Google SEO Best Practices

The Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide

In this article, I'll cover the main points of Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide. This valuable ten-point checklist explains the most important steps you can take to "improve your site's interaction with both users and search engines."

Please download the guide and keep it handy. Refer to the guide as you read this article. As you read through the guide, keep in mind your website should be appealing to both Googlebot and the human users who visit your site.

Before we address the steps individually, we'll follow Google's format by explaining the difference between paid (or sponsored) links and Google's "organic" search results. On any Google search results page, you are likely to see paid search results in addition to those returned by the search engine. Naturally your goal is to rank higher in the organic (non-paid) search results. Your page rank is an indication of your website's popularity. Also, links from organic search results are preferable because they are free.

The higher your appearance in the search engine results pages (SERPs), the more visitor traffic you can expect from the search engines. Since a large part of page rank is based on inbound links to your website, search engine traffic can be compared to positive word-of-mouth advertising.

The Title Tag

The Title tag is a bit of HTML code that goes within your webpage. The Title tag tells Google the name of your page, which is displayed in the Title Bar of your browser window. Google recommends you use your business name, followed by three areas of focus, for your Title tag. (More on this later.)

Google recommends that you use unique titles for each page. Since each page title is unique, it represents your best opportunity to describe the page. Ideally, your "three main focus areas" should consist of keywords you expect visitors to follow in searching for your site.

Use of a unique title tag allows you to more specifically describe your webpage. In Google's search results page, the title appears directly above your short "meta-description." To get an example of this, go on Google and see how your site is actually listed.

Always use the title tag to (1) remind Google of your business name, and (2) provide Google with several relevant keywords describing your site. Example:

Foothill Web Design - Business Web Design, SEO and eMarketing

The Description Meta Tag

The description meta tag is similar to the page title tag. It also goes in the document's head section. While the title tag is a short phrase, the description tag may contain one or two short sentences describing your site or business. Try to keep your description under 20 words, or else it may get truncated (cut off) by the search engine.

As with the title tag, Google recommends a unique description for each page. This is an important consideration, because by default Joomla provides the same page title and description for every page (see Global Configuration>>Site>>Metadata Settings).

Add a description to every article you create in Joomla. The description field is located on the Article Edit page, under Metadata Information.

Improved URL Structure

URL structure refers both to the logical layout of your website, and the file/directory names themselves. Google likes descriptive web addresses such as http://www.designshowroom.com/articles/french-design.htm. Pay close attention to your menu layout, article title and alias. (The article alias is used to generate the folder name.)

Pay attention to the menu item, article title and alias. Is your menu structure easy to understand? Are your page titles unique and do they contain relevant keywords?

Although Joomla is by nature a dynamically generated website, it has its own "search engine friendly" settings that you can access from the Global Configuration>>Site>>SEO Settings area. These settings produce pretty URLs of the kind Google likes.

I recommend you don't change the global configuration settings unless you know what you're doing. In general, you will need mod_rewrite enabled in order to use SEF, and you will also need a properly configured .htaccess file. If this is confusing, consult your webmaster or just leave the current settings. For a more in-depth discussion, refer to the Google SEO Starter Guide.

Make Your Site Easy To Navigate

As your site grows, you'll discover natural groups of articles, categories and sections. Understand the logical arrangement of files and paths on your website. I recommend use of XMap for Joomla, which automatically generates a Google Sitemap each time you add a a page to your site. (Check your Components menu to see if XMap is already installed on your Joomla site.)

It's easy to grow your Joomla site, simply by adding more (sub-)menus with links to articles. The art of Joomla CMS is its ability to create a taxonomy of data. A taxonomy is a natural system of classification. Understanding the relationship between files or articles is essential to creating a logical navigation system.

Google's SEO Starter Guide includes other helpful hints, like use of "breadcrumbs" and custom 404 pages.

Offer Quality Content

This common-sense approach to SEO is Google's most essential recommendation.

"Creating compelling and useful content will likely influence your website more than any of the other factors.... Organic or word-of-mouth buzz is what helps build your site's reputation with both users and Google, and it rarely comes without quality content."

What is "compelling and useful content?" One accepted approach is to repeat select or targeted keywords at least several times per page. This helps Google understand your page's content. [But can you train it to roll over? --Ed.] Naturally, you also want to make each page interesting for users. Add more than just a photo and caption. Include plenty of text-based information for both Google and your users. The Starter Guide has many tips for improving content.

I often use a practical approach to web design. What is the website supposed to accomplish? In the case of an ecommerce website, you sell goods or services directly over the Web. This is possible using secure payment gateways{footnote}See Authorize.net.{/footnote} or online payment services like Paypal. Keep the process as simple as possible for your customers to find, select and pay for items.

Some common types of website business models include:

1. Ecommerce: You sell goods or services directly over the Web.
2. Brochure: Displays information about your business and company.
3. Informational: Generates profits through advertising revenue.
4. Promotional: Acquaints the user with your product.

Write Better Anchor Text

Anchor text refers to the text within an anchor link. This is the highlighted text the user clicks to jump to another spot. Keep it short (three or four words max), simple and descriptive. Plan your link and use natural keywords within your anchor text. This benefits Google by providing hints wrt the linked webpage.

Use Heading Tags Appropriately

Use of header tags is a technique that is often overlooked. Especially since many WYSIWYG editors will substitute big and bold tags for proper headings. Continual use of WYSIWYG editors can lead to other code problems like empty tags. Proper headings (there are six heading levels, numbered one through six) help organize the content within a page.

As with most of Google's recommendations, these SEO techniques are mainly for the benefit of "robots" which analyze your page content. Remember that your customers are human beings, not robots. Search engine robots are not sophisticated enough to understand advanced marketing concepts.

Since Joomla uses heading levels one through three, you may wish to begin your article headings with level four. Reserve your use of headings to levels four, five and six if necessary. This preserves the visual flow of the page.

Optimize Your Images

Google strongly recommends use of descriptive filenames and "alt" attribute for image tags. Be sure to include a descriptive tag for your images. That helps Google to understand your image. Use the following HTML format:

Use letters, numbers and hyphens for filenames: ex., navajo-wigwam.jpg.

Use A robots.txt File

robots.txt is a special file you can place in your website's root (public_html) directory. robots.txt tells the search engines to ignore certain folders on your website. In other words, to exclude certain areas of your website from the search engines.

This can be useful in some situations, especially with dynamically generated site content such as Joomla's. For example, you probably wouldn't want Google displaying all your personal calendar files.

Be Aware Of rel="nofollow" For Links

rel="nofollow" is an attribute you can add to your hyperlinks. It tells Google that you are not associated with the target of the link. "Nofollow" links are sometimes used to prevent URL spamming. This can be a problem when users are allowed to post content to your website. See Google's SEO Starter Guide for a detailed explanation of "nofollow."

Effective Promotion

The subject of effective Internet marketing and promotion is very broad. Google recommends you use a blog to promote your website. You can also use "Web 2.0" applications such as RSS feeds and social networking sites to reach your customers. Other services, such as LinkedIn, are geared especially for business users.

Don't confuse SEO with page rank. On the Internet the standard rules of marketing apply. Keep in mind the Internet is largely uncharted territory for business.

One of the most important factors for your website is the number of inbound links. That is, the number of websites with pages that link to your website. To put it simply, the number of inbound links is an indicator of your website's popularity. Increased popularity leads to better search engine results, which (in theory) leads to more visitors and more sales.

Use Google's Free Tools

Google provides a number of free tools to help manage your business. These tools range from pay-per-click advertising to free website statistics. Below is a partial list:

• Google AdWords - pay per click advertising
• Google AdSense - place targeted Google ads on your website
• Google Analytics - Google's free website statistics program
• Google Checkout - Payment processing service
• Google Webmaster Tools - Tools and Analysis of your website's performance
• and many other free tools from Google ...