Google uses a different method to rank websites than most search engines. This isn’t the days of inserting some META tags and be done with it. You must invest time to rank well in Google; however it is well worth it when your pages start to rank high in the most used search engine on the net.
GIGANTICALLY IMPORTANT TIP: Search engine optimization covers many areas, however one of the most important dynamics is anchor text of inbound or incoming links. Quite a few search engines put a significant amount of weight on the anchor text of your incoming links, Google being the biggest fan. This in and of itself can be determining factor as to weather or not you rank well for your keywords. If you get a large amount of incoming links from related sites with high PR (PageRank) and with your keywords in the anchor text, you will win! Essentially that is it. Ok, that’s about 75% of it, but keep reading on.
VERY IMPORTANT TIP: Link popularity is key with Google for higher rankings. Your ranking depends on it. Check out this article on how to increase your link popularity. Your pages link popularity is measured by PageRank, a system used by Google to determine the popularity of your webpage’s.
VERY IMPORTANT TIP: Link popularity means absolutely nothing if you are targeting the wrong keywords. Do not overlook this very important tip. Using a keyword research tool such as Wordtracker is highly recommended. Check it out.
VERY IMPORTANT TIP: Google puts a great deal of emphasize on your Title tag. Ensure that you put your pages important keywords in the title tag and as close to the front of the title tag as possible. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT put your websites name or company name in the title tag. Unless of course your Coca Cola or Microsoft, then it’s ok. This is called Branding and unless that is your goal, don’t do it. No one is going to find you using your company name.
IMPORTANT TIP: Google also eats up header tags (H1, H2, H3). Ensure that your keywords are in at least one or two header tags. Also get them in a couple of Alt tags as well. If your not familiar with Alt tags it’s the wording that is used to describe the images on your page.
MYTH: Meta Tags can determine rankings. Ok, it’s not really a myth as some search engine still use them (Inktomi optimization) in part to rank websites, but Google isn’t one of them. Google does however use the Meta Description tag to create a summary for you webpage’s description in the SERPs.
Make sure that the first sentence that utilizes your Keyword is the one you want Google to display in the SERPs, because there is no way to force Google to display a specific description.
As stated above link popularity is the most important thing you should concentrate on when optimizing for higher rankings in Google. There are 2 types of links that help increase your link popularity. 1) Links from other websites using the keywords in the anchor text. 2) Linking to your own pages with other pages within your site also using the keywords in the anchor text. Internal linking is a great way to pass PageRank to the most important pages of your site thus increasing the chances of those pages to rank well in Google. If you do this well you could really help, say, your index page to rank higher in Google. Although your pages content isn’t really analyzed for ranking your sites pages, Google does check it for the keywords you are focusing on. Make sure that you have your keyword positioned throughout your page at the top and at the bottom of your page. This will present your site as a theme and may very well affect your rankings.
Put your main focus on link popularity of your site and you are well on your to higher rankings in Google. Share our Google tips with your friends.
Summary: Links, links, and more links is the best . Link popularity should be your main focus as it’s the most important part of ranking well for Google. Ensure you have keywords in your Title tag, header (h1) tags and in anchor text on your page. These Google tips will get your web pages ready for high rankings.