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How Keywords Affect Your Rankings
Search Engine Optimization
By: Stephen S Alison
We all want to know how keywords affect our rankings, but to
find out we’ll need to do a little work. Many say keywords are
the key to good search engine rankings, although they aren’t at
all the only factor.
If you need a tool to help you decide on your keywords, try
Overture's Search Term Suggestion Tool – it allows you to test
your keyword rankings by showing you statistics on recent
searches for them. It’s a great tool when you have no clue which
keyword you should choose, as it can give you a list of terms
that were recently searched on.
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Keyword Density - Keyword density refers to the number of
the keywords contained within your text relative to the amount
of text there is. Preferred keyword density ratios vary between
search engines, but you should generally try to keep them
between two and eight percent (major search engines prefer the
lower end). Keyword analysis tools can help to optimize a web
page’s keyword density.
These tools are good if you’re not sure of what you’re doing, as
they’re very intuitive and explain things as you go. |
Counting the Keywords - Many SEO experts will tell you
that the keyword density of your text isn’t a very important
factor, and that you should be careful not to overdo it. So is
there a limit? How many times should you use your keywords? SEO
experts won’t be able to answer these questions for you, because
no-one’s really sure of the answer. The best answer is that it
changes regularly, and you can never be sure – you have to
experiment to see what works for you.
Location of Keywords - When testing the effects of
keyword location, we found that pages with the keywords at the
top and bottom of the page ranked higher on Google than pages
with the keywords in the middle.
Many other search engines also give keywords more or less weight
based on their location, but keep in mind that each search
engine’s algorithm is different. Here’s a list of how most
search engines prioritize keyword positions, from most to least:
1. Domain name.
2. Page title.
3. Headings (i.e. H1, H2, etc.).
4. Body text (the first 2 to 3 KB usually counts more).
5. Meta tags (especially description).
6. Links (including keywords in the URL or link text of links to
you).
7. Alt text (the ‘alt’ descriptions for your pictures).
Really, though, keyword density is one of those areas where
you’ll have trouble on your hands if you try to second guess the
search engines. Be cautious.
Search Engine
Optimization Techniques -
The Basic SEO Rules for All
Websites. Search engine optimization isn’t rocket science, but
it can feel complicated at times. To have a successful campaign,
just follow these simple rules detailed here – they apply to all
websites.
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