On-Page Optimization for Search Engine Visibility
Title Tag Optimization
Arguably the most important part of a web page's elements is the page title. The content of a web pages title tags get tremendous exposure as it is prominently displayed in clickable underlined text in the searh results for a given keyword. This fact coupled with the the tremendous influence page titles have with algorithms make them one of the most important search engine optimization opportunities within your web site.
Meta Tag Optimization
Meta elements are used to provide information about web pages that is not visible on the page itself, but is "parseable," or able to be interpreted by search engine robots. The meta keywords attribute, once the single most important element of any SEO campaign, has lost considerable influence in the determination of a page's popularity with the search engines.
SEO experts theorize, however, that if the content of a page's keyword tags is closely related to the content of the page itself, it may hold a small siginificance in the page's rankings. That being said, little time should be spent optimizing the content of the meta keyword tags - efforts are better focused on other areas of a web page that are much more likely to produce results.
The meta description tag, also an invisible element of a web page, provides search engines with a summary of the content of your page. Many search engines display the contents of your meta description tags in the serps (search engine results pages) just below the page title.
Descriptive, focused, keyword rich text in a page's description tags will help users decide if the content of the page is suited to their needs, and will help search engines determine the relevance of your page to a given keyword.
Header Tags and Text Modifiers
Optimizing your web pages includes emphasizing your main topics and categories for both your web site users and for search engines. Header tags such as <H1> and <H2> are used to create a hierarchical flow to your page, seperating the most prominent topic headlines from the descriptive text that may follow.
Text modifiers such as the <strong> attribute express a sense of urgency or the importance of a particular word or phrase. Today's sophisticated search engine algorithms are designed to read through your pages and determine the most important ideas or themes in your content.
The strategic use of header tags and text modifiers provides you with the ability to let the search engines know what your web page is all about.
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