All the search engine optimization in the world isn’t going to get you to the top of the search engine results page if you don’t have the content. You may get there for a little while using less than ethical methods, but you will find your rank will drop , maybe to never rise again.

Have Good Content

The number one thing web masters and managers can do to increase SERP is to have good content. Again, to get the best results in a search engine result page, you need to have quality content. How do so many people miss this? After more than 10 years working online, this is still the number one reason web sites do not perform.

I was contacted to work on a site where the owners were not happy with their search engine results page ranking. It took about 2 seconds for me to figure out why the flash landing page wasn’t getting results in search engines. The whole site was Flash – everything. And if that were not bad enough, there was not title, no keywords and no description. Wow.

But what if your content is solid? What can you do then?

Get Better Results without Changing Content

The Title Tag – Judging a Book by the Cover
Of all the ‘mistakes’ I see people make, the title is one that still makes me scratch my head. I’m sure your business name is important to you, but unless you have built brand recognition, the average internet user could care less about your website’s name. Don’t make this mistake when choosing your page’s title. While many feel header tags aren’t as important as they once were, the title tag (<title>) still remains on of the most powerful header tags you can use.

Bad: Jimmy Joe’s Discount Online
Better: Discount Taxidermy by Jimmy Joe
Best: Discount Rodent Taxidermy and Exterminators – Jimmy Joe’s Charleston, SC

Remember, your page title is what will show in search engine results. The first title isn’t effective. Who knows what Jimmy Joes does. The second title, while maybe not appealing, is better. And the third title is the best. Not only do you know what Jimmy Joes does, you know where he’s located and that’s important. Be descriptive and specif when writing your titles. Visitors aren’t looking for mystery, they’re looking for answers.

To Describe or not Describe, that is the Question

The description meta tag (<meta description>)has kind of lost its position of glory it once had, but it can still be a valuable tool for search engine results. If you’re using a description, you have to make sure it matches your content. Having the same description for every single page on your website isn’t going to help your rankings and there’s some debate about whether it will actually hurt your site’s rank. In most search engines, the meta description is what you will see below the title in the search engine result page. This is important, your description needs to be informative and relevant.

Jimmy Joe’s description might be something like: We kill and stuff Rodents. Please visit Jimmy Joe’s for all your rodent infestation and axidermy needs. Conveniently located in Charleston, SC

Combined with the title, the search engine Result might look something like

Discount Rodent Taxidermy and Exterminators – Jimmy Joe’s Charleston, SC
We kill and stuff Rodents. Please visit Jimmy Joe’s for all your rodent infestation and taxidermy needs. Conveniently located in Charleston, SC

Well, if you ever needed to have you rodents stuffed and mounted, Jimmy Joe might be your man!

There are a few ‘tricks’ you can use with the descriptions that will help you gain a slight edge on your competition. Be brief, use 20 to 30 words in your description at most. Write in complete sentences. You do not separate with commas in the description. Use key phrases.

Valid Keywords – Don’t Spam

Keep your keywords short. Between 5 and 8 relative keywords are all you want in you meta keywords. And please, make sure the keywords are actually in the content. If you use too many keywords, some search engines may actually rank your page lower for ‘spamming keywords’. There’s a find line between too many and too few.

Jimmy Joe’s keywords: (rodents, taxidermy, exterminators, Charleston sc, infestation)

Those would be some good keywords for Jimmy Joe’s website – descriptive, succinct and accurate.

It’s all Gravy

Getting a good result in search engines takes time. There are methods you can use to speed up the process, but make sure you’re not using a method that will result in your page ranking even lower or possibly even being banned from a search engine. Just remember, good content, accurate description, relative keywords and a good title. If you follow those simple little rules, you will go a long way to the number one spot on the search engine results page.