One thing I felt personally weak on was the fine art of search engine optimization (SEO) so I set about finding out more.
I used one of my friend’s websites which I had designed as a testing ground to see how high I could get it in Google for a start off.
We chose a phrase he wanting results for and in 2 weeks of using the guide below he is top in Google UK.
This is what I found out. (PS He is not a painter or Decorator)
Keywording.
Think of your main search phrase you would like results for i.e. "painter and decorator in Yorkshire" and try this phrase in Google to find out what competition you are up against if the competition is massive try "painter & decorator in Leeds" this narrows down your area (For non UK readers Leeds is a city in Yorkshire UK)
Once you are happy with a good phrase with little competition we need to look at how to get that keyword into your website/blog.You can also check with sites like this
http://7search.com/scripts/searchterms/top_paying.asp?n=100
And you will see that certain keywords command lots of money i.e. soma online, carisoprodol etc (whatever these are ??) best to avoid these unless this is your sites purpose.
Using keywords like these when your site has nothing to do with them can have an adverse effect.
Anyway.
Lets base this guide on generating search hits for "painter & decorator in Leeds” and that our company is called Mr. Painter
Place keywords in 5 areas of your site.
1. Meta Tag Keywords
2. Meta Tag Description
3. Meta Tag Page Title
4. The Alt Tag in Images
5. The Body Of The Page
For this example the main keywords would be painter, decorator, leeds and you must try to keep these together in the 4 areas mentioned above so.
Meta Tag Keywords
Place meta-tags between the tags
Example:
You can add more keywords but make sure your main 3 keywords are first I wouldn’t do more than 15
Meta Tag Description
Place meta-tags between the tags
Again not too long and keep your 3 main keywords as close together as possible
Meta Tag Page Title
Place meta-tags between the tags
Again not too long and keep your 3 main keywords as close together as possible
Summary Of Meta Tag Section
We should have your 3 main keywords mentioned 3 time each by now and have kept them as close together as possible
Other meta tags can be used but these are the 3 main standard ones
A handy Meta Tag Generator can be found here
http://www.htmlbasix.com/meta.shtml
And once you have you meta tags in place you can check them here
http://www.widexl.com/remote/search-engines/metatag-analyzer.html
The Alt Tag In Images
Most web design packages like Frontpage etc will let you place an Alternative Tag (Alt Tag) when you insert pictures
So again place you keywords on any pictures you insert especially on your index page
So if you choose to insert a picture of yourself then use the Alt Tag “Mr. Painter – Leeds West Yorkshire”
This will get 2 of your 3 main keywords mentioned again with the addition of the word Yorkshire which would not hurt.
In Blogger pages you have to manually add the alt tag in your post by doing the following.
Insert picture into your post
Type your post but before posting flip to the HTML view and look for the following line.
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpZAGanqH_4nWprxBEibzcTi-6TPkRGSijV-CpT2uf7ed27GVzGM1fglDyO74fy1ujyOfW7Z-eQWQZPLvCnNPLS56KowixKta6Of2_IUNIatVV6nKUnYujz46NnP3vcUPiNc2MFRczeE8/s320/mrpainter.jpgIt will not be exact but will be very similar
then add the following after it
alt="Painter and Decorator Services - Leeds" title=" Painter and Decorator Services - Leeds "
It should then look like this
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpZAGanqH_4nWprxBEibzcTi-6TPkRGSijV-CpT2uf7ed27GVzGM1fglDyO74fy1ujyOfW7Z-eQWQZPLvCnNPLS56KowixKta6Of2_IUNIatVV6nKUnYujz46NnP3vcUPiNc2MFRczeE8/s320/mrpainter.jpg alt="Painter and Decorator Services - Leeds" title=" Painter and Decorator Services - Leeds "
6. Post it and try to hover over the picture to see if it works
Try to vary your tags for every picture, mentioning the keywords to many times can have an adverse effect as some search engines see this as keyword spamming and will not index your site.
The Body Of The Page or Post
Goes without saying really when you type your content for your web page that will no doubt go on about how long you have been a painter who your top clients are any awards certificates etc.
Try to include your top keywords again close together in sentences in variouse locations it would also pay to try and include you other keywords you mentioned in you keywords meta tag
Again try not to mention your top keywords to many times thorough out I found mentioning your top keywords 7 or 8 time in total did the job for me with my friends site
If you would like to see your results as to how many keywords you have and how many times they are mentioned try these 2 sites
http://www.widexl.com/remote/search-engines/metatag-analyzer.html
http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php
Once your site is set and you are happy the get it submitted to some search engines i.e.
http://www.google.com/addurl/
http://www.submitexpress.com/submit.html
Give it a few weeks for your hard earned work to show itself after you have submitted your site
Backlinks
It would also be wise at this stage to mention another great way to increase traffic and that is by using Back Links.
Back links are basically links to your site from somebody else’s but it pays to get them right.
Don’t just tell you friend to put a link i.e.
http://www.nositeinparticular.cam
But to use an anchor in the link i.e.
Make the link say Painter & Decorator Leeds and have this phrase link to your site.
There are many sites on the web that offer back link services and usually require you to put a link to them on yours and visa versa. (try searching on Google)
I do hope you get the results you need and remember this guide is just the start of making sure your site gets some attention.
