Getting started with SEO - Part 2
Write for SEO
In This post, I will cover the last 3 points of writing for SEO.
KeywordsTitle tagsMeta tagsURLs- Headings
- Linking
- Navigation
- Sitemap
I can now explain each of these in somewhat greater detail.
Headings
Headings are a piece of html code that can be used in many ways throughout websites. Think of it as writing a title on a piece of paper. It presents the content underneath it, and shows significance. It captures the reader’s attention. Heading tags come in categories, numbers. It goes from 1 -6, 1 being the largest, 6 being the smallest. This is not just aesthetically, but search engines also recognize the importance of headings by the type used.
<h1>This is a heading</h1>
A nice paragraph of text
<h3>This is a smaller, less significant heading</h3>
Some more text
Your headings should contain keywords, as they are an important html element when it comes down to SEO. This is another bonus for wordpress, as most wordpress themes use heading tags for things such as the post title.
There isn’t an excuse for not using headings in your web page, as they can be styled with css to look just like anything else.
Linking
Most people realize that getting quality backlinks helps your search engine position. However, many do not realize that linking to quality, relevant sites should also help your position. Linking out to quality websites does not only help you in terms of search engines. Visitors, and webmasters both appreciate it also.
Use a blog for an example. If you link to a blogger, there is a good chance that blogger will link back sometime along the road and establish a friendship. Readers also like you linking to blogs that they don’t know about, as it is always nice to see some new websites. It is more likely that they will return, as they found something valuable through you.
When linking, make sure your anchor text is relevant to the page you’re linking to. For instance, If i were linking to my blog, i would not have: Click here, instead i would have Josh Buckley or even Make money online
Navigation
Search engines find their way around the web with links. So, the navigation is an important aspect of your website which will help a search engine understand your website. If executed well enough, the internal links from your navigation can dramatically help your keyword density and authority.
Always keep in mind both the user and search engine when designing your navigation. Naturally, you would want something that looks stunning. However, what looks stunning may not be stunning for search engines. Do not use images for your navigation, have text. Search engines do not read images like text.
Sitemap
Having a sitemap can be a very useful resource for search engines. Take my sitemap for an example.
- It is linked to from the homepage
- It links to all pages of significance (pages, posts, feeds)
- The link anchors are text, not images. It is very simple.
- The url is easy to read it is the directory /sitemap/
All of these things help the search engine find pages of my website. This way, if the spider has missed some links, it can be found through the sitemap. The sitemap is built for the spiders, however it can also be of good use to humans.
Right now, I should be having even more fun in Australia with family!
Nice post Josh, hope you are enjoying Auzzie Land! When you get a minute check out my latest post on Building Good Backlinks, it would fit in nicely with your SEO related post.
Cheers,
Khalid.
I find it odd, that for a long period before I was using Wordpress, some of my pages with the least content had higher PRs than the main pages. My sitemap, and a page with link to the site’s policies… then the weirdest of all.. my ‘What is RSS’ page.
I made the switch to Wordpress and I am doing most of all the things in your list, but it hasn’t improved my Page rank yet.
The headings are important. It is worth reviewing a Wordpress theme to see where these are used, for example I notice you use h2 tags in your sidebar for things like Top Commentators, Recent Entries, etc.
The information in the sidebar is normally secondary to the main body of a blog post. Using h2 tags in the sidebar could mean that your sidebar content is competing for the search engines attention, possibly diverting attention away from the main body of the blog post.
I try to stick to using h2 tags just in the main body of my blog articles.
I’d recommend you consider using h3 or even h4 tags for sidebar items, so that the search engines don’t place too much emphasis on it.
Nice post, Josh.
Very nice post Josh I am using a sitemap on my blog, hopefully it is helpful
One more thing about headings, make sure you have them in order.
Don’t have a H2, but no H1.
And
Don’t have H3 at the top of your page, then H1 below it.
Do you know what I appreciate about your posts?
You break things down so that anybody can understand it. Some of the SEO Gurus love top talk over everyones head.
My clients always thank me for explaining SEO in easy to understand terms.
Good ideas, Josh. I usually use heading tags, but not of the biggest size, because it can spoil the general apperance og the web page.