Keyword Optimization Guidelines | Speed Up Your Site[c] Web Site Optimization

The following guidelines will help you optimize all of these factors, except inbound links. Maximizing the effects of this factor requires a lot of hard work and time spent gathering external links to your site. Here's a summary of the search engine optimization process, which I expand on in the sections that follow:

Determine your keyword phrases.
Sort by popularity.
Refine and combine keyword phrases.
Sort by popularity again (repeat steps 2 and 3 as needed).
Write a title using your top two to three phrases.
Write a descriptionmeta tag.
Write a keywordsmeta tag.
Add keywords into key tags and attributes, and mix well.
Submit to search engines.
Watch the hits roll in.

Step 1: Determine Your Keyword Phrases

The first and most important step is to determine your most important keywords. Ask yourself which keyphrases you want folks to use when finding your site. Include terms that people not familiar with your products and services will use. If you don't know what an emulsion is, you'll never look for it. Use film or pictures instead. Be careful to avoid general terms like car or travel because they are overused on the Internet. Instead, use more specific keyword phrases that closely match your offerings. Then determine whether people actually use these terms when looking for your site.

Brainstorm Keyphrases

Brainstorm a list of the top 10 terms that describe your site. Find similar terms with www.Thesaurus.com and www.WordTracker.com . List these terms by their relative importance. Using two or more words as a keyword phrase is best. Single keywords are much more common and are harder to target effectively than multi-word phrases, unless they are unique, such as DARPA or DHTML.

Use WordTracker's KEI to find the terms most likely to be targeted successfully. Choose terms with higher KEI values. These are popular phrases with fewer competing sites. To illustrate the process, I'll show you how I optimized the keywords for the companion web site for this book, www.WebSiteOptimization.com. Keyphrase List 15.1 is my initial stab at our top 10 keyphrases.

Table 15.1. **Keyphrase List** Initial Top 10 Terms for WebSiteOptimization.com
web site optimization
web page optimization
html optimization
graphics optimization
web speed
performance tuning
java script optimization ^[*]
fast web sites
download time
improved usability

^[*] Note that I split the term JavaScript into two words after discovering the phrase java script is more popular. Note also that I'm using all lowercase phrases. This fits the habits of most users who usually don't capitalize words when searching. Most search engines are pretty insensitive when it comes to capitalization.

Step 2: Sort by Popularity

Next , use a search voyeur service like Overture.com's Search Term Suggestion Tool (formerly Goto.com) or WordTracker to find which of these terms are the most popular and most likely to succeed (http://inventory. overture .com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/). Figure 15.1 shows an example.

Figure 15.1. Overture.com's search term suggestion tool.

Here's our list of potential keyword phrases, sorted by popularity:

Table 15.2. **Keyphrase List** Sorted by Popularity
Number of Hits	Keyphrase
8,995	web site optimization
574	web page optimization
431	fast web site(s)
391	performance tuning
348	web speed
126	graphic(s) optimization
198	download time
39	html optimization
	improved usability
	java script optimization

NOTE: Commercial services like WordTracker (http://www.WordTracker.com) can help you brainstorm and refine keyphrases and sort by popularity and KEI. For more search voyeur services, see the list at Search Engine Watch (http://www.searchenginewatch.com/facts/searches.html).

This list tells you how often people searched for each term at Overture.comin the last month. As you can see, we have some work to do. A couple of the terms had no hits in the past month, and some terms are relatively popular. There is indeed a difference between the keywords we think people will use, and those they actually use. Let's brainstorm keyphrases again and see if we can improve our results:

Table 15.3. **Keyphrase List** Improved by Popularity
Number of Hits	Keyphrase
11,208	internet speed
8,995	web site optimization
1,714	fast internet
574	web page optimization
431	fast(er) web site(s)
414	quick web page
391	performance tuning
348	web speed
126	graphic(s) optimization
68	java script performance
39	html optimization

This is much better, though some terms are still not as specific as they should be. There also are some near duplicates that we can discard. That's where techniques like word stemming and proximity grouping come in.

Word Stemming

Most search engines parse words for their roots, removing all prefixes and suffixes. By using longer words and plurals, you'll get more matches with fewer keywords. For example, use " graphics optimization," not " graphic optimization." Users searching on the word graphic will still get a hit if you use the plural, graphics.

Eliminate near duplicates and include or extend keywords to replace them. Don't use "stop words" like a, and, it, of, that, the, and too because they are filtered out by the search engines anyway. Also avoid "filter" words like web that are so popular they are routinely eliminated from non-quoted queries.

Proximity Grouping

Search engines rank web page relevance in part by keyword proximity; that is, by how close terms are to each other. You can use this creatively by combining similar terms into one longer phrase. If you tack keywords onto either end of popular phrases, you can combine multiple phrases into one. For example:

11,208internet speed

2,720faster internet

1,002speed boost

These can all be combined into:

14930 ^{[ ]} (faster) internet speed (boost)

^{[ ]} means the total phrase value. Parentheses denote phrase combinations.

By using proximity grouping, you can get more phrase matches with fewer words.

Step 3: Refine Keyword Phrases

Now brainstorm on other relevant phrases for your site. Don't hold back.

Write down every keyword you can think of that could be used in searching for your site. Look at the meta tags of your competitors to see which terms they are using. Cross check your search logs to see what your users are actually searching for. Analyze your referrer logs to see which search phrases are bringing in search engine traffic. Break out that thesaurus (or use www.Thesaurus.com ) to find similar words. Reuse online brainstorming services like WordTracker.com to refine keyword phrases. Then refine your list of terms with those on other search engines that display related searches, like AltaVista and HotBot, and cross check for related terms at Yahoo!.

Don't worry if your list gets too long. The popularity filter will bubble the better terms to the top. Go through your list again, and remove any terms that don't apply to your site or that you feel won't fare well with existing sites. Here's my updated list:

Table 15.4. **Keyphrase List** Brainstorming Other Possible Keywords
(optimizing) animated gif(s)
web page design
crazy fast web sites
advanced html
hyperspeed web pages
hyperspeed hypertext
(fast) internet speed
warp speed connections
web site ranking
fast web site
fast flow state
web site search engine optimization
speed boost
optimized keywords
web page optimization
html compression
bandwidth
increased usability
accelerate the web
faster downloads
meta tag optimization
html optimization
jpeg compression
java obfuscation and optimization
javascript obfuscation and optimization
java script archive
web site performance
server performance tuning

Step 4: Sort by Popularity Again

As you can see, this is an iterative process. You'll find that certain terms will appear wildly popular for searches; for example, computer, software, free, and web design. Avoid the temptation to use those phrases. Use only the terms that accurately describe your site and are popular, but not too popular. Any terms with ratings over 100,000 hits are probably too popular and not worth pursuing. Also, reuse WordTracker's KEI to find terms most likely to be targeted effectively. The higher KEI, the better (over 400 is " excellent "). For each keyphrase, WordTracker will let you know potential referral traffic and the number of competing web pages for each search engine. You may go through the sort and refine steps 2 and 3 a few times until you are happy with your list.

Here's my refined list of keyphrases, sorted by popularity:

Table 15.5. **Keyphrase List** Refined Master List Sorted by Popularity
Number of Hits	Keyphrase
92,663	web site design
84,390 ^{[ ]}	(optimizing) animated gif(s)
39,303	web page design
34,438	bandwidth
14,415	web site development
11,208	internet speed
9,990	web site ranking
9,198	web site search engine optimization
8,995	web site optimization
8,253	bandwidth speed test
7,739	performance appraisal
7,351	web accelerator
3,946	faster downloads
2,926	improve search engine ranking
2,720	faster internet
1,725	speed up internet
1,714	fast internet
1,346	fast web
1,192	fast download
1,002	speed boost
980	advanced html
904	web usability
873	fast browser
858	web site load testing
776	compression software
711	image compression
706	increase web site ranking
638	optimization services
583	increase internet speed
574	web page optimization
564	optimize keyword
505	meta tag optimization
488	web optimization
483	keyword optimization
479	java script archive
466	jpeg compression
441	jpeg optimizer
431	fast web site
414	quick web page
401	web site optimization services
391	pFerformance tuning
357	web site performance
348	web speed
337	file size
320	java script validation
319	internet optimization
268	maximum performance
263	optimized meta tag
254	web site usability
745	lzw compression algorithm
277	gif optimizer
242	url optimization
214	slow response
210	jpeg compressor
200	zip compression
196	optimize web site
187	jpeg compression
179	performance optimization
164	web server performance
160	lossless compression
145	lossy compression
127	gif compression
126	graphic(s) optimization
106	professional web page optimization
99	web site optimization consultant
92	high speed web site
77	html compression
62	html compress
52	optimized web site design
43	compress html
39	html optimization
28	shrink web page size

^{[ ]} denotes terms and scores that were combined.

Now you have your master list. Let's combine and refine these terms strategically, using the proximity technique you learned earlier and weed out the terms that don't apply to your site. The crossed-out terms in Keyphrase List 15.6 have been discarded for more popular and relevant terms.

Table 15.6. **Keyphrase List** Combine and Refine
Number of Hits	Keyphrase
84,390 ^{[ ]}	(optimizing) animated gif(s)
42,691 ^{[ ]}	bandwidth (speed test)
14,930 ^{[ ]}	(faster) internet speed (boost)
10,034 ^{[ ]}	web site optimization (services)
9,990	web site ranking
9,198	web site search engine optimization
8,253	bandwidth speed test
7,739	performance appraisal
7,351	web accelerator
1,777 ^{[ ]}	fast web site(s)
1,714	fast internet
1,002	speed boost
980	advanced html
904 ^{[ ]}	(improved) web usability
853 ^{[ ]}	(html) compression software
748 ^{[ ]}	web site performance (tuning)
745	lzw compression algorithm
711 ^{[ ]}	(jpeg gif lzw) image compression
638	optimization services
574	web page optimization
564	optimize keyword(s)
505	meta tag optimization
488	web optimization
483	keyword optimization
479	java script archive
466	jpeg compression
441	jpeg optimizer
414	quick web page
401	web site optimization services
391	performance tuning
383 ^{[ ]}	(page) file size
348	web speed
319	internet optimization
277	gif optimizer
254	web site usability
242	url optimization
210	jpeg compressor
196	optimize(d) web site
187	jpeg compression
179	performance optimization
164	web server performance
160	lossless compression
145	lossy compression
139 ^{[ ]}	html compress(ion)
127	gif compression
126	graphic(s) optimization
106	professional web page optimization
99	web site optimization consultant
92	high speed web site
62	html compress
68	java script performance
52	optimized web site design
43	compress html
39	html optimization
28	shrink web page size

^{[ ]} denotes terms and scores that were combined.

You should now have a list of approximately 20 to 50 prime keyword phrases that describe your site, sorted by popularity. You'll use these keywords to craft your key HTML tags. If you've really planned ahead, you can use them to choose your domain name and URLs, because search engines place a high value on keywords in these locations.

Start with Your Home Page

The home page of your site is the most important page search engines index. You need to ensure that your home page has a keyword-rich URL (if possible), title tag, meta tags, headers, img tag alt attributes, filenames, links and link text, and other information that makes effective use of your key terms.

Step 5: Write a title Using the Top Two to Three Phrases

Other than your domain name, the title tag is the most important item that search engines index. Title tags should use your top two or three terms and total between 7 to 15 words, ideally 10 words or less. Search engines and directories generally index the entire title but display only 55 to 90 characters of your title, with most averaging 70 to 80 characters in length. Put your top keyphrases first. Don't use "Home Page" or "Welcome to our Company.com." For example:

 <title>WebSiteOptimization.com - speed up your site with web site optimization and  optimized html</title>

Note that our top term is also our domain name. This optimum placement of keywords is not by coincidence . Using your top term as part of your domain name is the best way to ensure that you'll be found on the Internet. I also repeat my top term later on, and include the book title.

Due to the overuse of the keywordsmeta tag, most search engines place lower importance on its contents. Therefore, it's important to spend time crafting a good title tag that concisely conveys the message of your site and top keyword phrases. And, if that's not enough, you also need to make your site sound irresistible. Search engines use the title tag to create a link to your site in their results list, so you need to make your title text appealing. Because your title tag carries a lot of weight, you need to spend some time on it to make it count. So instead of this meaningless title :

 <title>Welcome to our company!</title>

Do this:

 <title>Sprockets, gears, and gizmos - Sprockets.com gets you in gear</title>

Step 6: Write a description meta Tag

Next, you need to craft a succinct description of your site, reiterating your most important keyword phrases. Don't just repeat your title tag, because search engines often use the description tag to annotate your link. The same title copy would yield the same sentence twice! The description should be no more than 25 words (search engine display limits range from 150 to 200 characters and index from 200 to 250 characters). Make this description an attractive summary of your content without marketing hype. Again, weave in the keyphrases by which you want to be known. For example:

 <meta name = "description" content = "Web site optimization speeds up web page downloads  and increases website rankings. Optimizing web pages increases website speed and  decreases bailout rates, using advanced html, image, javascript and java optimization and  compression.">

This paragraph has 32 words, which is close enough to the 25-word limit. Descriptions typically are used by search engines on results pages and in some directory listings. Make sure that your most important descriptive text is in the first 25 words (or 150 to 200 characters) because some search engines may cut off your description at this point.

Step 7: Write a keywords meta Tag

The keywordsmeta tag contains keyword phrases that describe topics covered within the page. Make sure that you include the top terms by which you want your site to be found, plus any key terms already within your page. The keywordsmeta tag should be 200 characters or less. Here is an example:

 <meta name = "keywords" content = "web site optimization services faster internet speed  boost bandwidth speed fast web site search engine optimization web page optimization  ranking advanced html compression http web site usability image compression quick web  page performance tuning">

Commas can be used to delineate phrases, and you can omit spaces after commas to save space. I prefer not to use commas and to carefully place important phrases next to each other for more proximity hits from search engine algorithms. Be careful, however, because omitting commas can yield new combinations with unexpected meanings. You can add commas as needed to clear up any ambiguities .

Note also that we include terms here from our home page, which we analyzed using a word frequency summarization tool in our favorite text editor. If you include terms that appear within your page, you can raise your relevancy in search engines by "magnifying" these terms. Do not repeat the same term more than three times.

Search engines now emphasize title tags over the keywordsmeta tag, so you can save some bytes by shortening the keywords tag. For household names like Yahoo! or AOL, you can even omit these meta tags altogether or use conditional meta tags, which are discussed in Chapter 17, "Server-Side Techniques."

Step 8: Add Keywords into Key Tags and Attributes, and Mix Well

Make sure that your top keyphrases are well represented throughout your page. Liberally, but not too liberally, add your top phrases within your body text, especially in h1 s, the first 25 words, link text, URLs, and alt attributes. This should occur naturally in relevant pages. Search engines generally know every trick in the book and can penalize or banish sites for keyword " spamming " techniques (or "spamdexing"). Avoid using artificial techniques like double title tags, keyword-rich comments, and alt attributes stuffed with keywords.

Keyword Density

Shorter pages generally rank higher than longer pages because with fewer total words per page, the percentage of relevant keywords increases. However, search engines may flag extremely short pages because they look for realistic pages based on average page lengths. Optimal page length varies from around 400 to 700 words, according to WebPosition Gold's reporter. So don't stuff in too many keywords, or search engines may flag your page. Depending on which search engine you target, the keyword density (keywords/ visible word ratio) should be lower than 3 to 10 percent or you'll risk banishment. Search engine designers favor naturally occurring patterns in web pages rather than artificial ones.

Keyword Placement Priority

Search engines vary in the way they calculate relevance, but they all place more importance on the following factors:

Domain Keywords in domain
title Keywords in title
h1 to h6 Keywords in headline elements
HTML Keywords in the first 2KB to 3KB of your page
meta tags Keywords in description and keywordsmeta tags
Links Keywords in anchor URLs, text, and title attribute
alt attribute values

Some of the newer search engines like Google.com and Teoma.com also take external and internal links into account. Google's PageRank algorithm is seemingly immune to influence and "keyword spam." Instead, it relies in part on the inbound links to your site.

But all links are not created equal. Links are relevant only if the theme of the linking site matches yours. A link from an off-topic site carries little weight compared to a link from a similar site. Strive to get targeted links from sites like yours.

In my experience, there is no substitute for longevity on the web. The older your site, the more external links you'll generally have ( assuming that you have some up-to-date content worth linking to). It's important to get your site out there and publicized as soon as it's ready.

Step 9: Submit to Search Engines

Once you're happy with your new and improved keywords and have placed them strategically throughout your pages, it's time to submit. The best way to submit your pages to search engines and directories is to do it by hand. Automated services can help, but would you trust your listing in AltaVista or Yahoo! to some automated spider?

Make sure that you check out the search engine's help pages first, before you submit. Each has different rules and guidelines with which your site must comply . Some search engines require only that you submit your top-level URL, while others require more information.

Don't over submit! If a page is already listed, don't submit it again. Check whether the page has been indexed using the link: or url: syntax (see the search engine's help page for specifics).

For details on which sites to submit to and other search engine topics, I recommend Danny Sullivan's SearchEngineWatch.com (http://www.searchenginewatch.com) and Fredrick Marckini's iProspect.com (http://www.iProspect.com).

Step 10: Watch the Hits Roll In

Anywhere from a few minutes to weeks later, you'll start to see referral traffic from the search engines that have added your site to their databases. By the time you read this, Google will probably have overtaken Yahoo! for search referral traffic. However, getting a high listing in Google doesn't happen overnight. Google's PageRank algorithm weighs external links from popular sites heavily when ranking web site relevance. So before you submit to Google, be sure you first have some links to your sitethe more the better. I have found that there is no substitute for one-to-one networking and time.

SEO should be followed up every month. Check your server logs to see what people and spiders are doing on your site. Adjust the site accordingly . Perhaps introduce extra keywords, or expand popular topic areas, or create new content in topics users are searching for. Check the positioning of your pages in all major search engines and any specialized directories and search engines in your topic area. Webposition Gold ( www.WebPosition.com ) is a valuable tool for monitoring your progress.