Search Engine Optimization Tips from BlogHer07
On July 29 I attended an hour-long UnConference session on Search Engine Optimization at BlogHer07. Unfortunately I walked into the session a wee bit after it started and I did not hear the presenter introduce herself, nor was I able to get her business card, so I can’t give a proper attribution. If anyone who reads this can, please do so in the comments and I will update this post. I did hear that she gleaned these tips over time by trial and error, and they’re what she could truly say had worked well for her in increasing her site traffic and search engine placement.
Please note! This site is not a great example. I don’t do all the things on this list. I do set these many of these items up for clients, but my personal site is in major need of an overhaul.
On with the SEO Tips:
mantra: Get links to your site from wherever you can!
Within the <head> tag of your home page
- Your
<title>should be descriptive and contain words indicating what your site is about. It’s used on every search engine, so use words you would expect people to type in as search terms. - Use
<meta>tags for description and keywords. Examples:<meta name="description" content="Travelogue. hummingcrow.net presents Dreaming Down Under: A mother/daughter exploration of indigenous culture in Australia and New Zealand." /><meta name="keywords" content="travelogue, culture, exchange, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Aboriginies, Maori, indigenous, travel, photos, digital, storytelling, mother, daughter, journey, dream" />
Your Permalinks should match your post titles
- Good example: http://www.hummingcrow.com/search-engine-optimization-tips-blogher07
- Bad example: http://www.hummingcrow.com/?p=126
Submit your site to free search engines and directories
- Do not pay anyone to submit it for you. You know your own content best and will do the best job.
- Search “free directory submission” and start adding.
- With Yahoo!, you have to drill down into a category that fits your content and “suggest site” to submit.
- Use StumbleUpon. Submit your: site, posts and categories.
Look at what search terms lead visitors to your site
You’re being shown that there is a demand for that information. If appropriate, play it up. Write about it even more. If you haven’t already written about it, consider it!
“Get links from everywhere” includes yourself
Create internal links to your older posts whenever appropriate. (Attention videobloggers using WordPress: the VideoPress Related Videos plugin will help you do this with style!) When creating internal links, consider tweaking older entries to make them better. You want them to be representative of great site content. Keep it natural though. You don’t want to suddenly change the character of your site.
Customize your archive templates
Instead of just having them say “archive of [some category],” make sure they explain what your site is about. Also, make sure they offer information about how to get around your site. Consider adding a “Recent Posts” plugin to lead people to newer pages. Make sure there are links back to your home page, search, and featured items.
Use “Content Discovery” or “Social Media Ranking” sites
- Sign up for Technorati. Learn more at Technorati’s Site Guide.
- Submit some of your blog posts to BlogHer.
- Make use of Digg or Sk-rt (Digg for girls!)
Handle images properly
- Because they show up in searches, too, make image file names short but descriptive: “cookies.jpg,” not “picture.jpg” or “food.jpg.”
- Do not put content-related text in an image, particularly your site’s header image. If you do, make sure the information is duplicated in your HTML. Search engines cannot read text when it’s part of the image.
Build strategic relationships with other bloggers
- Pick two or three blogs you really like and comment regularly, providing insightful contributions. (Don’t write “me too” or “first!”)
- After you’ve built some rapport, you can email them about a really good post you’ve written that you think they’ll like.
- Keep this type of correspondence genuine and it will encourage others to link to you. Done in a solicitous or demanding manner, it will be a disaster.
Use Categories and Tags
Not all blogging platforms have both Categories and Tags, but use both if you can. Categories should be broad; tags should be specific. Example: Category = Birds, Tags = Burrowing Owl, Sonoran Desert. Tag names should not duplicate category names to avoid confusing users. Display your broad Categories in your sidebar to help users navigate by topic.
WordPress hint: Many WordPress sites employ the Ultimate Tag Warrior plugin to make the most of categories and tags. You can use it, too. But you should know that WordPress 2.3, slated to be released later this month, includes a significant restructuring of the way categories and tags work, incorporating a lot of the UTW features. If you’ve waited this long to focus on tagging, my advice is to wait a little longer and upgrade your WordPress installation to 2.3 once it’s available and the bugs are squashed.
Try Themed Features
If you write about one topic repeatedly, or produce a series, consider featuring all of the themed posts on a static page so there will be permanent access to all the related pieces.
Avoid Duplicate Content
There are people out there who will grab your RSS feed and republish all your content on another site, surrounded by ads. This creates duplicate content, and it really hurts your search engine ranking. Google encourages you to report these content hijackers to AdSense Abuse (if they are using AdSense). You can also check whether they are violating their Internet Service Provider’s Terms of Use and report them if they are. And remember, you hold the copyright to your content. Another blogger at the session said she had very good results sending DMCA Take-Down notices to ISPs whenever she encountered a copyright violation.
Summary
SEO is not a one-time, set it up and forget it thing. You need to live it and breathe it every day.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Those are all tried and true tips. Another rule of thumb is to update often. That way return readers have plenty to read up on! You want to be sure to cater to your web visitor, too.