Get a Free Google recently stated that they use over 200 factors to determine the relevancy of a web page and how that page ranks with targeted keywords. The problem web marketer’s face is that Google has never come out and said what those 200 factors are.
In the past, Google published their Google Webmaster Guidelines, but it was fairly vague. Recently, Google published the Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide. This guide gives specific advice on how to perform basic SEO on web pages, but it is not a fully comprehensive SEO guide. SEO specialists are excited because this guide validates the work that goes into optimizing a page.
Some sections of the Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide include:
Metatag Strategy:
The guide teaches good fundamental Metatag strategies that will help your site get found and entice click-throughs. It is amazing how many websites have no title tag, meta description, or meta keywords in the code.
URL Structure:
The section about “Good practices for URL structure” covers creating simple directory structure and using keywords in url’s. Google’s goal is to make sure navigation is easy and intuitive for the user, which makes it easier for their spider to crawl all pages. The area about “Make your site easier to navigate” is trying to get webmasters to build content that is easy to find. The guidelines also make expanding a site easier as well.
Header Tags:
When Google searches the content of a page, keywords used in a header are given added weight to the importance of the subject and help the Google bot spider crawl the site easier. Using the correct H1 and H2-6 formatting allows Google and readers to quickly read a page.
PROMOTING YOUR WEBSITE:
The guide contains a section called “Promote your website in the right ways.” Google doesn’t want you to just build a website and not promote it. They encourage blogs, RSS feeds, social media sites, and building a sense of community. They give excellent guidelines on how to use this properly to promote your content.
Free Stuff:
Google provides links to plenty of free webmaster tools, and of course Google Analytics in the guide. This is a good reminder to use the tools in the Google Webmaster Tools to help your site rank for your keywords.
The Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guidelines can help any webmaster make sure their web pages have the basic SEO fundamentals. This guide is only a fraction of the work an SEO firm can do to optimize a website, but it is a great starting point.