Website Optimisation Hints: Three Key Areas of On-Site SEO

With billions of people searching every day, getting to the top of Google is now seen as the Holy Grail for anyone with a website. The problem is that getting there can be costly, confusing and time consuming. Luckily for the biosphere, the millions of words that have been written in the name of website optimisation hints have been written online as opposed to on dead trees, so there’s a glut of tricks and tips out there for anyone looking to boost their online profile.

From my searching, I’ve managed to cobble together some website optimisation hints that will provide strong foundations for any blog or website.

The Three Key Areas

1) The site’s URL: The first thing Search Engines look at is the site’s URL. If you want to be found for “website optimisation hints”, make sure your url has the keywords in. Obviously if you can register keyword.com instead of random.wordpress.com/date/time/squirrel/keyword, you’ll be better off, but let’s do the best with what we’ve got.

2) The site or article’s Browser Title: Make sure the keyword’s in the title too – because the SE crawlers look at it next, and your searchers look at it first when it pops up in the rankings. People are more likely to click on a result mentioning their query than one with your attempt at caustic humour.

3) The site’s Content: The most authoritative website optimisation hints I’ve seen all mention keyword density – even if they never agree on what the optimum density is. A rule of thumb is to sneak the keywords in about five times per 200 words. Just remember that Google doesn’t get punctuation, so in the interests of keeping your copy fresh, try and be a bit clever with your website optimisation. Hints on how to do that can be found pretty much anywhere.

The Test

Now of course there’s a myriad of other factors to consider – number of backlinks, quality of backlinks, age of domain, reputation – but I have seen proof that these three key areas can have a dramatic effect.

Let’s take a look at our two contenders – one a heavyweight giant of online information, one a contender that sabotaged its own chance at world domination. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s welcome to the ring Wikipedia and h2g2. Wiki has the edge when it comes to links, but URLs don’t come much more reputable than Auntie Beeb. An even fight, surely?

One bout – to see who ranks highest for the search term “Battle of Waterloo” on a google.co.uk search, and to see just how applicable these website optimisation hints are. Ding ding, lets rumble.

Ladies and gentlemen, a clear winner.

Position 1 – Wikipedia
Not anywhere on the first ten pages – h2g2

The Tale of the Tape

URLs
wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo vs bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5403881
A clear victory for Wiki as h2g2′s quaint A-Numbering system gives the Search Engines nothing whatsoever to work with. Also, the fact that wiki’s article is only three layers down as opposed to hootoo’s four must count against the Beeb’s offering.

Browser Titles
Battle of Waterloo – Wikipedia, the free encylopedia vs BBC – h2g2 – The Battle of Waterloo, 1815
Wiki leads with the keywords, whereas the Beeb’s need to self promote first and inform second counts against it massively. Keyword order looks to be a factor, so get the important keywords in first.

Site Content
Wikipedia has four exact instances of the key phrase in the first two paragraphs, where h2g2 can only muster two exact instances throughout. Unfortunately for the searcher, h2g2′s article is actually more engaging and interesting, if lacking wikipedia’s onslaught of data.

Rematch?

Interestingly, if you change your search to “Battle of Waterloo 1815“, h2g2 springs to 5th in the table thanks to having 1815 in the browser title (and the fact that there are fewer results). Proof positive if any more was needed, that some website optimisation hints should be followed by the BBC’s powers that be, and that the trinity of URL, title, content can work wonders for your listings.

The Best Advice I Have For Young Writers

If I have just one piece of good advice to give any budding young writers, it’d be this – join the BBC’s h2g2 website. h2g2 won’t just help you become a better writer – it can help your career. The writing and html skills I picked up as a Guide Researcher helped me hone the skills I needed to land my last two jobs.

h2g2 is the brainchild of the late Douglas Adams, and was intended to be the “Earth Edition of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. Sort of a Wikipedia three years before the Wiki concept. Now it survives on the BBC website as a combination message board / writing workshop / Peer Reviewed encyclopaedia. It’s this combination that makes h2g2 such an attractive prospect for fledgling writers.

Community

A message board seems like a strange thing to tout as helpful to writers, but the h2g2 community is much more than just a forum. Regardless of what you choose to write, the community will be your audience. By interacting with other researchers, you’ll learn how to gauge what an audience is looking for from your pieces. Are they Edited Guide readers looking to be informed? Fiction readers looking to be entertained? Readers of the fortnightly newsletter who are looking for a little of both? If trying to work out just what this disparate group of users wants is a daunting task, don’t worry – the community isn’t just your audience. It’s also your teacher.

Writing Workshop

There’s nothing more dispiriting to the beginner (or indeed any writer) than having to thrust your latest piece under the noses of disinterested friends and family and hope that someone can give you helpful feedback. Having people who will read, evaluate and comment on your work is good for both writing style and morale. However, being able to smile while people tell you how wonderful and promising your pieces are is one thing – being able to take the harshest constructive criticisms they can throw at you is another. When your teacher turns critic, you’ll soon develop the thick skin needed to become a successful writer.

Peer Review

Every entry submitted to the Edited Guide must first pass scrutiny in h2g2’s Peer Review. Here the site’s sub editors, pedants and anyone passing through will dissect your work and let you know just what they think. However, constructive criticism is something every good writer has to take into account – and a pedantic sub editor is nothing compared to a paying client. By exposing yourself to harsh but fair criticism, you’ll be developing skills crucial to your career.

There is one final reason to take a look at this hidden gem – it’s not every day you get an opportunity to join a welcoming and friendly community who can help you fulfil your writing potential. So what are you waiting for? Don’t Panic! Dive in.