Free Search Engine Optimization Techniques and Tips to Improve Website Conversions in Google & Yahoo

"The following free Search Engine Optimization techniques and tips are based on an analysis of results achieved under Google's 2010 algorithm changes (referred to as Caffeine) and also apply to Yahoo and Bing. These tips include an analysis of Google Instant and its impact on long tail search results. An analysis that compared keywords that produced traffic for websites in the weeks before Google Instant was launched verse the weeks following this key infrastructure change. Changes that focus on 'real time' results, search accuracy/relevancy and preparing for the inevitable growth of mobile wireless (smart phone) searches.

According to Scott Moir, founder of Irbtrax SEO Internet Marketing, the analysis showed websites that were applying updated Google Caffeine based Search Engine Optimization techniques maintained or increased their traffic. Especially the all important long tail keyword traffic that can account for 80% of a website's visits."

Here's a partial list of Google Caffeine, Bing and Yahoo SEO tips and techniques shared by the Irbtrax founder:
Technique: Update and optimize key website content as often as possible. Updated content reflects a site that's active. Website visitors and Search Engines take notice of this activity. Additionally, your target audience search trends change so it's important to monitor them and change content to best capitalize on them.
Tip: This can increase conversions and help prevent potential new customers from visiting the competition to seek the information they are looking for.
Technique: Optimize your Meta Title and Description Tags (MTDT). Google places considerable emphasis on MTDT to help with search relevancy and accuracy of site indexing. The Title Tags should contain a companies most important keywords. The Description Tags should contain a mixture of these keywords and the benefits of doing business.
Tip: Clear, concise, and informative Title Tags with keywords that are consistent with the content contained on the landing page have shown to help produce higher page rank. Best to keep Title Tags under 80 characters to be ‘Bot’ friendly. The Description Tags have little to no impact on your rankings. Their purpose is to help increase CTR. Including your strongest selling points, provided they also benefit your target audience, will produce optimal results. Best to keep Title Tags under 170 characters because anything over that will be truncated and won’t be seen by potential visitors.
Technique: Analyze page download rates. Slow download times frustrate visitors causing them to look elsewhere for their needs. Resulting in a poor conversion rates, reduced traffic and lost leads. Additionally, more searches are now being done by 'Smart' phones and other wireless technology that have slower Internet connections. Google is placing increased emphasis on page download rates to address this inevitable trend. The sooner a company embraces this emerging market the bigger the competitive advantage it will gain.
Tip: Some factors that impede site speed include advanced flash graphics, auto play videos and multiple or large high resolution images.
Technique: Minimize or avoid content that doesn't relate to your businesses niche. Website content should be relevant to a site's theme, products or services. Google Caffeine and the other major Search Engines place great emphasis on relevancy from top to bottom. Website pages that contain mixed or conflicting themes are difficult for SE’s to properly index and won't help achieve your goals whether it's page rank or visitor conversion.
Tip: Irrelevant content is not only distracting for your visitors it can reduce the 'authority' assigned by the Search Engines to your site resulting in decreased page rank. 'Authority' is assigned by Google based on the relevancy, sufficiency, and uniqueness of your site's content.
Technique: Create Quality organic inbound links. Avoid paying for links using link submission services that distribute to irrelevant destinations. Google clearly states that these practices can result in your site being penalized. The highest rated links, the ones carrying the most 'votes' are those created using organic methods. Studies have shown it’s not the over all number of links a site has but rather the quality of the links that makes the biggest difference.
Tip: There are a number of proven methods to organically create quality inbound links and increase your search visibility at the same time. Articles, Blogs, Social Media, press releases, Hub pages, forums and industry related directory listings are some examples.

Read the original post here - Free Search Engine Optimization Techniques and Tips to Improve Website Conversions in Google & Yahoo:

Posted in: SEO