SEO Answers
Have a question about search engine optimization that isn’t on this page? Ask us.
Links
Why does Google say I don’t have many links, when I know I’ve got 100s of links?
When you make a search for the sites linking to another site, Google only returns a small sampling of all the sites it knows of. MSN Search usually returns a larger sampling, so it’s better to do this type of search on MSN. Top
Where can I get links?
Free directories, press releases, forums/blogs allowing signatures, industry organizations, other sites with links pages, sites that allow you to buy links, article directories, and sites that are interested in the quality content that your site provides. Top
What are the best kinds of links?
Text links with keyphrases in the linking text. Image links aren’t as good because search engines don’t see the text in the image. If image links are used, alt tags with relevant keyphrases ought to be created. Top
Should I buy links?
Google is making more of an effort to identify bought links to discount them in ranking algorithms. The idea is that bought links don’t indicate that a site has quality content. Links that are acquired more naturally are a better indicator of good content. It’s a good idea to buy a link if you think it will provide profitable, direct traffic. It still helps with rankings, so indirect traffic through better rankings should also be considered, but it should be a secondary consideration. Top
Redirects
What kind of redirect should I use for pages that have moved?
Your best bet is always a 301 (permanent) redirect. All of the search engines are able to resolve it properly. 302 redirects can cause problems (one problem that Google used to have before its latest updates was hijacking – sites could get their site listed for a page that belonged to another site). Top
I bought other domains that redirect to another domain. What kind of redirect should I use?
If these other domains have no history, no original content, they can be redirected or forwarded (to use GoDaddy’s term) any way without problems because search engines will almost completely ignore them. Top
Navigation
What’s the best kind of navigation?
Text links with keyphrases. If using dropdowns, CSS is the best because search engines see the links as list items. JavaScript with alternatives (using noscript tags) to users who don’t have JavaScript enabled browsers is also acceptable. This may require only linking to the main categories in the noscript tags and then linking to the subcategories that show up in the drop-down from the main category pages. Top
What are some bad kinds of navigation?
Navigation in Flash, JavaScript, or frames are not good because search engines can’t see it (Some frames navigation is ok, but who still uses frames?). Navigation with images that don’t have alt tags isn’t as good, but search engines will still follow the links. Top
Content
What is good content?
Creating content means writing HTML text. This is readable by search engines. Good content is targeted on a few keyphrases users might search and provides useful information that users might consider sharing with other people. Top
What’s the right number of words to have on a page?
There’s not really a “right” number of words or “right” content length. People who ask this question most likely are just trying to fill a page, which doesn’t help as well for rankings or for sales as writing useful information. Generally the consensus is to have at least 250 words, but this is a guess. Nobody has that kind of detail about a search engine’s algorithm. Try to write useful content using keyphrases that someone would be interested in reading, and you should naturally come up with the “right” number of words. Top
Keyphrases
What are the best words to target?
Target phrases that are specific and relevant to the content your site is providing. These phrases should show up in the body text of your site. Don’t bother targeting single words. Top
How can I find keyphrases to target?
Use a keyword tool. Overture, WordTracker, and Keyword Discovery are some examples. Google “keyword tools” for more. These tools show you what people search and with what frequency. Always be specific. Top
What’s a good keyword density?
Keyword density is a useless metric. Don’t overuse keywords. Do use common sense. Search engines use complex programs to analyze the keyphrases in a site. The programs probably take into affect keyword proximity, keyword presence throughout the domain, as well as characteristics of a keyword or phrase. The relationship is not as simple as to be reduced to keyword density, and nobody knows the details of the relationship to really come up with a good measure. In addition it is likely that Google uses keyphrases in body text more to see what a site is relevant too, rather than to gauge the importance of a site for that keyphrase. Top
PageRank
I have a lot of links to my site, why does Google show zero PageRank?
Google’s toolbar is updated every few months, so it takes time to show your site’s actual PageRank. Top
Is PageRank important?
PageRank is useful as an indirect, semi-accurate indicator of a site’s link popularity. It doesn’t measure the relevance of links which is most important for rankings. Top
Domains
Should I buy keyword domains?
Buying keyword domains is a waste of time if it’s not going to be your main domain. If you already have an established domain, it is not worth your time to move your site to a keyword domain (Google doesn’t give sites that are less than 9 – 12 months old good rankings – this is called the sandbox effect). If you are starting a new site, it might be worth it to use a keyword domain. The best way to do it, is to make the keyphrase in the domain the actual name of your site or company. This way people might link to your site using those keyphrases. If you buy a keyphrase domain and don’t name your site or company the keyphrase, people probably won’t link to your domain with the keyphrase, or they will link to it with something like, “keyphrase.com.” This doesn’t help with rankings. Top
What’s the point of having more domains?
If you think competitors might buy domains that have a similar name to yours to use your trademark to generate traffic to their site, it might be a good idea to buy those domains. If you think users might type the similar, but incorrect domain of your company directly into their browser, you might buy these other domains and redirect them to your main site. Top
Search Engine Index
Why isn’t my site indexed?
If you have links to your site, it can take Google two or more weeks to find it and index it. You can submit a site directly to Google to get it indexed, but this is not very important. Links are important. If you have links to your site and it’s been more than two weeks, make sure you aren’t doing anything search engines don’t like or using features that search engines can’t see. Top
How can I get my site indexed?
Get links to your site. Submit a Google sitemap to get pages indexed in Google. Top
Search Engine Rank
Why did my rankings drop?
Search engines go through updates frequently. This can often impact your rankings – for a short time or, if your site uses tactics search engines don’t like, for a long time. Be patient. If it’s been a month and your site is still not back in the rankings, make sure you aren’t doing anything search engines don’t like. Top
How long does it take to get good rankings?
New domains won’t rank well for competitive terms in Google for 9-12 months. At first they might rank well, but eventually they will drop out of the rankings. This is called Google’s sandbox effect. The age and history of a domain is important to its rankings. Top
How can I get ranked for (insert keyphrase here)?
Provide content related to that keyphrase, get links from sites that have content related to that keyphrase, get links with that keyphrase in the linking text, make a page with an html title that has that keyphrase in it, make sure that keyphrase is in the body text of that page. Targeting the keyphrase on your home page is usually your best bet. This is the best you can do. There’s no guarantee that you will get ranked for that keyphrase, especially if it’s competitive.
SEO Don’ts
Don’t:
- Hide things from users that search engines can see.
- Stuff your site with keywords.
- Improperly use features such as Flash, JavaScript, and frames because search engines can’t see them.
- Use questionable linking strategies (link farms, gateway domains, etc.). Top
Contact Pure Visibility – An SEO Company
Do you want better rankings in the search engines? Do you want the search engines to properly index the pages in your site? Do you want to help users find what they want quickly when they navigate through your site? Pure Visibility can make it happen. Contact us using our online form, or call us to discuss the opportunities search engine optimization services might present for your company, (734) 213-8100.
