Simple SEO
Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, doesn’t have to be hard. To get the basics right is actually really simple!
Read some of the pages on this site and learn about correct page structure, cached stylesheets and javscript. Get inbound links, and give them too!
I’ll be making this page into a FAQ and resources guide to simple seo so bookmark it and return often to see where the new info is.
Sitemaps
- You need to have a site that is easy to navigate and part of that is having a well ordered, plain html sitemap for both humans and search engine bots to use
- You need to have a Google XML Sitemap to assist google in indexing your site quickly, and without chewing through unnecessary bandwidth.
If you see any info on page optimisation which talks about tricks, cloaking or appears deceptive - then ignore the advice. Their info is only good in the short term (as the search engine engineers will be reading that article too) and you may find that in the long term the effort involved in keeping your site from being banned doesn’t justify the short term gain.
Resources
Google Sitemaps is one of the most important things you can do to get your site indexed quickly and thoroughly. Would be nice if MSN and Yahoo started using them as well.
Comment by Harvey Kane — October 16, 2005 @ 8:39 am
[...] Our goal is to see who can get the best ranking for the phrase “simple seo” on Google: http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=simple+seo [...]
Pingback by Simple SEO » A simple little seo game! — January 23, 2006 @ 1:13 pm
Do you think if Google.pages make sence in SEO?
Cheers,
John
Comment by John Bertrand — April 12, 2006 @ 1:13 am
Hi John
Judging from my first attempt at a Google Page (Jeremy’s Volcanoes) I’d say not! As usual there’s a clash of usability over function and in this case usability is more important.
If you view the source you’ll see the pages have alot of extra formatting that I’d rather weren’t there. Ultimately, if your content is important, take the responsibility for hosting and development yourself!
Comment by sarahk — April 12, 2006 @ 8:37 pm
Hi i’m Michael from Las Vegas, i visited your website and it’s looks great.
John from JNB Web Promotion made a good question there,
Have a look at my site http://michaelwrogers.googlepages.com
its a personal site but i’m planning to get it right on top
of Google, lets find out.
Mike
Comment by Michael W Rogers — April 12, 2006 @ 10:49 pm
Oh Michael!
All that almost hidden text. I’ll be disappointed if you get far. All those spammy links to google products. What SERPs are you targetting? that’s unclear!
Comment by sarahk — April 13, 2006 @ 5:14 am
Would you please take a look at my site nanayonting.blogspot.com
and tell me how I could optimixe it with SEO ?
Thanks
Comment by Gemberlyn — May 16, 2006 @ 7:34 am
Gemberlyn, I just took a look at your blog and it appears to have two things Family photosspam linksIf the blog is just for recording family history then SEO isn’t needed as you’ll be telling family about the site won’t you.
If it’s really to give value to all those spammy links then there are far better ways to do it but you won’t be hearing it from me. My only advice would be to build an honest blog, give each link it’s own post with a discussion about why someone will benefit from visiting those sites
Comment by sarahk — May 16, 2006 @ 7:39 am
Spammy links ?
I’m 15 and have no idea what you are talking about.
An HONEST blog ?
This is my first Blog and I am honoring my dead Grandmother
Comment by Gemberlyn — May 16, 2006 @ 8:17 am
Scroll down your front page and you’ll see stuff like this. Not a good look.
If you’re honoring your grandmother don’t promote it so hard. Getting great SERPs isn’t the goal, monetising the blog isn’t the goal, just create a wonderful record.
Comment by sarahk — May 16, 2006 @ 11:18 am
I used the Google links in my [blog] so everybody in the Family can have easy access to the Google links wherever they are.
Why do you keep erasing my nanayonting.blogspot.com URL ?
Comment by Gemberlyn — May 16, 2006 @ 2:05 pm
Gemberlyn
I’m leaving a link on your name, that’s enough. Your link dropping that I’ve removed looked spammy and I didn’t want that on MY blog.
As for putting the Google links up for the rest of the family - ummmm, wouldn’t you give an appropriate heading. Just doesn’t ring true, sorry. Maybe I’m just old and cynical, or you are young and naive.
Comment by sarahk — May 16, 2006 @ 2:39 pm
My concern with googlepages.com is that you automaticaly get an address with your username and cannot change it. So when you publish (and promote) the page you let everybody know your (primary?) e-mail address and that’s what spammers are waiting for.
My question is about the Pagerank and directory submissions: As far as I understand Pagerank is individual for every web page and is not connected with a complete website. Directories have pages with various Pagerank. For example, you pay to be included in a category. Then editors place your link in another category because they find it more appropriate (but the page has a lower Pagerank). And then after a couple of months more people apply and your link ends up on the second page of results which usually has a much lower Pagerank (if any). My question is why directories don’t let you know or somehow control all this? It’s not fair.
Would moving your link from a high ranked page to a 0 ranked subpage hurt your ranking? If a link is a vote then I guess that removing a vote is worse then having no vote at all. But then, if that was true then you could do things to hurt somebody else’s ranking and that might lead to Wild West Internet.
Comment by Milan — January 4, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
Any directory owner should have the right to structure (and restructure) the directory based on it’s content. However when money has been handed over there is a responsibility to the customer.
Not only is the destination page potentially lower in bot-value but the change may see the link being devalued altogether for some period of time.
If the change happens before a PR update the customer may go for a whole cycle with no value from the paid directory entry.
I’ve just done a stack of work on RealState one of my directories. A PR update is due soon and the new approvals may not benefit until next time.
PR is built up from more than one site though and no one directory submission will make much difference. So don’t sweat it.
Comment by Sarah King — January 5, 2007 @ 1:37 am
Hi, What did you mean by “A PR update is due soon and the new approvals may not benefit until next time.”
How often do the PR’s update? Monthly? So if I have a zero PR but I have been tring SEO it could be thr PR’s have not updates?
Comment by Many — June 1, 2007 @ 11:25 am
That was written back in January. Updates tend to be quarterly but the timing is undisclosed and irregular.
Comment by Sarah King — June 1, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
Nice points there for the sitemap. You hit it when you say cloaking and deceptive schemes will not last.
Comment by Shopautodotca Seocontest — June 6, 2007 @ 5:32 am
You are right, anything black hat or deceptive is only temporary as algos get updated to counteract anythiing deceptive, Great info about sitemaps
Comment by Database Recovery — November 16, 2007 @ 11:17 am
Google PR can difference and contributed to sheer content – meaing, how many times, what manner, the keywords entered that show up on the webpage. Google takes a close look at keyword usage and density in determining ranking.This is very important to know for your rankings as well in web development
Comment by JNB Web Promotion — December 13, 2007 @ 9:58 pm
why even bother talking about black hat? Not worth it. To me, it doesn’t even exist.
Comment by fel3232 — January 13, 2008 @ 10:57 am