1.
Publish Relevant Content
Quality content is the best number one driver of your search
engine rankings and there is not a viable alternative for great content.
Quality content created specifically for your intended client (user) increases
the site traffic, which enhances your site’s authority and relevance.
Identify a keyword phrase for each page in your site. Think
about how your user might search for that specific page. Then, repeat this
phrase several times throughout the page once or twice in the opening and
closing paragraphs, and two to four more times throughout the remaining
content.
Don’t forget to use bold, italics, heading tags, and other
emphasis tags to highlight keyword phrases, but don’t overdo it.
Never sacrifice good writing for SEO. The best pages are
written for the user, not for the search engine.
2.
Update Your Content Regularly
You’ve probably seen that we feel pretty strongly about
content. Search engines do, as well. Regularly updated content is viewed as one
of the best indicators of a site’s relevancy, so make sure to keep it fresh.
3.
Metadata
When designing your website, each page contains a space
between the <head> lables (tags) to insert metadata or information about
the contents of your page. If you have a CMS webpage, the UMC web team will
have pre-populated this information for you:
Title
Metadata
Title metadata is responsible for the page titles shown at
the top of a browser window. It is the most important metadata on your webpage.
For those with a CMS site, the web team has developed an automated system for creating
the Meta title for each web page.
Description
Metadata
Description metadata is the textual description that a
browser will use in your page search engine return. Think of it as your site’s
window show—a concise and appealing description of what is contained within,
with the goal of encouraging people to enter.
Keyword
Metadata
Keyword metadata are the search queries that people type
when they want to find your page. You’ll need to include a variety of
expressions. However, don’t get eager: if your list becomes excessive, the
browser may completely ignore the data. As a general rule, try to keep it to
around 6-8 expression with each expression consisting of 1-4 words. An awesome
example would be "computer science degree."
4. Have
a link-worthy site
Focus on creating relevant links inside the text. Instead of
having “click here” links, give composing a shot the name of the destination.
“Click here” has no search engine value beyond the appended URL, whereas
“Michigan Tech Enterprise Program” is rich with keywords and will enhance your
search engine rankings as well as the positioning of the page you are linking
to.
5. Use
alt tags
Always describe your visual and video media using alt tags,
or alternative content descriptions. They allow search engines to find your
page, which is crucial especially for those who use text-only browsers.
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