High in the Rankings

But gone are the days when you could optimize a site simply by submitting it to directories (which list Web sites by topic areas) or by using the right keywords in “metatags,” invisible information on Web pages which includes things like HTML coding. Google, for one, no longer indexes Web documents using metatag keywords, partly because of the increase in “spamdexing,” or using false or misleading keywords in metatags to boost a site’s search results.

Today, the most effective optimization techniques include inserting relevant keywords into the title portion of Web sites, improving keyword density (the percentage of times keywords appear on a site—though too much density can get you penalized with a demotion in search rankings or even an outright ban from a search engine), and sufficient use of keywords in “anchor text” links. Anchor text is the word or phrase that you click on that acts as a link from one page to another. Using specific anchor text for links can enhance optimization—”ergonomic office chair” rather than just “click here,” for instance.

How keywords are positioned on a site also is important. When they appear high up on a page, some search engines reason that the document is more likely to be on target with the topic.

Artropolis, a Minneapolis Web-design firm, used one such technique to boost Web site traffic at Patina Stores, a local retail chain. As part of its optimization strategy, the company suggested that Patina use more descriptive URL addresses (also called page titles), and many were reworked to reflect specific products. For example, the page for a product called the trapeze picture frame became www.patinastores.com/products/trapeze_photo_frame followed by the item number, a simple change that helped boost Patina’s search ranking under the term “trapeze photo frame” to the number four spot on Google, says A. J. Meyer, president and CEO of Artropolis.

Frequently updating site content can improve your search rankings as well. Search engines pay attention to how often a site is updated. If there is new, relevant content, the odds increase that you’ll rank a bit better in their databases. To facilitate regular content freshening, Artropolis builds “content-management engines” for clients that make it easy for non-technical staff to update sites weekly with press releases, case studies, photos, and other content.

Optimization also requires striking the right balance between the use of graphics and text on your Web site. While creating aesthetically pleasing, logically organized, and easily navigated sites is important to the user experience, marketing experts say it shouldn’t be done at the expense of optimizing the site for search results.

Meyer says many companies overload homepages with graphics, hide content within Flash files, or bury page links within images, mistakenly believing that search-engine spiders can detect that keyword text. “Text attached to images isn’t optimized for searches, because search engines often can’t read or index it,” he says.