Q&A Spot: Is there a Quicker Way?

QUESTION:
I need to get my site optimsed quickly - so I cant really wait for each of your lesson posts. Do you offer courses or workshops for this?
Andrea Diggle, SmallWorld Touring Holidays, Skipton

ANSWER:
Yes, there are one day courses ( please call me on 01928 788100) and also a new range of workshops running from January next year in various locations throughout the country.
The workshops actually take you through the process and you will arrive at a complete optimisation plan - I have included full details on another part of the blog at http://janaklin.blogspot.com/2005/10/what-does-it-take-to-get-no-1-on.htmlAgain - please call if you need more info.
Best Regards
Jan

Lesson 7: Optimising 'on page' factors for top rankings

We're going to finalise our discussion on optimising 'on page' factors this month. If you implement this lesson, along with the previous lessons, you should start getting really good rankings.

Next month we'll discuss 'off page' factors to add icing to the cake and get you above all your competitors.

You will remember that last month we focused on the TITLE tag and stressed its importance. The other tags you will need to optimise are the KEYWORD, DESCRIPTION and H1 tags.

THE KEYWORD TAG

The KEYWORD tag used to be important for ranking. It's not anymore, however, it's best practice to include entries here as some search engines still pay some attention to them. Also there is evidence that the major search engines look for consistent entries across the tags.

So in the keyword tags put the keywords (actually keyphrases) you discovered in your keyword analysis. Actually you need to restrict it to a maximum of 25 words. Also use lower case and separate each phrase by a comma and a space.

A perfect example can be found at the following site. Select 'view' than 'source' to view the metatags behind this site - www.youreventsltd.com.

Should you have the same keyword tag on each page?

Ideally you should change the order of the phrases, and put the phase being optimised for at the beginning of the list. So in the example above the homepage is being optimised for 'event management', so this is the first phrase in the list.

THE DESCRIPTION TAG

This is more important than the KEYWORD tag ( but less important than the TITLE tag).
Quite often this gets listed in the hitlist directly below the title so it will have an impact on whether people click through or not.

For example:-

Your Events, Manchester UK - Christmas party organisers
Christmas party organisers by Your Events uk, looking after your christmas
production, venue, catering and entertainment.
www.youreventsltd.com/christmas.php - 14k - Cached - Similar pages

This is the result of a google search for 'christmas party organisers'. (Yes folks its nearly that time again!) The first line is the contents of the TITLE tag; the text below the content of the description tag. So ideally it needs to be a bit salesy - encouraging people to click through.

Again - no longer than 25 words, and put the phrase being optimised for at the front of the description.

If you do a 'view' and 'source' at http://www.youreventsltd.com/christmas.php you will see a perfect example of this.

THE H1 TAG

Unlike the other tags we've discussed the contents of the H1 tag appears as visible text on your web page.

Its best practice to include a version of the title tag as the H1 tag.

If your title tag says 'Briggs International - Technical Translations and Software Localisation Services' The H1 tag could be something like 'Fast Turnround on all your Technical Translations and Software Localisation'

That is, a bit more 'call to action' oriented. Essentially this has the affect of placing your keyphrase for the page being optimised for as a headline at the top of your page. Something the search engine spiders seem to like a lot.

I this case the page is being optimised for two phrases - 'technical translations' and 'software localisation'. Generally we should try to optimise one page for each of our keyphrases. Sometimes we can get away with two but three is pushing it as you will see when we discuss copy writing below.

There's on more thing to do to ensure your pages get top rankings....

WRITE 'KEYWORD RICH' VISIBLE TEXT FOR YOUR OPTIMISED PAGES

Search engine spiders thrive on keyword rich content. Also the higher placed it is on your webpages the better.

If you can get 200 words of text at the top of each page of your site (ideally right below the H1 tag content) and include your keyphrase (the one the page is being optimsied for) around 6-8 times, that is pretty optimal.

This is not always easy and we'll discuss some issues in later lessons to help when it isnt.

Essentially the TITLE tag content for a particlar page is compared to the keyphrases which appear on that page. The more the better, within certain guidleines.

Here's an example of someone who thinks he's optimising his text for the phrase 'yellow widgets'....

'Our Yellow widgets are the best in the UK and if you buy our yellow widgets you will be sure you have bought the best yellow widgets you can buy and absolutely envied by the rest of the yellow widget buying community both here in the UK and the rest of the yellow widget buying community throughout the world. Yes, you really need to buy our award winning yellow widgets. Click here to buy yellow widgets.'

Obviously a pretty naff bit of copy writing, but this guy doesnt care - he's writing for spiders not humans. Actually even the spiders will choke on this.

The trick is to stay within certain 'keyword density'(KD) limits. Around 3%-9% is good. Five keyphrase repetitions in 100 words would be a KD of 5%.

This should satisfy the spiders and also you should be able to put together reasonable copy for human visitors.

A good axample can be seen at www.asgservices.co.uk. Note the repetitions of 'warehouse rack labels'.

If you want to check the keyword density of your pages go to:-
www.ranks.nl/tools/spider.html
Type in your url for the page in question and you will get an analysis.

The keyphrases with optimal density will show up in green. Other colours highlight problem keyphrases - too dense or not enough.

So that's it folks. It's about all there is to it. Do this for one or more of your pages and you'll begin to get good rankings.

Next month I'll show you how to out compete even the fiecest of online competitors. Until then happy optimising and don't forget to get in touch if you need help. Our 'Traffic Builder' Service goes from strength to strength as you can hopefully see from the above examples and the quotes below( but not the 'yellow widgets' guy - I made him up).


"I employed Jan Klin Associates to get me higher rankings at all the search engines.
Within a couple of months we were high in the rankings for our products and now some six months later we are in the top three on all the major search engines."
Steve Bithell, Managing Director, Noisekiller UK, www.noisekiller.uk

"Jan has been able to give our search engine optimisation efforts a structured, focused and analytical backbone with some striking and immediate results."
Nick Thomas, Managing Director, Cloggs UK, www.cloggs.co.uk


“From being very cynical about what search engines could do for my businesses I am now reaping the benefits of having number one rankings in Goole and the other major search engines for all my important keyphrases. This is as a direct result of working with Jan Klin to achieve this”
Tony Gresty, Managing Director, ASG Services Ltd, www.asgservices.co.uk

What does it take to get no 1 on Google?....About 9 Hours

A DIY APPROACH TO TOP SEARCH ENGINE RANKINGS

Nothing exists …..
until it is communicated ….. David Ogilvy

How effectively is your web site communicated?

Businesses have their sales multiplied by getting top rankings on Google.

Here is your opportunity to join them.

There’s no reason to pay expensive consultants to do it for you, the process for you to DIY it is straightforward, and that’s what you’ll learn in this powerful new workshop – the secrets of getting top rankings.

What you will take from the workshop:

Your own structured action plan completed from the workbook provided to get you top search engine rankings

- Knowledge on how to use the latest tools available on the web to help you get high rankings

- The latest techniques and approaches for out-competing your top competitors

This is not a seminar presentation – this is a workshop which will provide you with the tools, knowledge and structured plan to enable you to succeed in Search Engine Marketing.

You will also have access to the course tutor (who is an acknowledged expert in the field) during and between workshop sessions to address your own issues.

What is expected of you:

- Attend 3 x 3 hour sessions, once per week for three weeks (morning or evening)
- During the sessions you will be encouraged to complete your structured action plan as the modules progress
- In between each module you will have some ‘homework’ to do on your own site (tools and templates will be provided to simplify this)
- You (or your web site designer) should then implement the plan you have put together and watch your business increase.

What is the cost?

£97.50 plus Vat per module (£292.50 plus Vat for the whole course)

If you implement your plan following the course this should represent the highest return on investment you could ever hope to get through any business activity.

To sign up for a course in your area call Jan Klin now on 01928 788100 or email at jan@janklin.com.


"Having been on the course I can say that applying Jan's teachings has certainly paid off for Maid2CLean and our Alexa rankings have gone up by some 400,000 points. Frankly, the course was worth every penny"
Mike Hanrahan, Managing Director, Maid2Clean, www.maid2clean.co.uk

The modules in detail:

The tutor will guide you through the process to successful optimisation, showing you real live examples and the use of web based tools. As the course progresses you will make appropriate entries in your structured workbook leading to your blueprint for high search engine ranking performance.


Module 1:

Content includes:

- An outline of the ‘best practice’ structured process to optimisation
- The major factors which will provide good ranking – both within your website and external factors
- How search engines work and which are important
- Using web based tools to assess your current position
- How to find the most effective keyphrases to bring relevant visitors to your site
- Using the latest web tools to identify the best keyphrases
- Assessing the ‘relevance’, ‘popularity’ and ‘competition’ for your keyphrases

Homework: Using web based tools and the spreadsheet provided to identify and shortlist your keyphrases.

Module 2:

Content includes:

- Identifying ‘roadblocks’ – are there any impediments in your site preventing good search engine performance?
- Using web tools to identify any issues
- Assessing your sites ‘spiderability’ and internal link structure using web based tools
- Explaining metadata and identifying the most important metadata in your site for top search engine performance
- Structuring your title, description, keyword and H1 tags for optimisation
- Explaining ‘keyword density’ and the importance of effective copy writing for high rankings
- Using web based tools to analyse your existing copy and keyword density

Homework: Optimising your metadata and existing content for optimum search engine performance (for your homepage; it’s the same process for all other pages). Structured online templates will be provided to facilitate this for you.


Module 3:

Content includes:

- Submitting your site to search engines and directories
- Some web based tools to help with the process
- A structured approach to developing your linking strategy
- The importance of backlinks to your search engine rankings
- How to develop and assess links from the best sources
- Structuring your ‘anchor text’ for optimum search engine performance
- Analysing your links and your competitors links using web based tools

Homework: Progressing your link and directory strategy. Online templates will be provided so you can do this in a structured way; Kicking off your optimisation blueprint.


Typical agenda for each module:

8.30 Registration and light breakfast

9.00 Session 1 starts for this module

10.30 – 10.45 Coffee Break

10.45 Session 2 starts for this module

12.15 Close


Who should attend:

This is for senior members of small and medium businesses who wish to generate more businesses through their website. You may be a business owner, or you may be responsible for your company website. The course will be delivered at a business level (not technical) although additional content will be provided in the workbooks for the more technical delegate’s requirements.

It is not sector specific – it is relevant to all business sectors and as much to service companies as consumer focused and manufacturing companies.