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The Three Major Steps For Optimizing Websites

by Paras Singh, Jan 19, 2012

Optimization of websites is a three step process – On page optimization, Off page optimization and footer optimization. All these three processes require SEO attention and involvement. The steps need to be practiced diligently to get websites well listed and ranked on search engines.

On Page Optimization
This method of page optimization has its own rules and regulations. A web page can be optimized in search engine ratings by concentrating on certain key points. It includes every aspect of websites like:

Keyword Research
Page Coding
Page Content
Link Structure
Technical Audits
Server Configuration and Delivery

Keywords are fundamental search terms for marketing reasons and are the foundation of web page optimization. Keyword research requires an in-depth understanding and experience of market, search engine page ranking process, trends and seasonal factors.

Coding of web page is vital and involves use of title tags, Meta tags, other strategic options, cleaning codes and ridding extra codes.

Search engines regularly analyze the organic nature of content, its appeal and readability factors. Web content, keywords, and other techniques need to be constantly evaluated for better search engine ranking of a page.

Proper structuring of links is also essential aspect of ‘On Page Optimization’. It should be ensured that first links on websites are optimized and outgoing links are based on trusted audits only.

SEO experts make reviews of website pages and provide consulting and recommendations about server requirements and other technical aspects as part of comprehensive website promotion and internet marketing strategy.

Off Page Optimization
Page rank on search engines is of great importance and to achieve good ranks is not always easy. For perfect website optimization, it is mandatory to work on ‘Off Page Optimization’ along with on page optimization. Search engines work under the influence of an internal dynamo and sort out pages through index and matching of search queries. It crawls on quality work and cache it quickly. Off-page optimization mainly deals with back-links and they serve tremendously in terms of search engine optimization. Some of the common off-page optimization methods are:

Links from Sites having high Page Rank – Websites with high page rank is more reputable and so back-links from such sites offer more advantages.

Link number on sites also matter – Websites having more number of high quality back-links are ranked well by search engines in comparison to ones that are having less number of quality back links.

Links from well established sites – Search engines give more weight-age to back-links from reputed sites having extensions like .edu, .gov and .com. Information on .gov and .edu sites are more reputable than less known sites like .info and .us extensions.

Links from sites having same content – The source of an inbound link is also considered by search engines. Any link that endorses the quality of content of a website is given more importance by search engines.

Footer Optimization

Footer optimization of a website is also key to SEO optimization. Placing links on key pages of a website also makes it easier for people to navigate a website. Addresses can also be placed on footer so that people can locate your company and search engines can make local listings. Things necessary while making footer for a website are:

Add Links: Adding links on footer helps search engines to index a website better. This is a major advantage for navigation.

Local information: If a website business involves only local customers, including information like address, city and province can help your website get identified locally on search engines. This will result in a better listing and more traffic.

Decide on Pages: It is important to decide on which pages are you going to add in your footer. The pages can be like “About us”, “Contact”, and other similar pages.

Designing footers: Design of footers should be based on usability and user experience rather than only based on search engine requirements. General rule of thumb is good designs are noticed by search engines.

Number of links: It is necessary to decide on the number of links to be included in footer. For SEO and visitors, having too many links on footer is rarely good. Only important links should be included and they should be organized in natural categories.

The On page, Off page and Footer optimization as discussed are compulsory for good ranking of websites on search engines and should be implemented to get websites properly optimized. It is also important to employ experts for the job or at-least hand over the project to a qualified SEO service provider .

Steps to Video Optimization

by Paras Singh, Sep 2, 2010

Video marketing is growing at tremendous pace as an effective strategy to reach your customers. Videos engage the customers more than any other online medium and there is much more chances of users taking an action after watching video.

Video Optimization

Video optimization is still in its infant stage but it is developing on a rapid pace. The video search engine rely on metadata, inbound links and anchor text to find out what the video is all about. The search engine can also do flash detection that helps to identify adult content, face detection and screen text detection. The videos need to be optimized properly to promote your brand online.

There are many video networks online like YouTube, Google Video, AOL Video, Yahoo! Video, vids.myspace.com, MSN Video which allow video submissions and ways to share the videos . The web has become a massive store of content and videos. The competition is great and hence for a video to show in search engines results their optimization becomes essential. Below are some good practices that when considered help to optimize online videos.

Video Clips should be relevant – Video clips should provide informative information. Videos showing step by step procedures or emphasizing an opinion are always great.

Catchy Title – It is important to give a catchy title to a video that you want to promote. This is important for a catchy title can provoke users to view your video and hence visit your website.

Upload Videos on a Video Submission Website and Re-link them to your Site – First get some videos uploaded on a site like youtube and then re-link them to your site by providing links to content and videos that are relevant to your website.

Use Important Key Phrases to Optimize Your Video – Try to find out terms that users normally search for. Then optimize your video with those terms. Use these terms to tag your video and insert them in the file name of the videos.

Use Transcripts – Make use of languages like HTML and surround the video with onpage copy of such languages. This helps the search engine to index the video easily. When search engines get something to index on, it improves the ranking of the video.

Make Use of Short Videos – Avoid uploading long duration video because it becomes boring after a certain interval. Consider breaking the videos into short duration ones. It enhances the viewing pleasure and keeps users searching for more videos.

Sitemap usage – Sitemaps help search engine spiders to track content of videos available on your website. Make use of appropriate keywords in the anchor text links of videos featured in video sitemaps.

Videos Need to be Tagged- Make use of key phrases that are reflective of content to tag the videos.

Use Videos for Brand Awareness – Incorporate your brand logo in videos so as to generate brand awareness. Take advantage of this opportunity to popularize your brand by incorporating the brand logo in the videos.

Allow videos to go viral – Make videos that would reemphasize message of your brand name. Allow other users gain access to the coding of your video so that they can embed the video in their websites and blogs. This will help popularize your brand.

Insert Meta Data –Make sure that you use relevant keywords and keyword rich description in your video content. This will help you optimize your video.

Submit RSS and MRSS Feed – Submit RSS or MRSS feed to third party video sites such as Yahoo video. The basic method of optimization is to enter title, description, keywords, thumbnails, a category, and a full transcript. A full transcript is a means to provide fodder for a video search site.

Allow Videos to be Rated – It is good to allow Users rate your video. Ratings allow users to favorite and save videos. While ranking videos, search engines will definitely pay attention to this.

Video optimization is becoming a mainstream aspect when it comes to search engine optimization. The best way to optimize is to think about the users and who do you want to get engaged with your videos. Be judgmental and consider the audience, their language and needs before uploading a video.