Natural SEO (Search
Engine Optimization)
by
John Dow
Natural SEO is simply providing content of value about the
subject matter to your visitor. There are ways to enhance the
information that allows the search engines to better understand
and therefore rank the information in regard to competing web
pages. But it always comes back to how well you present the
information.
Every web page has two audiences.
One is the person who may be searching for information on whatever
subject matter appears on the web page, the other is the search
engine (in the form of a spider software program) trying to
determine the subject of the web page and rank it according to
other similar content web pages.
The human side of the equation is
visual and involves everything from colors, graphics, music, to
layout. The search engine side is looking for specific information
to index under appropriate subject matter and rank according to
many different aspects of the content.
So the key is to understand that
you are serving up information to both entities and balance your
methods to provide the best case scenario for both. The visitors
don't see many of the items that the search engine spiders see,
but all information needs to be relevant to the main subject
matter regardless of audience.
The Natural SEO aspect comes into
play in that if you design the page properly for the visitor, the
search engines will also be able to read and discern the
information too. As an example, the title of the page or the
headline is important for both audiences. When you put the title
in bold type and different color, that brings attention from both
the visitor and the search engine spiders.
So a good strong and easy to
understand title or headline is important. In order to help the
visitor and the search engines understand the topic or subject
matter, sub heads may also be used. You can use the visual side
with size and color for the visitor, and designate HTML tags such
as H1 or H2 (tags are use by number to indicate importance) for
the search engines.
Focusing on important and relevant
terms of the subject matter in the main copy areas helps the
reader and the search engines to understand your message and
subject. Once again if you use font variations like italic or
bold, this draws attention to specifics.
Even the naming of the page (file
name like subject.htm), elements within the web page, such as
graphics and illustrations, should also have appropriate names
that coincide with the subject matter. There is an HTML tag called
"alt text" that will display if your mouse passes over
the graphic, photo, or illustration that can also have information
directly related to content and the item (like putting in the
machine name of the picture of the machine).
All of these Natural SEO methods
contribute to experience of the visitor and make it easy for the
search engine spider to better interpet the subject matter.
Presented in a natural way to better communicate the subject
matter to both sides of the equation.
Think of it as writing a Term
Paper, using a natural flow of information to inform and describe
your content. Although you don't need to be as formal as you might
be in a Term Paper, many of the elements used could be adapted to
a will thought out and written web page.
So when you apply the methods of
Natural SEO, the first version of any web page should be created
based on communicating the information and have a natural flow.
Using common visual and designated HTML tags to reinforce your
information is important. Once you are satisfied with the content
and organization you can go back in and edit for specific aspects.
There are
some standard meta tags (meta tags are in the HTML Head section)
that help you communicate with the search engine spiders, and
properly display your web page in the search engine results.
Here's an example of what a standard Head section will look like
to a search engine spider (this area is not visible to visitors):
<head>
<TITLE>Your Web Page Title</TITLE>
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="Keyword 1, Keyword 2,
etc">
<META NAME="description" CONTENT="This
is the description of the page.">
<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="ALL">
</head>
The
search engine spiders review the information to help them better
understand the different aspects of your web page. and compare to
other similar web pages. I won't get into a deep discussion here
about the importance or ongoing discussions of how relevant these
tags are to the search engines but suffice to say it's a good idea
to make sure you not only have them, but they represent accurate
information.
The examples listed above not only
help the search engines, two are also displayed when the search
engines list your web page in the
results. So when you come up under a specific search, here's how
they look on the page:
Your Web Page Title
This is the description of the page...
www.yourdomain.com/tags/your_web_page.htm - 33k -
Cached - Similar pages
There
are also more tags like the Robots tag above to tell the search
engines specific information. Tags like No Index, no follow can be
used for pages you don't want indexed or displayed in search
results. The Keywords tag is more for you to track keywords than
the search engines these days.
One of the best sources to learn
more about Meta Tags and HTML is the W3.org
website here: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/global.html.
They set the standards and give a pretty good explanation of all
HTML elements.
For
our purposes in Natural SEO, the title, description, keywords, alt
text, and file naming are the most applicable. The key is to
combine both the visitor and search engine attributes in
presenting your information in a clear and concise manner.
Make it as easy to understand as
possible for both audiences. Don't go overboard on either side of
the equation and keep it both interesting and informative. Stay on
subject and follow through with the proper HTML tags and
conventions. That's what Natural SEO is all about.
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