Some thoughts on SEO Basics

[frobn]

It has always been my belief that if you want to be successful in anything you must first learn the basics. After several weeks of activity with SEO basics I have come to a preliminary hypothesis that SEO and usability share many aspects. Since usability is my area I have to be careful with my conclusions. However, if one were to begin with the premise that the search engine is just another user who whats to be able to quickly find information relevant to his or her search then such a premilitary hypothesis has surface validity.

Here are some of my thoughts on basic SEO. Please feel free to improve on or add to them.

1. Design architecture. - Build on a strong foundation. When building a house you build on a strong foundation, certainly it's the same principal with building web sites. The strongest foundation you can build on is xhtml and css (Cascading Stylesheets). (see http://www.devarticles.com/c/a/HTML...ction-to-XHTML/ for an introduction to xhtml. With xhtml/css you can separate content from layout. This has many advantages among them: search engine and user friendliness; easy to edit and maintain; and future compatibility with web devices. Ironically, web site architecture is often ignored by "SEO experts."

2. Meta Tags: Title and Meta tags. In SEO there is agreement on the importance of title tags and meta tags for the description. While other meta tags may play a role in SEO Title and description are the two that demand the most attention. Use individualized title tags and descriptions for each page of your site that you want to optimize.

3. Content: After design architecture, content is the most important aspect of your optimization because it is the reason why a user will visit your site. Assuming your content is relevant, your pages need to be easily accessible to your visitor. Remember I started with the premise that the search engine is a visitor. I suggested above that you use CSS for layout, now here is what css can do for your content: CSS-driven web pages download faster than table-driven pages; Web pages laid out with CSS have better accessibility and cross browser compatiblity making your pages usable on a broad variety of web devices; CSS-driven web pages have higher search engine ranking because they contain a far greater content to code ratio than table-driven ones making it easier for search engine spiders to access page content.

4. Linking: Linking is an important aspect to any optimization program, but instead of linking for the sake of linking think of linking as something that will be of value to your visitors. Whether or not search engines rate you equally on relevant and non-relevant links there is no user value to a link that is not relevant to web pages and your content. Link to pages that make sense and request links from web pages that have relevancy. In the long term only relevant links will prove to be valuable to a visitor including the search engine spider.
__________________

[frobn]

There appears to confusion over the value of links among "SEO experts." At one extreme there is the opinion that all incoming links are weighted the same regardless of type to the other extreme that the importance of links is quickly diminishing. Logic would suggest that one-way relevant links are more likely natural and therefore more valuable. From a usability perspective I would agree. In my experience, when confusion exists among the "experts" it is prudent to take a middle road. Therefore my suggestion for linking is to have a mix. Let's say 40% reciprocal related, 30% one-way related, 30% local links. The figures are not scientific, they just look good to me. What do you think?

[Real Estate Forum]

4. Linking: Linking is an important aspect to any optimization program, but instead of linking for the sake of linking think of linking as something that will be of value to your visitors. Whether or not search engines rate you equally on relevant and non-relevant links there is no user value to a link that is not relevant to web pages and your content. Link to pages that make sense and request links from web pages that have relevancy. In the long term only relevant links will prove to be valuable to a visitor including the search engine spider.
__________________
Your posts and especially the one above should be read by anyone starting in the seo field. There is nothing more important than building a strong establishment from the ground up. Some of the useless links may work now but long term speaking ... look at it like this, when the algos change, you will move up since those who wanted quick fixes, will lose their rankings. And you will stay up there.
Treat a search engine almost like a visitor. make it easy for them to find what they are looking for.
IMO Google spiders follow and find related content almost magnetically and even linking to someone can help your own rankings, getting a BL or not.

I say: if you don't have what your visitors want, link to someone who does.
Better to be another click away than not finding it at all.

Imitate Google and Google will love you.

Just my 3rd penny

[frobn]

I say: if you don't have what your visitors want, link to someone who does.
Better to be another click away than not finding it at all.

Imitate Google and Google will love you.

Just my 3rd penny

Mike,

Thank you for your comments. I have a long way to go and feedback like yours will keep me on the right track. I visit many sites belonging to "SEO experts" and hate to say what I find, many don't seem to understand the basic premise that a web site is for the visitor. Their web sites might have high page ranks but I wonder how many sales they close.

[Las Vegas Homes]

Frobn, that was a very nice post. If you dont mind I wil stick that one. As for your comments I agree 100%. This is one problem with real estate sites. People build them for the search engines and forget about the consumers. However I would also like to say that most consumers only want to see pictures of the city and pictures and listings of homes.

Things like buyers and sellers tips hardly ever get looked at. Also and I hate to say it but sites do not IMHO need to include every piece of information you could think to offer a consumers. Your next question is why? Consumers looking at real estate now are starting to believe they can do it better than a real estate agent can. Also some feel if they dont use a Realtor they can get something knocked off the price of the home, which we all know isnt going to happen, plus that seller has representation so the buyer better as well. You need to leave something to the imagination to entice that consumer to give you a call or contact you.

I do agree with you though that sites should be created with the consumer in mind and not the SEs. Knowledge is power and power preceived is power acheived...I heard that somewhere ..lol

[judyo]

Well, I guess (unfortunately) I've certainly tried to create my sites for my surfers first & now am just learning about SEO. I was surprised to hear that one of my listing clients actually read through my seller's info page. She even made mention of some of the links & stuff. So you never know!

That's why I'd like to include as much info as possible. I especially think first-time buyers do like to read a tutorial or get as much information as possible.

Also, doesn't offering a lot of relevant content go hand-in-hand with SEO? There's only going to be so many listings I can put up at one time. My only problem is trying to create my own unique content.

And now that we're on the subject, I have to say that some of the streamlined real estate sites I've seen, IMHO, don't look welcoming to those I would consider the average home buyer or seller. Some look way too technical and uninviting & if I were out there surfing I'd try to find a "friendlier" site with easy navigation.

[frobn]

Frobn, that was a very nice post. If you dont mind I wil stick that one. As for your comments I agree 100%. This is one problem with real estate sites. People build them for the search engines and forget about the consumers. However I would also like to say that most consumers only want to see pictures of the city and pictures and listings of homes.

Please do. I am flattered that you think enough of the post.

I agree that the images and listings are the content that visitors want the most and that is why it is important to have IDX integrated into your website. When done well with user friendly urls each and every listing will be crawled by the search engines.

[Las Vegas Real Estate]

You've each contributed great input and summarized it in plain english. For that I thank you!

[Real Estate Forum]

There are certain things that work for a certain time frame and others will work for good. The time limited strategies normally get you up fast and you can then go down even faster. Like link buying was THE thing to do a year or 2 ago.
Now I would always establish a strong foundation like Frank said.
Never put all eggs into the same basket .... there is always a lot to learn.
That's why communities like these are great where people keep each others posted.
Thank you everyone for your contributions.


Mike

[San Diego Real Estate]

It has always been my belief that if you want to be successful in anything you must first learn the basics. After several weeks of activity with SEO basics I have come to a preliminary hypothesis that SEO and usability share many aspects. Since usability is my area I have to be careful with my conclusions. However, if one were to begin with the premise that the search engine is just another user who whats to be able to quickly find information relevant to his or her search then such a premilitary hypothesis has surface validity.

Here are some of my thoughts on basic SEO. Please feel free to improve on or add to them.

1. Design architecture. - Build on a strong foundation. When building a house you build on a strong foundation, certainly it's the same principal with building web sites. The strongest foundation you can build on is xhtml and css (Cascading Stylesheets). (see http://www.devarticles.com/c/a/HTML...ction-to-XHTML/ for an introduction to xhtml. With xhtml/css you can separate content from layout. This has many advantages among them: search engine and user friendliness; easy to edit and maintain; and future compatibility with web devices. Ironically, web site architecture is often ignored by "SEO experts."

2. Meta Tags: Title and Meta tags. In SEO there is agreement on the importance of title tags and meta tags for the description. While other meta tags may play a role in SEO Title and description are the two that demand the most attention. Use individualized title tags and descriptions for each page of your site that you want to optimize.

3. Content: After design architecture, content is the most important aspect of your optimization because it is the reason why a user will visit your site. Assuming your content is relevant, your pages need to be easily accessible to your visitor. Remember I started with the premise that the search engine is a visitor. I suggested above that you use CSS for layout, now here is what css can do for your content: CSS-driven web pages download faster than table-driven pages; Web pages laid out with CSS have better accessibility and cross browser compatiblity making your pages usable on a broad variety of web devices; CSS-driven web pages have higher search engine ranking because they contain a far greater content to code ratio than table-driven ones making it easier for search engine spiders to access page content.

4. Linking: Linking is an important aspect to any optimization program, but instead of linking for the sake of linking think of linking as something that will be of value to your visitors. Whether or not search engines rate you equally on relevant and non-relevant links there is no user value to a link that is not relevant to web pages and your content. Link to pages that make sense and request links from web pages that have relevancy. In the long term only relevant links will prove to be valuable to a visitor including the search engine spider.
__________________frobn...once again a lot of valuable information Thanks for sharing!

[HomeSurfer]

Judy:

Great Avatar, and though most people do want to just look at pictures and listings, there are some (the type who buy the real estate books that take up a large portion of a shelf in the bookstore) who...

...actually read selling tips (thank goodness!).

And as for the other comments on linking:

No matter how great anyone's site is...the visitor IS going to leave. Back before links pages got all bloated and useless, the links page was often the last page someone visited before they left your site. That is why links became important. You had some influence and control over where the visitors went.

Nowadays, I don't even want to look at most real estate site links pages. So I'm hoping that Google gets good at filtering out useless and non-vistied links.

Frobn is right. Links should be for the visitor, not the web site owner.

[sarahk]

Link to pages that make sense and request links from web pages that have relevancy.
Relevancy is so important. You'll also see it referred to as themes. Put links that are similar on a page, split them up, move them about. Having adsense on the page (just for a test, or long term) is good to see if you have a theme going. If the ads match your page then you've got the theme right and the amount of content right. If it's skewed by you internal links or not really clear then you have some more work to do.

Look at my Turkish Property (http://www.pcpropertymanager.com/wsn40_1display.html) page, the adsense reflects the page and the page has content
but when you get to my Singapore property (http://www.pcpropertymanager.com/wsn39_1display.html) page google has to work harder and fails to really identify a theme.

It takes alot of links to make a difference, but by the same account, you can afford to decline links because 1 less won't make much difference either. Be fussy, if the company doesn't look "real" then it may not have much substance. Strangely, in real estate, I prefer the really crappy looking agents. Their sites are usually solid, uncomplicated and honest from an SEO perspective.

[Real Estate Forum]

Exactly - get to know the webmaster first and see where they are going long term. Otherwise you will spend all your time chasing bad neighborhoods.

[San Diego Real Estate]

You are absolutely right Mike...reaching the right target is Vital! ;)

[frobn]

Exactly - get to know the webmaster first and see where they are going long term. Otherwise you will spend all your time chasing bad neighborhoods.

It looks like there is a consensus that most linking is probably a waste of time and effort without research into the linking partners. Perhaps we come up with a set of criteria to follow for choosing linking partners and the way to link. The next step would be to build our own "good neighbor network."

[sarahk]

I have some basic notes at Link Exchanges - the novice version (http://sarahk.pcpropertymanager.com/blog/novice-link-exchangers/)

Sarah

[Real Estate Forum]

I’d recommend taking the good means every time. So it may take longer, it may take more work, atleast you won’t be fretting everytime the search engines decide to change their algorthms that you’ll be penalised. exactamundo :cool:

[HMiller]

I prefer the really crappy looking agents.
Hmmmmm ;)

[Real Estate Forum]

hehe ... everyone needs a chance, right?

[frobn]

SEO Basics Work!

I have had two sites up for about 60 days. When I went to broadwaykeys.com today, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I am out of the Google Sandbox with a PR 4, and PR3s on most other pages. I checked cssdesignmagic.com and there too was a PR4. I had expected a 6-9 month stay in the sandbox. So far I have only optimized my internal linking and have not started an external linking strategy which I will be coming up with in a few days.

[sarahk]

Hmmmmm ;)

Sorry if I offended you Henry... your site is far from crappy but it does look real. It looks like there is a hard working real person behind it. I like that.

Some of the realtor sites I get look very dodgy, they are so groomed and so plastic. As a house buyer I'd worry that the realtor was all tricks and image, no substance. I guess that attitude carries over to my SEO life too.

Sarah

[HMiller]

LOL Sarah, no offense was taken. When I posted the "Hmmmmmm" line I was referring to this quote from one of your posts. Originally Posted by sarahkI prefer the really crappy looking agents.

I was joking that you preferred crappy looking agents, while I know you meant that you preferred the crappy looking agent sites. :D

[sward]

CSS-driven web pages have higher search engine ranking because they contain a far greater content to code ratio than table-driven ones making it easier for search engine spiders to access page content.

_

Hi Gang, Just one comment on this, Although I agree with you that CSS cut down on coding, I don't agree that they always get higher ranking, after all lot's of sites have CSS but poor internal linking, and optimization. ...etc.

The reason I know this is my sites are still basic HTML, unfortunately for me when I built the sites 5 years ago CSS was just breaking ground and I missed the learning curve... I know any new sites I do will need to use the newer language and I may even have to change my old sites.... I'm dreading the switch.. but for now I don't have to as I still blow my competition out of the water..... Just thought I ought to put my two cents in ...still good advice but not completely true :)

[sarahk]

Hi Gang, Just one comment on this, Although I agree with you that CSS cut down on coding, I don't agree that they always get higher ranking, after all lot's of sites have CSS but poor internal linking, and optimization. ...etc.
You're 100% right on that

CSS doesn't directly help with ranking

Indirectly it helps by making it easier for a search engine spider to identify content. They are smart enough to cope with complicated html and javascript - but if you can avoid it then why not.

Humans will thank you too as your pages will load faster :)

Sarah

[frobn]

Hi Gang, Just one comment on this, Although I agree with you that CSS cut down on coding, I don't agree that they always get higher ranking, after all lot's of sites have CSS but poor internal linking, and optimization. ...etc.

The reason I know this is my sites are still basic HTML, unfortunately for me when I built the sites 5 years ago CSS was just breaking ground and I missed the learning curve... I know any new sites I do will need to use the newer language and I may even have to change my old sites.... I'm dreading the switch.. but for now I don't have to as I still blow my competition out of the water..... Just thought I ought to put my two cents in ...still good advice but not completely true :)

CSS alone will not give you a higher SE rating. It is one aspect of css along with correct semantic markup will provide advantages over non-css/xhtml sites.

SEs have no problem reading html, but when the html is convoluted within tables and nested tables SEs can not make sense of it. Probably the same with java script. Css/xthml with correct semantic markup allows you to code in a logical manner giving you the optimun placement of key elements and content.

If the content of your web site is properly coded switching it to a css/xhtml sturcture should not be difficult. Recoding tables to css can be a bit daunting though.

[sward]

If the content of your web site is properly coded switching it to a css/xhtml sturcture should not be difficult. Recoding tables to css can be a bit daunting though.

Really ? Well it IS in tables, I do use Dreamweaver so I'm pretty well versed in most things ... I just assumed it would be a nightmare :eek: , as my sites are both about 550 pages each, not done on templates but usually I'd just take a page and rename it, change out text and pics, optimize etc.... so do you still think it would be simple? I know eventually I need to do it just can't afford a screw up and like I said I am doing great in the SE's .....guess it wouldn't hurt to do better. Any suggestions on some good tutorials on it and Dreamweaver? I bet the one that comes with the software is even easy to follow just haven't looked at it.I am open for suggestions

I just wanted to clarify for anyone out there that might take over an old HTML site that you can get them ranking well and not to panic. maybe ya'll can prompt me to make the switch.

sward :)

[sarahk]

as my sites are both about 550 pages each, not done on templates but usually I'd just take a page and rename it, change out text and pics, optimize etc.... so do you still think it would be simple?
It would be simple, just time consuming to do something x 550

However maybe it's better to bite the bullet and get a modular design in place before your site is x650?

Sarah

[HomeSurfer]

I once had 550 pages.

I moved away from tables as much as possible when creating new pages, though the site is too big and I never get around to simplifying everything. I stopped doing imbedded tables almost completely. We took out all the programming language and javascript.

I like things simple, so do search engines, and so do web visitors. It still has to look inviting, though.

[Realestateguy]

lol that is alot to chew on

[Miami Homes]

not sure if someone mentioned this already, but bloggin also creates some search engine exposure. Just make sure that you use as much keywords as possible in your blog.

[DomainDrivers]

Understanding the basics is where we all must start. Here's a free multi-page primer on the basics. The document is called "Seo Basics for Real Estate" and can be found on the DomainDrivers site. If you PM me I'll send you the link

[spanishproperty]

Because SEO is so fierce in competition with other companies on the web I think that you must do it properly or not at all.

Firstly if you mess about and dont really know what you are doing, it is a waste of time and recources so you may as well pass it on to a professional company with the know how and the proof of results.

Otherwise, building and maintaining a site if you know what you are doing - you must start and continue in a certain fashion. Its not meta tags, keywords, links, etc, etc - its a balance of hard work and good information, producing a small bit of work to the site every day or every week.

A clean and tidy site - files, internal links, general scrpit and structure.

Meta tags, links, keywords, etc are quick fix solutions that arrive just at the start of your websites journey.

[ericbramlett]

I was just reading through here & noticed the "text to code" comments....everything I've read (especially from Matt Cutts) indicates that this is a completely bogus ratio that the SERP's don't even look at. While CSS driven pages are much cleaner, Cutts has indicated that G doesn't care how bogged down or clean a site is.

[AmherstIsland]

Thank-you for that post. I recently started a Private Islands Blog, and I have been looking for some solid tips. I didn't expect to find them on this website. They really helped clear things up for me.

[Honeycomb Properties]

Great post. When I start explaining SEO basics I start by breaking it into 2 components:

On-page
Off-pageOn-page involves everything regarding the design, layout, architecture, internal link structure, metas, headers, content, etc.

Off-page is everything else on the web that isn't on your site, but is about your site; with the #1 = links.

Your thread title was about SEO basics and I think you did a great job. SEO has changed significantly in the few years it's been around (Google was only founded in 1998- less than 10 years ago) and will continue to change. Meta tags were all important in the early years, but don't mean much anymore. Build a good site people like, keep it rich with good content, and people (and SE's) will find it.

I will also agree that blogs are gaining more and more value with the SE's. I recently wrote a blog regarding a community I visited and my blog now ranks better than the developer's website for the community on specific keyword terms.

[charlieberry]

Well, I guess (unfortunately) I've certainly tried to create my sites for my surfers first & now am just learning about SEO. I was surprised to hear that one of my listing clients actually read through my seller's info page. She even made mention of some of the links & stuff. So you never know!

That's why I'd like to include as much info as possible. I especially think first-time buyers do like to read a tutorial or get as much information as possible.

Also, doesn't offering a lot of relevant content go hand-in-hand with SEO? There's only going to be so many listings I can put up at one time. My only problem is trying to create my own unique content.

And now that we're on the subject, I have to say that some of the streamlined real estate sites I've seen, IMHO, don't look welcoming to those I would consider the average home buyer or seller. Some look way too technical and uninviting & if I were out there surfing I'd try to find a "friendlier" site with easy navigation.

I haven't hit 15 posts yet so I cant put my site on this message, will you PM me, I would lovve for you to give me your HO on the friendliness/wecomeness of my site. I agree this is very important, getting them there is one thing, making them not run away is the art!

[MAAOnline]

1. Design architecture. - Build on a strong foundation. When building a house you build on a strong foundation, certainly it's the same principal with building web sites. The strongest foundation you can build on is xhtml and css (Cascading Stylesheets). (see for an introduction to xhtml. With xhtml/css you can separate content from layout. This has many advantages among them: search engine and user friendliness; easy to edit and maintain; and future compatibility with web devices. Ironically, web site architecture is often ignored by "SEO experts."
__________________

Is there a tool that can be used to see if your sites architecture is the best for site ranking?

[ExtraArm]

Most people who start out learning SEO focus on on-page factors. While backlinks are critical when it comes to maintaining ranking, a few on-page issues that deserves your attention are:

- Keywords in TITLE
- Keyword research - Google can't read your mind. A page optimized for [las vegas real estate] will not necessarily rank for [las vegas homes] without you mentioning that term in the copy. Its your job to figure out which keyword will give you the traffic you need.
- Optimize page content for linkers, not search engines. This is the secret in building content that generates links on their own.

[ExtraArm]

Is there a tool that can be used to see if your sites architecture is the best for site ranking?Not that I know of.

In terms of site architecture, first concern is to minimize noisy URLs. Canonical URLs (www/non-www), duplicate content, URLs with session IDs.

Second, make your site easy to navigate. Your best content should be easy to get to from any page.

[rainier]

everything starts with the basic and continues learning increased your knowledge.

[proleads]

Not that I know of.

In terms of site architecture, first concern is to minimize noisy URLs. Canonical URLs (www/non-www), duplicate content, URLs with session IDs.

Second, make your site easy to navigate. Your best content should be easy to get to from any page.

That's correct you should avoid canonical issue with your website,
By proper permenant redirection of your website (301) Redirection.

[amjadindiaint]

I would like to add 2 more things to this list, what i feel is good for SEO:

1: Blogs: A blog is useful in directly interacting with your sites visitors, where they can leave a comment. It can also be useful to make your sites visitors updated with new changes or announcements.

2: Press Release: It is the best medium to quickly publish your website on the web (if it is new) and to make others aware about something new. (if you have started some new services or launched some new products)

Also i would like to break linking in two different categories.

i) One way link: Directory Submission is the best medium to get one way links for your valuable site. Three way link exchange can also be done for this purpose. It works very well.
ii) Reciprocal Links: Link exchange is only beneficial with your industry specific sites. The theme should be relevant as of yours.

The days are gone when link popularity was everything to matter. Now a days the quality matters and search engine spiders are intelligent enough to weigh an incoming link.

[RJacobsen]

This is great advice, amjadindiaint!

Blogs not only allow you to share your thoughts and to interact with your website's visitors... blogs also play a vital roll in building a bigger better website!

Every blog post you write adds content (which we all know the search engines love) and each blog post you write adds a whole new page to your website! A blog post a day is close to 30 new webpages to your site a month!

[irean.com]

hello Guy,
You can start seo
1) On Page Optimizations




Title and Meta Tags Generation
Content Optimization
Using Alt Tags on Images
Using Title Tags on Links
Creating new pages for link exchange (The only step which is to be done after off page optimization)


Off Page Optimization

Directory Submissions

Blog Optimization
Article Submissions

Relevant Forum Posting
Classifieds
Social Bookmarking





Thanks

[matt16122]

Heres a few things that havent been mentioned.

1. It all starts with your website url. Lets get one that reflects your business and is keyword related.

2.website design/optimization - lets make sure that when we post a fresh article the title is now part of the url.

aboutrealestatemarketing.com/real-estate-web-site-tip/

3. try to use titles for articles that people will type into google.

4. When linking to your site - make sure that you are linking a keyword phrase not the name of your website. ie; real estate website tip

5. You should have a sitemap for google on your site.

[apexonein]

In my experience, when confusion exists among the "experts" it is prudent to take a middle road. Therefore my suggestion for linking is to have a mix. Let's say 40% reciprocal related, 30% one-way related, 30% local links. The figures are not scientific, they just look good to me. What do you think?

I think if you are able to get oneway links there is no need to go for reciprocal links. there are a lot of ways by which we can generate one way link.

1: Directory Submission
2: Article Submission.
3: Social Bookmarking.
5: Blogs.
6: Press Releases.

If your website's content is good enough it can also generate one way links for you.

Regards
Apexone

[rainier]

SEO basic really works if you wanted to have better results the you must know the basic first before you jump in to much higher knowledge.

[Tyler Schacter]

I've heard rumour of Google changing their search engine standards and penalising reciprocal links. Can anyone verify if this is true or not? Where can we find info on Google's page rank standards?

[thepong]

This is great advice, Thanks for sharing!

[erikko]

I've heard rumour of Google changing their search engine standards and penalising reciprocal links. Can anyone verify if this is true or not? Where can we find info on Google's page rank standards?


actually this is old news and in fact they will also penalize those who buys links