SEO: Search Engine Optimization

Important aspects of search engine optimization from the SEO MOZ website.

Keyword Use Factors

1. Keyword Use in Title Tag: Placing the targeted search term or phrase in the title tag of the web page's HTML header
2. Keyword Use in Body Text: Using the targeted search term in the visible, HTML text of the page
3. Relationship of Body Text Content to Keywords: Topical relevance of text on the page compared to targeted keywords
4. Keyword Use in H1 Tag: Creating an H1 tag with the targeted search term/phrase
5. Keyword Use in Domain Name: Including the targeted term/phrase in the registered domain name, i.e. keyword.com
6. Keyword Use in Page URL: Including target terms in the webpage URL, i.e. example.com/keyword-phrase
7. Keyword Use in H2, H3, Tags: Placing targeted terms in the H2, H3 headline HTML tags
8. Keyword Use in Alt Tags and Image Titles: Positioning keyword in HTML text with strong/bold attributes
9. Keyword Use in Bold/Strong Tags: Positioning keyword in HTML text with strong/bold attributes
10. Keyword Use in Meta Description Tag: Utilizing keywords in the meta description tag in a webpage's HTML header
11. Keyword Use in Meta Keywords Tag: Utilizing keywords in the meta keywords tag in a webpage's HTML header

Page Attributes

1. Link Popularity within the Site: Refers to the number and importance of internal links pointing to the target page
2. Quality/Relevance of Links to External Sites/Pages: Do links on the page point to high quality, topically-related pages?
3. Age of Document: Older pages may be perceived as more authoritative; newer pages may be more temporally relevant
4. Amount of Indexable Text Content:Refers to the literal quantity of visible HTML text on a page
5. Quality of the Document Content: As measured algorithmically by the search engine metrics
6. Organization/Hierarchy of Document Flow:Generally an introduction, a broad overview issue then increasing detail
7. Frequency of Updates to Page: The number and time frame of changes made to the document over time
8. Number of Trailing Slashes (/) in URL: Important not to go beyond the fourth level
9. Accuracy of Spelling & Grammar: The literal correctness of spelling and grammar as related to the language of the document
10. HTML Validation of Document: Validation of HTML page code as per the W3C consortium

Site and Domain Attributes

1. Global Link Popularity of Site: The overall link weight/authority as measured by links from any and all sites across the web
2. Age of Site: The launch of indexable content seen by the search engine
3. Topical Relevance of Inbound Links: The subject-specific relationship between the source sites/pages and the target keyword
4. Link Popularity of Site in Topical Community: The link weight/authority of the target website amongst its topical peers
5. Rate of New Inbound Links to Site: The frequency and timing of external sites linking in to the given domain
6. Relevance of Site's Primary Subject Matter to Query: The frequency and timing of external sites linking in to the given domain
7. Historical Performance of Site: As Measured by Time Spent on Page, Clickthroughs from SERPs, Direct Visits, Bookmarks, etc.
8. Domain of Site: The top-level domain extension of the site such as .com, .org, .edu, .gov, .us, .ca, .uk, etc.
9. Rate of New Pages Added to Site: The amount & frequency of new, spiderable documents added to the domain over time
10. Frequency of Queries: The frequency of searches for the domain name or the brand as measured through Google logs
11. Verification of Site: Especially with Google Webmaster Central

Useful SEO Links

• Google Analytics Site Optimizer
• Website Grader
• HubSpot Internet Marketing Software

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