Website Design: SEO basic tips

A website SEO or search engine optimization is a method of designing a website in a way that it is search engine friendly, especially Google. There are many effective methods we can apply to your websites in order to have a good organic listing in Google. This of course will depend on what your target market is.

Here is the sample SEO that I recently conducted (on my site, with a competitive keyword: regular computer maintenance) :

Click the following link to see the real time search on keyword above (will open new browser window). The search is on Australian Google with "pages from Australia" toggle selected. If not, my site still ranks on #4!

A Search Engine Optimization, when done properly will give your businesses a prominent place in Google. However, please be aware that no one is able to guarantee your site to rank number one in Google.

Some simple and basic rules that you can follow to optimise your website:

1. Understanding Your Target Market

First, you need to know and understand what your target market is. For example if you are an accountant, your target market would most probably be other small businesses that need someone like yourself to tackle their day-to-day accounts.

2. Keywords Selection on Pages of Your Website

Once you have a clear target market, research keywords for your website with exact or close match to your business services. For example, as an accountant in Kogarah, you would want surrounding small businesses to be able to find your business easily online. You would expect them to type 'accountant service Kogarah' instead of 'plumber in Kogarah'. In theory, a more detail keyword is the better. However, as a business owner you should think of what your prospects will type to search in search engines such as Google.

3. Title Tag of Your Website

Every single page in your website needs to have a different and descriptive title page. The title page will show users a mini description about your business in Google search result. So, a web page title will entice the visitor to click and visit your sites. For the purpose of SEO, your website title page must have targeted keywords included.

4. META Tag Description

Although Meta tag description will not help your sites rank better in search engine, this description will provide a better understanding of whether or not your site is relevant and worth visiting when found through Google search engine. The Meta tag will appear just below the title page on search results, so really, title page and Meta tag compliments each other. The length of this description should be limited to about 150 to 200 words.

5. Keyword Tag Lists

The keyword tags within the html have little value to SEO purposes. However, it does not hurt to list your targeted keyword within the tag. Limit your keywords to about 8 or 10.

6. Within the Website Contents

Make use of <title>, <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, bold tags into your content pages. This will ensure that when search engine crawls your site, it leaves with a better understanding of your website.

7. Write! Write! Write

This is the most significant elements in optimizing your website. Your small business website contents need to be updated often. It is simple; Google loves dynamic websites. A website that changes often will have higher importance level (depends on your content's relevancy of course!) within Google search engine. This then helps your site ranks better.