On page optimisation is important as it provides a solid foundation for all your future search marketing efforts. Over the years Google and other search engines have changed their algorithms but the truths of on page optimisation remain and at a basic level cover:

• Page Title Optimisation
• Optimising Description Tags
• Content Headings
• URL Structure

Why is on page optimisation important?

On page optimisation is all about communicating to search engines what the page is about. We need to provide structure to our content. At the end of the day a search engine is just a machine trying to understand what a page is about and how it compares to other pages about the same thing.

On page optimisation helps usability

Helping search engines understand content also helps visitors. Web users don’t read content until they are engaged in with it. Initially they only scan the first paragraph then headings, looking for keywords. For search engines the keyword you use in the first paragraph and headings are also important.

Difficulty of on page optimisation

On page optimisation is one of the simplest forms of SEO you can undertake. You will be able to make changes and see the results quickly. In contrast with off page optimisation such as link building you have little control and is very time consuming. Before you begin you should have already done your keyword research and know what terms you are trying to rank for with a given page.

Ready to start you on page optimisation journey?

Follow the links below which will guide you step by step through on page optimisation

• Page Title Optimisation
• Optimising Description Tags
• Content Headings
• URL Structure

Optimising Page Titles

• The page title should include the terms that a page is optimised for
• Include brands in the page title but after the primary terms
• Keep you title tag at 65 characters or less
• Think about what users want and reflect this in the page title. For example the title tag for an ecommerce page would have different “intent” to a news article.
• There must be a strong relationship between the page title and content of the page
• Use terms found in the page title in the body content
• Order of the terms is important. The left most words will have most search engine weight decreasing as you move right.
• Page Titles must be unique across the site

Importance of Page Title Optimisation

The page title is not only crucial to ranking well but is also the first thing users will read in the search engine results. Looking at search engine results users will almost always scan the result headings. They will not however read all of it, instead scan the left most words in the title. As a result having primary keywords to the left of the title is not only important for search engine optimsation but also for getting the actual visit.

To attract the attention of users the page title must resonate with the user, this is achieved by ensuring that the words users are looking for are found in the title. If so the user will read the title and continue to read the description.

Use of Content Headings

Headings are an often overlooked but very important part of on page SEO. This is because Headings are given a lot of weight by search engines. If pages use important keywords in these headings then these automatically have a higher priority than regular body content.

Content headings also help readability and when present user will often scan headings before reading content. This is a good way to not only show search engines that your page is relevant but also your readership.

Optimisation of Content Headings

• Pages should include an H1 heading. This is the highest level of heading and should include the primary key phrase for a page.
• Below H1 use H2 as a sub heading using your key phrase in a long tail format
• Avoid using lower level heading tags without having used the higher level tags first. For example H2 should only be used after and H1. It’s important to maintain the heirarchy

Optimised URL Structure

• Include your key terms in the URL
• Use-a-dash-between-each-keyword
• Keep URLs short. Long URLs look spammy and there is evidence to show users are more likely to click on short URLs.
• Always use lower case URLs
• Remember your visitors may email, write down or even try to remember your page URL.
• Avoid dynamic URLs with lots of symbols and numbers. Search engines and humans prefer static words

Description tags are found in the <Head></Head> part of your page and as with the Title Tag form a cornerstone for good on-page optimisation. Description tags are featured on search results below the title.

Value of Description Tags

The description tag is the first clue a potential reader will have as to the quality of your content. You have a limited number of characters within which to sell your website and get visitors to click. Many websites spend thousands on advertising on Pay Per Click however pay little attention to the free listing they get (if they optimise well) in natural search results. Your description tag is part of the very valuable real estate.

Tips on Optimising Description Tags

• It is crucial every description is unique
• Via search the description tag is what users will use to gauge the quality of your site
• Use primary terms for your page in the description
• Your description must make sense to users and be a call to action
• Your description will compete with at least 10 others on a search engine results page. Make it appeal to the user
• Keep descriptions to 160 characters
• Use the terms you are optimising for in the description tag. Where words in your description match those that the user is searching on, Google will bold them. This will help you stand out from the crowd

The Secret Internet Marketing classroom is a 22-Hour DVD event which comes with workbooks and access to a private members area of like minded people. You will learn from experts including:

• Mark Joyner (the Godfather of Internet marketing!)
• Armand Morin (made over $25,000,000 in his online business!)
• Jeff Walker (responsible for more successful product launches than anyone else!)
• Marlon Sanders (a living legend of online marketing!)
• Mike Koenings (no one knows online video like this guy!)
• Brad Fallon (can you say StomperNet?)
• Kristopher Jones (CEO of Pepperjam Search!)
• Mike Filsaime (the world’s viral marketing expert!)
• Ray Edwards (gets $10,000+ to write a sales letter!)
• Dave Taylor (prolific blogger, author and speaker!)
• Perry Marshall (the world’s leading AdWords expert!)
• Rich Schefren (the guru to the gurus!)

Don’t know who they are? These are renowned names in the world of Internet marketing, just Google them.

You could pay thousands of dollars to attend a conference where SOME of these people are speaking…

… but you will never find them all together teaching for up to two hours each!

Interested? Watch this preview video

Each day in the project contains:

1. A Task – something to DO that day.
2. Teaching – each day you’ll be given great instruction on both the WHY and HOW of the task of the day.

This two pronged approach is designed so that you come away from the challenge having not only learned how to build a dynamic a blog but you’ll have actually DONE something with the knowledge.

“In the first day, I implemented 4 days worth of advice from the workbook and tripled my blog traffic overnight. Yes, really. Every day I read and implemented another few day’s worth of advice from the workbook and it has steadily improved my blog traffic without fail.” Yvonne Adele

Want to read more about how your blog can improve dramaticaly in 31 days? Visit 31 Days to Build a Better Blog

Do you wan’t to learn how to run an online business? The Internet Business Mastery Academy will take you through step by step how to create a profitable business to help you boost or replace your existing income.  Try their free online audio course here. The free course will show you how to design your ultimate internet lifestyle. If you enjoy the course you will be given the opportunity to sign up for the Internet Business Mastery Academy free for 30 days. The Internet Business Mastery Academy contains lots of valuable information for budding internet entrepreneurs as well as a strong business community.

The free audio course which you can resquest here is a great offer wich is emailed to you. You will not be asked for any details appart from your name and email address but will receive:

• Full access to a 45 minute online presentation
• The “Lifestyle Design Chart” to fill out after you listen to the full program… and use as a guide to keep you on track with every decision you make.
• Opportunity for a 30 Day No-Risk Trial Membership to the Internet Business Mastery Academy

This free audio presention is stongly recommended by Internet Marketing Strategist. Take yout first steps to making money online here.

See larger image Sticks and Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click (Hardcover) By (author) Larry Weber List Price: 16.99 GBP New From: 8.11 In Stock Used from: 8.51 In Stock

Q&A websites provide an excellent opportunity to build a positive business reputation. Answer user questions, build relationships and become an expert in your field.

Online reputation is crucial for any business. Buyers who trust businesses are more likely to buy from them. Traditionally when buying goods or services buyers look for businesses with a good reputation which often translates to a strong brand. The same applies online, especially when shopping  for information products buyers will look for known names and are more likely to buy from businesses that have demonstrated this expertise.

Building Reputation with Q&A Sites

One great way of building online reputation is by answering user questions on Q&A sites such as Yahoo Answers or LinkedIn. If you have enough traffic to your site you could also consider setting up a Q&A platform, where every question answered not only builds business reputation but also great quality content. In this case remember that Q&A sites drive traffic on the long tail of search. Users are likely to type three or more words in search queries.

Establish Business Reputation: Popularity of Q&A sites

Q&A sites often appear on SERPs linked to long tail search queries. As a result usage of Q&A sites is relatively high considering many searchers don’t begin their search on a Q&A site, but on a search engine such as Google.

In a rececent survery 49% of companies that use social media said they ask questions on Q&A sites. Only 29% said they use Twitter to find business-related information. The 49% doesn’t even include the many who get info from Q&A sites by Googling or Binging.

How useful are Q&A sites for B2B reputation building?

The table below shows that a large proportion of business users who use Q&A sites do find that it helps them do their jobs more effectively. This suggests that it is the ideal venue to build reputation among the business community.

Establish Business Reputation: Using Q&A sites

Q&A sites is as much about building relationships as it is answering questions. The aim here is to build trust and become an expert in your field. Think about how you can drive traffic back to your website with your answers but be careful to avoid the hard sell. Look at sites such as LinkedIn but also Twitter. Although surveys suggest that Twitter is used less for Q&As it is easier to start a conversation on twitter. For example if someone tweets that they are stuck installing Wordpress, you could send them a link to your website containing helpful advice.

SEOers must communicate the value of SEO, investment needed in SEO as well as communicating realistic objectives in the face of spammy SEO companies who promise the earth.

Communicating the value of SEO

Whether in-house or agency side SEOers must communicate the value of SEO as a valuable channel delivering high ROI. Many website owners feel that SEOers are essentially selling snake oil. This is unfortunate and largely a result of not understanding the value of SEO or appreciating what is involved. SEO is a very new industry and with all new things there is often scepticism.

Website owners will often spend thousands of dollars developing a website. However SEO is often given little or no budget. When there is investment they will often want the SEOer to account for every second of the time spent on the site, and exactly what they did. This raises two issues. Firstly this does not allow any time for the SEOer to experiment and analyse, second by itemising all tasks the SEOer is essentially giving away years of intellectual property.

Communicating investment needed in SEO

SEO is not something that delivers results overnight. Serious amounts of time need to be invested by a variety of website stakeholders from content authors to developers. Unfortunately an investment of 100 hours will not immediately return 100 hours worth of benefit. Similar to constructing a building (SEOer) the eventual buyer (Website Owner) only sees the finished product and not the time taken to find the right location (domain acquisition), identify the target market (keyword research), blue print the architecture for the building (site architecture), project manage the build (managing developers/agencies), ensuring that the building is connected to all the main utilities (link building), decorate to the liking of the target market (copywriting), ensuring building regulations are met (On-site Optimisation), marketing the property (SEO, PPC, Social Media) selling the property (landing page optimisation).

Communicating the importance of realistic SEO objectives

At least once a week I see emails or ads promoting the services of SEO agencies who are able guarantee results over night without understanding the target market, competition, site architecture or even attempting to look at any of the key ingredients of the SEO mix. This puts undue pressure on in-house or agency SEOs who are faced with clients screaming to understand why their website is still 15th in the Google search results when they have an email stating another agency can improve their results even further. Some emails even suggest that a website has not been optimised at all. Most Internet marketers know these emails are most auto generated however it makes the job of communicating realistic SEO targets even more difficult.

See larger image The Handbook of Communication Skills (Paperback) List Price: 32.50 GBP New From: 24.53 In Stock Used from: 21.00 In Stock