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SEO Redux - Keywords

Keywords and phrases are one of the major factors if not THE major factor in obtaining a good site ranking. Today I discuss the findings of two 2007 studies by Sistrix and SEOmoz.org that highlight keyword usage in your site. Read on for four tips and reminders on keyword usage ...

  1. Keywords in the Title Tag. Number one factor in page ranking is the title tag. Google pays particular attention to the keywords used in the Title tag. The title tag appears at the top of your browser window. The title tag is generated by Joomla from the article title. Again you should be diligent about including your keywords in article titles. I often use an SEO package like SH404SEF or JoomSEF which provide the ability for you to edit the title tag, and meta tags, overiding the default Joomla tag. Ensure it is no longer than 70 characters long and insert your main keyword at the beginning of the Title tag for maximum effect.

  2. Keyword Use in Article Body. Ensure your targeted keywords appear frequently in your quality articles. Specifically in the first and last paragraphs according to a German study by Sistrix. Also ensure your keywords are included in sub-heads (H2 through H6) and use strong or bold tags and include keywords in the filenames of images you use in the article and the alt tags of the images.

  3. Anchor Text. You will need inbound links from quality related sites to help improve your site's ranking and therefore improve your position in internet searches. Ensure that inbound links are linked to your keywords appropriately styled bold or emphasis. There is no easy way to do this other than network and negotiate those links. Treat offers to link to your site or provide links to your site for money with suspicion. You might find your site blacked by google.

  4. Keywords in URL. Having a clean URL with your keywords does not have a positive affect on your ranking but having URL's with few parameters does. Parameters are strings in the URL like "?task=view." We usually turn on Joomla SEF or use a SEF package like SH404SEF to rewrite the URL usually reflecting the article title and therefore removing parameters. 

  5. SEO tips for optimizing your Meta Tags. Meta tags are not magic bullets for search engine ranking, but they are far from being dead.  Meta tags with informative, well-written descriptions and targeted keywords should be an integral part of your promotional strategy.

    • Description tag: This is the second most important meta tag because it is displayed in the SERP’s, and should contain keywords reflected in the Title tag, and an accurate summary of what the page topic is about. Do not use more than 155 characters in the Meta description tag.
    • Keywords tag: This is the least important Meta tag as Google doesn’t pay much attention to it due to the prevalence of keyword spam. A general rule is to contain keywords that are present in the page content, with no more than 10 keywords recommended.

 

Do not hesitate to contact me for answers to your questions about keywords.

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