Thursday, 20 November 2014

OUGD504 // Studio Brief 03: Study Task 09

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or page in a search engine's organic (un-paid) search result.
The primary results that show up are what the search engine finds most relevant to the user

Google SEO starter guide - http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en//webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

Page titles

  • Using the <title> tag lets users and search engines know what the page topic is. (placed within the <head> tag.
  • These words will end up in the first line of the results.
  • Create unique titles for each page to make each distinct from the others on the website.
  • keep titles short as Google has a limit to how many words it uses.
Description
  • A page's description 'meta tag' will gives search engines a summary of what it is about.
  • Placed within the <head> tag.
  • search engines may use the meta tags as snippets in search results.
  • Accurately summarise and be unique.
URLs
  • Keep them simple and easy to understand.
  • Keep relevant... if they reflect the content, they are likely to be recognised by search engines, eg [modernart.com/100a/4348700.htm] vs [modernart.com/movement/modernism.htm]
  • Avoid generic page names (eg page1.html) and overusing key words (art-modern-art-modern.htm)
  • Prepare for visitors knocking off the end of a URL to find more general content. Often a 404 error will appear, but fixing this so that content is displayed will help keep visitors on the website.
Navigation
  • Not only helps visitors, but also search engines to understand which information is the most important.
  • Plan navigation based on the homepage/index; create a naturally flowing hierarchy.
Content
  • Write easy-to-read text.
  • Stay organised around the topic.
  • Create fresh, unique content.
  • Create content primarily for your users, not search engines.

Potential SEO changes to make to my website:
  • make sure enough key words are included in the about section.
  • make navigation even more easy to use.

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