Improve Search Engine Rankings

Improving search engine rankings can be a daunting task and does require a special set of skills.

That being said almost anyone with a bit of understanding can at least improve their sites rankings with a little effort.

First thing is to understand what factors go into a search engine ranking and how to set up your website for success.

Factors affecting search engine ranking

•    On-Page Optimization
•    Off-page optimization
•    Back-links
•   Competition for Keywords

On Page Optimization

How well your website performs can greatly depend on how your website is linked together such as navigation systems. How well does the navigation

Some factors to consider when referring to On-Page optimization are:

•    Meta Tags – Page Title, Meta Description and keywords. These still matter especially the title and description but the meta tags are not as important as they used to be.
•    Keywords included in header tags i.e. <h2>On Page SEO Tips </h2>
•    Content is broken up using bullets and other html elements to help the search engines but      more importantly your readers determine what the key points of emphasis are
•    Use synonyms and vary your keyword phrases
•    Make sure your copy and content is relevant to your keywords
•   Make sure you are adding real value!

Off Page Optimization

Off Page Optimization is the single most important factor when a search engine decides how relevant your site is to the keywords or phrases you are targeting.

Factors that affect off page optimization:

•  Backlinks to your website from authority sites
•  Anchor text in the back links
• Directory Listings
• Social Media Links

Backlinks

Although backlinks are considered part of off page SEO efforts it is important enough to describe in its own section.

A backlink is recognized by the search engines as a vote for your website. The anchor text is also important in determining the weight the backlink carries for specific keywords the destination page carries.

The more back links a site has from authority sites the high it will rank for the keywords and terms

Not all links are created equal. If a link from a site that is not trusted by the search engine points to your site it will actually hurt your credibility. Make sure you get links from higher page ranking sites.

.Gov and .ed seem to get more link juice than .com or .net. This goes back to the trust algorithm that the search engines apply.

Hopefully this article sheds some light on how you can improve your search engine rankings.