Let's tackle an important part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO): optimizing the text on your site.
Before you optimize your text, it is important to know how to optimize it by choosing the right keywords.
90% of Internet users searching for products or services do so via search engines like Google. This search is performed using keywords or a series of words that describe the product or service sought. By targeting the right keywords, your site increases its chance of getting more visitors (or "hits").
How to choose keywords?
The rules are complex, but in general it is preferable to select sets of 3 or more words (key phrases) rather than one very popular word. For example, opt for "Nike shoes Montreal" rather than "shoes" in order to have more targeted keywords.
See http://www.wordtracker.com/ to view detailed statistics about your keywords (in English).
Take time to develop your keywords! Talk to your friends and colleagues, everyone thinks differently and there may be important keywords that you are not considering.
How to optimize your site with these keywords?
Once you have found the main keyword (or key phrases) for your product / service, it is time to use them! You should now change the text on your site to contain these keywords:
- Choose 2 or 3 key phrases per page, no more.
- Insert the keywords in the title tag on your page.
- Insert the keywords in the meta tag keywords and meta description of your page.
- Include these keywords so that they constitute 3 to 5% of words on your page.
- Insert the keywords at the top of the page (preferably so that they are the first words displayed!).
- Use these keywords in your header.
- The flash files, images, or PDF files are not taken into account, so keep these to a minimum.
Do not try to abuse the system since the robots that index your site can detect such abuse, so be sure to use text that is readable and effective.
