Real writers will finally receive the recognition of proper ranking on the basis of craft, skill and technological know-how.
Editor’s note: Here are some common SEO (search engine optimization) terms explained in plain English:
Search engine optimization
- Optimizing a Web site mainly involves editing its content and code to increase its relevance to specific keywords, thus increases its ranking in search engine results.
Web crawler
- A Web crawler, or “bot,” is mainly used to create copies of Web pages for processing by a search engine that will index the pages to provide faster search results.
Meta tags
Meta tags are information inserted into the “header” area of Web pages. Other than the “title” tag, information in the header is not seen when viewing a Web page in a browser. Instead, meta information in this area is used to communicate information with which a human visitor may not be concerned. For example, the text in the title tag is used by Web crawlers to rank your site in search engine results.
By Timothy Kusherets
There is new awakening with today’s search engines. As little as two years ago, sites were created and maintained using meta tags to steer Web crawlers to their sites, thus increasing search ranking and ultimately steering traffic to sites with little to no real substance. All of that is coming to an end. How do we know this? Search engines constantly peruse sites looking for tags that match tangible material found on those respective sites. Web sites that have filler tags and not substantive material receive very low placement in search engine results.
Substance of writing skill will win out over flashy words from here on out. It’s true that Web sites must be aesthetically pleasing, but they must first and foremost provide a tangible service of articles, instruction, photography, videos and services. These Web site elements are easily found within the source code, not visible to your site’s visitors. Web crawlers scour the code and then go through every page of the site to match the material to the code; if the site information and key phrases match, webmasters can expect a better ranking. Sites that don’t match their code to the site material receive a low ranking and are lost in the sea of other sites that do the same thing.
This might not sound good to some, but to real writers this is a boon long coming.
The best way to optimize your site for search engines is to peruse your site description and key phrases. List them in chronological importance, not alphabetical. This makes it easier for bots to correlate them to the material on the site. The easier it is for them, the faster ranks are placed.
Sometimes the list of key words and phrases is daunting, but don’t be dissuaded. If your material on the site is substantial, let all the search engine bots know it. Initially, after adding or deleting material from the source code, expect searches to happen 24/7, and that’s a good thing. The more your site is scrutinized, the better. It will be recognized as a legitimate source of information and the rewards are obvious.
You can increase searches by submitting your site search engines. Yahoo, Google, Bing, AlatVista, MSN, and AOL are the places to start.
This new method of search engine optimization is solely meant to make surfing the Web easier. It streamlines search efforts, makes it fun and puts people at ease when visiting those sites they truly meant to find. It’s the way it should be.◊
Here I’ve stopped to take a daytime shot of Aurora Borealis. The unusual nature of it being so easy to see during daylight hours makes it notable. When uploading images like this you can increase traffic by appropriately naming the JPEG with the article’s title or the theme (i.e. “Auroraborealis_Kusherets”). This will increase traffic by matching words and phrases found in your source code. So long as the image is on the site, named appropriately, and kept up-to-date, search engines can find your site through the photo, translating into more traffic.
Do you have a blog but not a clue about HTML? Don’t fret! Here are tips on optimizing Blogger and WordPress blogs.
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