Website Promotion (SEO)
Website promotion article on how to use basic HTML tags in Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
organic SEO Rule #2
HTML tags for proper web page formatting is about more than style. Creating a website that works with the search engines and browsers to present your products and services is your goal. Websites that follow the basic rules of HTML are more likely to reach more viewers by the simple fact that the web pages present well across platform / browser combinations.
Many feel that HTML tags have little or no direct effect on SEO, maybe they are right, but using them helps you organize and present focused information effectively to more consumers on many different devices. I think this makes HTML tags valuable and that is why I use them.
HTML tags: from the top
Open your web page in a browser, under the "view" menu choose "source", you are now looking at the HTML of your page.
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "declaration" "link to DTD">
The first tag will probably be the "DOCTYPE" declaration, this effects the way browsers render or present your web page, associating it with a Document Type Definition (DTD) (for example, the formal definition of a particular version of HTML). The effect of using this tag improperly can cause your web pages to look very different when viewed in different browsers.
Here is an example: <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html> </html>
The second HTML tag is the first of the <html> </html> pair. The text between these tags describes the web page, the first appears near the top (the "opening" tag) and the second at the end of the page (the "closing" tag). These should appear only once each on the page.
<head> </head>
The third HTML tag is the first of the <head> </head> pair. The text between these tags is not viewable on the web page, but it does contain elements that effect the what is displayed in search return listing in search engines (the page title and description). The head element contains the "title" and "meta" tags These should appear only once each on the page.
<title> </title>
The fourth HTML tag is the first of the <title> </title> pair. The text between these tags is the "unique" title of your page, it should contain your key phrase and is a powerful SEO tool. This is the bold text that will display in the search return listing, your first chance to convince a potential viewer to click on the listing and visit your website.
<meta name="description" content="unique description">
The fifth tag is the "meta" description of the web page content, it should appear only once in the head section and be unique. This is the text that will display in the search return listing, under your title information. Don't use duplicate title and description info on your website, each page should have it's own.
<meta name="keywords" content="Key phrase">
The sixth tag is the "meta" keywords tag, this is probably the most misunderstood of the "meta" tags. Historically, this tag was used to provide content that was NOT on the page (think synonyms). Most search engines completely ignore this tag but I use it to help me maintain focus on the key phrase in the web page content.
<meta name="robots" content="INDEX/FOLLOW">
The seventh tag is the "meta" robots tag, it should appear only once in the head section. This tag tells the search engine robots or spiders if you want your page to appear in their index and if you want them to follow the links on the page to other pages on your website.
The example above instructs the robots to add your page to their index and follow links appearing on the web page. If you don't want the page or linked pages listed use the following instead:
<meta name="robots" content="NOINDEX/NOFOLLOW">.
<body> </body>
The eighth HTML tag is the first of the <body> </body> pair. The text between these tags describes the visible portion of the web page in the browser window. These should appear only once each on the page.
<h1> </h1>
The HTML h1 header tag is the first of the <h1> </h1> pair. The text between these tags describes the "headline" of the content, just like a newspaper uses headlines. The h1 tag should contain your key phrase and should appear only once each on the page.
There are sub-head tag pairs as well, <h2> </h2> through <h6> </h6>. I use key phrase related terms in these also and use the sub-head pairs as often as I feel the content requires them.
TIP: Don't forget the document name!
I save my html pages using document names that reflect the main key phrase. This way your key phrase automatically appears in any link to the web page, i.e. "key_phrase.html" (avoid spaces, I prefer underscores). Links will then appear as "http://www.my_web_site.com/my_key_phrase.html".
Next time: Using CSS to control style and avoid HTML errors in your web pages.
article series links: website promotion using organic SEO
Introduction to Website Promotion Article Series
Website Promotion using Organic SEO, Rule #1
Website Promotion using basic HTML tags in SEO, Rule #2