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December 1st, 2009

Demystifying Search Engine Optimization

by Submit 2.0

Search Engines and Math

All search engines like Yahoo, Google, Bing, MSN, Ask Jeeves, Lycos, HotBot, etcetera, use algorithms. When a curious person types a few keywords into a search engine, the algorithms do their thing and search the World Wide Web to find websites and articles that have those specific keywords. There are a ton of different algorithms that each search engine uses. Some search engines seek out only the first 3 words on a website (this is a practice that is really outdated), some search the title and first paragraph, and yet others look through an entire web page to find the keywords. It is only when the algorithm finds enough keywords in one place that the website is flagged as a successful search result and listed. One of the newer things to happen to these algorithms is the incorporation of LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing). Search engines have a dictionary and thesaurus attached to their algorithms and LSI is when they flag similar or related words in addition to the keywords as a means to expand search results.

Let’s say that a curious person has submitted their keywords and poof, that person now has 1.6 million places to look in their search results. With some fine tuning of the keywords, they may only have 1.6 thousand or 160. It all depends on those keywords. When you write an article just for content or to tell an interesting story, that is all well and good, but in order to get the world to find that article, read it and stick around on a particular website from a marketing standpoint, you need to follow a few rules.

Those Pesky Keywords

Now, where do you put keywords so that they meet requirements? Generally speaking, simply writing about a specific topic brings out natural keywords. But, you want enough keywords so that a search engine algorithm says “yup, this page has a lot of the keyword that I was asked to search for, so I will list it on the results page.” At the same time, you don’t necessarily want to stuff the article with so many keywords that it becomes incredibly annoying to read.

Dissecting this META Keyword Article

So, now we should pick a topic so that I can give you some examples to go by. Let’s say a client requests a META Keyword article about Search Engine Optimization. What do you know, that’s what this article is about. If you look at the title of the article, you will find all of the major keywords (Keyword Article, LSI, META, Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Keywords, and Subheadings as well as Search Engine Optimization). It is a rather long title, but most search engines will list this article whenever anyone does a search for any of those keywords.

As an added bonus, the first paragraph covers the abbreviation SEO, keywords and search engines as well as HTML which is an LSI word related to the topic at hand. As most search engine algorithms are designed to look at the title and first paragraph this helps our article to get listed. Also many search engines incorporate subheadings in their results, so, we are covered there as well.

The major search engines like Bing, Google, Yahoo and MSN use more elaborate algorithms to include the page content keywords and LSI’s in their search results as well. So it is important to write an article that is rich in keywords throughout. Often times, the lesser known search engines like Ask Jeeves and HotBot use Bing, Google, Yahoo and MSN to come up with their own results, so it makes sense to follow the rules (guidelines, tips, tricks…) to optimize the chance of having your article listed among the results.

Defining SEO Terminology

META = Web developers use this to get their web site listed in search engines. An example of a META tag is:

<HEAD> <TITLE>Stamp Collecting World</TITLE> <META name=”description” content=”Everything you wanted to know about stamps, from prices to history.”> <META name=”keywords” content=”stamps, stamp collecting, stamp history, prices, stamps for sale”> </HEAD>

What does META stand for? Nobody knows. It’s a big mystery. And it’s really not that important. This is the web developers’ job. They have to create the HTML that is needed for the search engines to recognize the keywords that we give them.

HTML = Hyper Text Markup Language, is just what you see in the graphic above. It is the code that is hidden in a website to make it easier for a search engine algorithm to find the keywords. The only thing that the reader will see is:

Stamp Collecting World

Everything you wanted to know about stamps, from prices to history.

Keyword = Word, or combination of words that exemplify the topic. Remember what the keywords for this article are? Keyword Article, LSI, META, Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Keywords, and Subheadings as well as Search Engine Optimization.

LSI = Latent Semantic Indexing are words related to the keywords. For this article, they would be:

Yahoo, Google, Bing, MSN (and the other search engines I listed), HTML, algorithm, search results, website, marketing, web developers, article writer…

Tier 1, 2 and 3 Keywords = these terms were taken from an English teachers playbook. I didn’t really discuss these in detail, but I am including them in this SEO article, because as a writer a client may use these terms and you may not know what they mean. Here’s what the tiers mean to an English teacher:

Tier 1 = these are very common words like car, boat, dog…

Tier 2 = these words include basic descriptors like a domestic car, a speed boat, a big dog…

Tier 3 = these are words that your average person may or may not know and are more technical like, a Ford Windstar, a Hustler Power Boat, a Rottweiler…

In relation to SEO and website development:

Tier 1 = this may include the main page for the website, a title for an article, a short first META paragraph…

Tier 2 = the second page of a website, the first paragraph of an article, subheadings, laymen’s terms…

Tier 3 = the third page of a website, the main body of an article, detailed paragraphs, explanations and reasoning, step by step instructions…

Subheadings = Keywords that are structured throughout an article to highlight expansion of the main topic. Subheadings also serve to break up an article for easier reading. The subheadings for this article are:

Search Engines and Math, Those Pesky Keywords, Dissecting this META Keyword Article, Defining SEO Terminology, and What is a Writer to Do?

What is a Writer to Do?

Now that you have a good understanding about the background of SEO, I’ll sum up what it means for us writers. As an article writer myself, I recommend writing like you normally write. Research your topic, stick to the topic and keep your words flowing, and you will end up with a fantastic start. Then you will want to walk away from your article for a moment and when you come back, think “keywords.”

1. Maximize the potential for the title. Try to rearrange the keywords so that they are the very first thing that anyone or anything sees. As an example, I started this article out with How to Write Keyword Articles with LSI, META, Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Keywords and Subheadings, but decided to drop off the How to Write in favor of having Keyword be the first thing that is looked at.
2. Cover topic related keywords that didn’t fit in your title and try to make it an overview of what that article is going to cover. Keep the first paragraph short and focused.
3. Carefully pick places for more keywords, LSI words and, if asked for, subheadings. Sometimes the client will give you a list of words, this is when you try to fit as many of them in as you can.

I think that if you follow these simple guidelines, you will become an expert META Keyword writer.

Carrie Mullins invites you to learn more about her and the wealth of information that she offers. Please visit her website at http://www.freewebs.com/liberatingcreations/ and find out more.

As an added note, Carrie Mullins is the creator of the Worry Bracelet which makes a wonderful gift for any special occasion.

Source: ezinearticles