Best SEO Practices
-
I've been doing SEO for quite some time now but with the recent updates I've been told that I'm doing some things wrong now. I just want to make sure that I'm not missing anything from a SEO standpoint, let me know what your thoughts are.
On-Page
Max of 3 keywords on homepage linking to internal optimized pages
Links to these pages on other pages using your keywords
XML and HTML sitemaps
Using only WWW or no-WWW version of the site, make sure this is also set in .htaccess and google webmaster toolsEach optimized internal page should have this:
content is king, write for readability
max 2 keywords per page
keyword in slug or html page name
keyword density of 3-5%
keyword 2 times in title and meta description (preferably at beginning and end)
keyword in bold, italic, and underline
keyword in h1
keyword in h2-6 if possible
keyword in image alt tags
low code to text ratio
valid HTMLOff-page
Link directories
article directories
social media links and likes/+1s
web 2.0 links
forum profile and signature links
pdf links (slideshare, google docs, pdfcast, scribd)
social bookmark links
blog comments on related sites
yahoo answers
edu and gove links
authority sites carry much better link juice
build backlinks to your backlinksFrom what I understand forum profiles and web 2.0 aren't as powerful as they used to be, is all of this correct?
-
Latent dirichlet allocation is the newest school of thought on content: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/lda-and-googles-rankings-well-correlated
Essentially focusing on contextual clues to reinforce the idea of what a page is really about.
Writing about Jaguar the animal, talk about fur. Writing about Jaguar the car, mention spark plugs.
Here's a followup article to SEOMoz's that's quite informative: http://www.seangolliher.com/2010/seo/185/
It get's into the actual math of the data.
-
I would drop the "keyword in bold, italic and underlined" as well as worrying at all about density. I would only do that if it enhances the page for the reader rather than bolding etc... a word simply because it is your targeted term for the page. Also - alt tags are very important, yes, but remember to describe the image, don't just throw keywords in. I think will all of the recent talk about 'Over Optimization' those are things that the algo's could potentially be looking for etc...
-
Thanks for the info!
-
Hi Terry,
It is important to include exact match keywords and related keywords in each page's meta data, headers, and content. As for an exact keyword density, we do not use this as an on-page factor anymore. Just make sure you use the keywords you want to show up for in the meta data, headers, and content, while keeping the content user focused.
-
Hi Terry,
It is important to include exact match keywords and related keywords in each page's meta data, headers, and content. As for an exact keyword density, we do not use this as an on-page factor anymore. Just make sure you use the keywords you want to show up for in the meta data, headers, and content, while keeping the content user focused.
-
Thanks, I forgot about that one. Are the on-page factors still important such as the keyword density or has this changed too?
-
Link directories and the web 2.0 backlinks to backlinks strategy is not very effective anymore. Blog commenting is typically marked with a nofollow link, so that will not do much for you. Many of the other
Several of the elements on your list are still very important for SEO, but knowing this is only the start, especially regarding off-page. Knowing where to get the links is good, but the more important factors is knowing how to get the links, which is best done through out reach and creating things for your link targets that merit a link.
Also, your off-page list is missing one very effective link building tool which is guest posting. This is a great way to acquire quality links.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Best way to link from press releases
I'm wondering what people recommend for linking from press releases; specifically, what kind of tracking parameters people add to their links, if any. My first thought is to add UTM tracking parameters for Google Analytics, but I have a few concerns: bloggers that copy our link from the release include the tracking parameters in the links from their site, which would only identify the traffic as coming from the release and not the specific sites UTM parameters in the link may make it look less natural to Google Also, I've considered using shortened URL's without parameters in the release that get 301 redirected to the relevant pages, which I thought might have a few benefits: the links look more natural (no tracking parameters) UTM parameters could be added as part of the redirect after the fact if the release attracted links from spammy sources for some reason I could kill the redirect, which I'm hoping would effectively kill the link My company doesn't rely on press releases for link building, which we understand to have been ineffective for a long time, but we do send them out occasionally and want the most effective links for tracking and SEO. I'd love to hear if anyone has thoughts on these assumptions, or if anyone has different linking strategies that they have found strike the right balance of SEO and tracking considerations. Thanks!
Social Media | | Kyle_M2 -
Best reports for competitive social engagement insights? (Moz or not)
My client, in a large industrial sector, is trying to find or purchase good data for their industry as far as benchmarks for social engagement. While the DIY tools have social trackers, many require you to connect to the account you want to measure - so competitive research is a non-starter. What would you use to build a spreadsheet of social engagement metrics from a set of, say, 10 competitors in a niche vertical (e.g. industrial robotics?)
Social Media | | scottclark1 -
Quick Start SEO Tasks for Brand New Multi Regional Website
Hello All Webmasters, I have questions on organic visits for my fresh website targeted in Australia. I am a webmaster of http://www.canvaschamp.com.au/ and we have launched this domain before 20 days around on the date 7th Aug 2014. I have set up display network ads campaign for quick visits and going to start Product Listing Campaign soon for our products to get transaction. I also set up my social media accounts but have not update anything with them yet. But my biggest concern is to build organic links through various link building activities as per latest trend. I have couple of questions which i mentioned below My domain for AUS: http://www.canvaschamp.com.au/ How can i increase my organic visits? (Right now didn't get any organic visit) Which Link building activities still works to get maximum organic visits and how can i improve my social media performance? What are the steps to go forward to promote and increase my performance in Google ranking for this new website? (Any steps by step activity to go ahead?) Should i keep my link building activities limited to .com.au websites or can i promote globally?? Looking forward to hear from all my expert webmaster friends to help me out and to improve my site's performance. Thanks
Social Media | | CommercePundit0 -
Best way to keep in touch with Twitter leads
On Twitter every now and then I have a conversation with a few people that lasts couple days. Then the conversation dies down and a different conversation with a few other followers begins. What do you guys do to keep in touch with the followers from the older conversations and perhaps start new ones? Do any of the online tools help with that?
Social Media | | Heydarian0 -
Best Way to Install Facebook Comments in Wordpress.
Guys, What is the best way to install facebook comments in a wordpress blog, I've seen most plugins, but most of them are broken. Also, I would like to keep the default wordpress comment system. So, I'll be maintaing 2 comment systems in my blog. Please inform me the procedure in detail. Thank you in advance 🙂
Social Media | | gurrambharath0 -
Facebook competition: what's the best way to do it
Taking some advice/ideas from this seomoz blog post http://www.seomoz.org/blog/99-ways-to-build-links-by-giving-stuff-away-and-improve-your-brand-too-14029 I decided to launch a facebook competition were you like/share the product you want to win. The question is should I be looking for share or likes? From what I have read Share are more valuable than likes, but Likes would be easier to get I think (ie we could get a lot more of them). Here is an example of one of our product pages: http://www.lovefurniture.ie/sofas-furniture/corner-sofas-l-shaped-sofas/rihanna-corner-suite-with-sofabed We already have a like, tweet +1 buttons, but not a facebook share, should it be there? Any feedback or advice would be appreciated
Social Media | | eunaneunan0 -
Social or SEO?
all, would you consider social bookmarking to be part of an SEO package or a Social Media Package? thanks
Social Media | | imageworks-2612900 -
Viral Marketing Question: If you build a truly great piece of content, what are the best ways to seed it?
Say the site is a 2 year old eCommerce company that has this awesome clever infographic but not many blogger connections. What would be the best ways to get that content syndicated? What agencies are still left that do actual viral marketing now that Rand and Todd Malicoat have moved on the greener pastures?
Social Media | | zachc_coffeeforless.com0