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Beginners Guide to Search Engine Optimization

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the how-to-until-search-engines-change-next-week dept.

isharq writes to tell us that SEOmoz has an interesting writeup regarding search engine optimization. The article has quite a bit of info and is geared so that even the inexperienced used can learn the basics of search engine optimization. From the article: "It is our goal to improve your ability to drive search traffic to your site and debunk major myths about SEO. We share this knowledge to help businesses, government, educational and non-profit organizations benefit from being listed in the major search engines."

2 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. SEO by boingyzain · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If you're interested in Search Engine Optimization, the tool can be used like the Overture Keyword Selector Tool. Similar results are obtained with both, which is interesting all in itself. A guy built an interface similar to Overture to use with Google Suggest.

    Other than that I can't think of a real use... I usually know what I want to search for on Google. It could help optimize queries I guess (see the "number" of results before hitting submit, but not the quality...)

    Happy Holidays to all Slashdotters, by the way :)

  2. Re:Nevermind the META tags! by l00k · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Granted, for a number of years meta keywords have been only vaguely relevant for gaining a good search engine ranking. They're only one thing amongst many that are necessary to do in order to gain the best ranking possible, and definately down the list in terms of the most effective. Anyone reading through the linked article, or already familiar with search engine optimisation methods, will have come to the conclusion that ultimately (besides the notorious google-bomb method) the best way to have your site rank highly is to make an important and worthy site! So sophisticated are the algorithms used to judge search rankings.

    That's not to say keywords aren't important, it's just where they're placed that will make the difference. Try placing keywords in the 'alt' text of images, in links between pages, in-the-URLs.html of your site. Even then, I've told some customers that their expectation of getting their site shelved in 1st place in Google are completely unrealistic unless they are indeed something of an authority on the subject searched for. And this is the way it should be! Being someone who uses Google everyday to find content, I'm glad optimisation has its limits.