plus.
Remember: Do always check your spelling. Spelling mistakes makes a bad impression. You cannot convince potential customers that your products or services are perfect, if your Internet performance is mediocre.
2. Content titles
Write sufficiently relevant and attractive titles!
Make sure they are descriptive enough to attract visitors and to help search engines to 'understand' what is happening in your articles. Remember also that these titles are used as links to your website by the search engines. Therefore, the content titles are one of the most important elements of optimization.
3. Use text links
Use text links instead of images for your website navigation
Search engines do not understand texts inserted inside an image. It’s better to use the h1- h6 (header tags) for your titles. You should also know that some Flash techniques are not correctly interpreted by the search engines.
4. Make your URL address suitable for the search engines
http://www.name.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=7
http://www.name.com/category2/product5.html
Why is it that? Because some search engine robots can stop until the question mark and not 'read' on your address.
Even if your website design includes addresses generated by a dynamic principle, it is possible to preforms them to the recommended type. Sometimes, it’s difficult but it worths the efforts. Experience shows it.
5. Provide links
The most natural way is to create good content which people want to share.
It is particularly important for an Internet website to have a large quantity of valuable links from other websites. The main principle of Google to set the PageRank of a website is based on the quantity and the quality of the directed links.
Presumably, if more people link to your website, your content becomes more valuable and your website gets higher PR.
6. Add your website to web directories
Although this action is often overrated, it can be useful to add your website to directories and search engines. This is especially important for the new websites. Do not use doubtful SEO methods such as cloaking, farm links and other which may lead to temporary positive results in your page ranking. You take the risk that your website could be ignored by the search engines.
7. Avoid frame structure (Frames)
If your website has such a structure, when a visitor hits on your content as a search result, he can see only the specific framework and cannot see the rest of the website navigation.
Check how visible is your website with different browsers
Do not waste your time with Meta Tags
Мost search engines do not attach significance to content with meta tags because it’s often used by spammers. Use meta descriptions, if necessary.
8. links structure inside your website
The search engines robots must have real access to any content. Note that robots cannot see links created through JavaScript. It is also important to make sure that each content is linked to one other page, at least. It is not recommended to have 'outstanding content'.
Appropriate methods for link creation are the following:
9. Keywords
The basic rules are the following:
10. The choice of keywords
When you are planning your website and later during its continuous update you have to think about 'What do my potential customers look for?’, 'Which are those keywords that would attract them to my website?’ Then, try to use exactly the same in your texts and links, as well as to include them in external links.
E.g., if you are a travel agency and you make a campaign for holidays in Turkey which are particularly attractive for that season, direct your links to your website but not on your company name, e.g., on the key phrase: ‘Attractive holidays in Turkey’.
11. The page loading speed is very important for SEO
The page loading speed is very important for SEO
With respect of this, the most important factors are the good hosting and the efficient website design made with slight graphical elements, appropriate compression and some other design techniques.
12. Last but not least, keep an eye on your competitors!
Especially on those websites which are ranked higher than yours. Good ideas can crop up there!
What should you not allow on your website?
Heavy graphics
Sometimes, the moving and blinking elements are quite annoying. They distract users from main information. A precise and measured illustration can fill out more successfully your visitors’ impressions rather than a complex design decisions.
To load a graphic (picture, animation, video) may take more time than hundreds of text lines. The slow website loading is the biggest enemy of your Internet success. It’s been shown that Internet users does not wait more than 4 to 6 seconds per page loading. If your page loads for more than 6 seconds, you will lose about 80% of your visitors.
Remember: No one shall enter into a website only for seeing the impressive ideas of a graphic designer. Today the Internet 'surfers' are busy and hurried people looking for easily accessible information. Give it to them!
Introduction pages with graphics and animations
Such an introduction page is usually developed with Flash and contains one meaningful button 'Skip Intro' (Skip the introduction). These pages are perceived by visitors as bothering and unnecessary 'extra mouse click' on their way to the exact information they’re trying to reach.
Impressive but complex and confusing navigation
The lack of clarity is also one of the most repulsive factors for your visitors. The visitor must be able to find at a glance where the requested information is published. If you forget to give him this clarification on the first page, it is most likely that he would jump directly to the next competitor website.
Broken links and 'under construction' signs
Please, think about how many times have you returned to a website which links and sections have not been working?
Spelling and grammatical errors in text
Unfortunately, they not only suggests a lack of professionalism, but also call into question the culture of the website owner.
Do not allow this! Before you upload all texts on the website, please, read them carefully. If you are not sure, consult a specialist.
Lack of clear contact information
The lack of this kind of information inevitably leads to failure. Most visitors already look for a detailed location, not only for an e-mail address.
Lack of price information
Under the pretext of 'not to be betrayed to competitors', many owners deliberately miss to present information about prices. They expect from their potential customers to pick up the phone and ask them. But it never happens!
The Internet space is so large that if you don’t provide your clients with all necessary information for making a purchase, they will just click with the mouse and go to another site, usually one of a competitive supplier. Do not expect from your customers to make an extra effort that you have saved yourself!
Design elements affecting negatively
Website Search Engine Optimization will induce search engines to rank your website on the first page results in a search made by a keyword.
Therefore, we recommend you to do the next steps:
1. Insert your web address in your business cards and all promotional company materials.
2. Add it to web directories and business directories as well as to websites of branch organisations, chambers of commerce and city portals.
3. Maintain your presence in social networks /e.g. corporate Facebook page in order to collect your fans and to post interesting news/.
4. Pay for advertising with banners published on other websites to promote your brand and collect links to your website.
5. Organize some online competition to attract clients’ attention.
6. Begin issuing a newsletter in your field of activities.
7. Add an announcement in different trade websites for small ads. Thus, you will take advantage by offering your products or services as well as by creating a link to your company website.
8. And the most important, become familiar with all measures which should be taken for your website SEO.
SEO aims exactly to increase the number of users and clients for your products or services by your website.
In case you order us your website from scratch, we will create the necessary oprimization structure. If you want only to rank your website at the first page of the search engine results, we might have to modify the current structure of your website.