Optimizing web page keywords

Optimizing the keywords of a webpage can greatly increase a webpages position in search engine results. A well optimized webpage will clearly identify and the topic of the content and highlight the keywords of the web page to the search engine. Optimizing the keywords on the primary web pages of your website should be one of the first SEO tasks you undetake.

The information on this page assumes that you have already researched and planned your website. It also assumes that you have sourced or written your own content, that you now wish to optimize.

What is keyword optimizing?

Keyword optimizing is the process of making small changes a web pages content to enable search engines to better identify that the web page is about, and which keywords best describe the page. If these tasks are done well search engines will include the optimized web pages higher in search engine results, which will increase visitor numbers to the web page. Keyword optimizing alone will not make a successful website or web page. Keyword optimizing should be performed as part of a SEO campaign and is one of the most important elements of on page SEO.

What to do

1. Identify the key content web pages of your website

   Almost all information websites have pages that contain information (such as this page) that you want to draw visitors to, and utility pages (such as a 'Contact Us' form) which you don't want to draw people to. The web pages that fall into the first category, i.e. the pages you want to draw more visitors to, need to be optimized. Make a list of these pages, using a spreadsheet is a good idea.

2. Identify the keywords and keyphrases of each web page

   For each page on your list you need to establish what the web page is about. This should be easy as most web pages are about a certain topic. You then need to establish what the keywords and keyphrases for the web page are. The keywords are those words that you (or a typical web user) would type into a search engine if you where looking for the information on the web page in question. Keyphrases are common combinations of those keywords.

   Lets use this web page as an example. I want this web page to do well when people search for 'optimizing web page keywords', therefore this is my primary keyphrase. I also want this web page to attract people searching for 'increase search engine position', therefore this is my secondary keyphrase. This makes my keywords list 'optimizing, web page, keywords, increase, search, engine, position'. From these keywords I have two sentences that I want (my primary and secondary keyphrases). Record the keywords, primary keyphrase and secondary keyphrase for each web page using new columns of the same spreadsheet from above. Ideally each web page will have 2 keyword phrases. For the homepage of your website choose keyword phrases that describe the website in general, as a homepage is a summary of the website and should not have specific content of its own.

   Example spreadsheet

   Below is an example of a spreadsheet you might use to track your web pages for optimization. Three web pages from this website have been included as examples. You can add your own columns to include comments, status, etc.

   Page	Topic	Keywords	Primary keyphrase	Secondary keyphrase
   optimizing-for-keywords	Optimizing the keywords of a web page	optimizing, web page, keywords, increase, search, engine, position	Optimizing web page keywords	Increase search engine position
   content-is-king	Content is the most important factor of a website and a web page	content, king, increase, visitor, numbers	Content is king	Increase visitor numbers
   how-to-gain-backlinks	How to gain more backlinks for your website	gain, backlinks, website, increase, search, engine, result	How to gain more backlinks for your website	increase search engine position

3. Page title tag

   Choose your page title tag well. The page title (found in the <title> header tags) is the most important element a search engines uses in determining what the page is about. The title tag must include your main keyphrase, but must also describe your business well, and encourage readers to click on it.

   • Include your primary keyphrase at the beginning of the title page. This adds maximum weight to those keywords, which is called keyphrase prominence.
   • Don't use "and", do use "|" to separate keywords where necessary.
   • Unless your business is a big well known brand (such as Microsoft of Coca Cola) don't start your page title with the name of your company. Start the title with your primary keyphrase.
   • Keep your keywords together, this is called keyword proximity.
   • Consider that search engines, on a search results page, will show the page title tag in bold. People will read this before decided whether to click the link or not.
   • If you have a second keyphrase for the page, add it somewhere in the page title, after the primary keyphrase.
   • Try and keep the page title short, 8 words or less.
   • Each page should have a unique title tag.

   Example: <title>primary keywords | secondary keywords</title>

4. Description meta tag

   The Meta description tag describes your site's content, giving search engines' spiders a summary filled with multiple keywords. Some search engines use this information, others ignore it.

   • Use a descriptive paragraph or sentence that is relevant to your page, don't just list keyphrases
   • If possible, use a sentence or paragraph that is present in the content of your page
   • Include your primary and secondary keyphrases
   • Keep it 25 words or less
   • Keep your keyphrases together

   Example: <meta name="description" content="use a sentance or paragraph from your body text" />

5. Keyword meta tag

   Almost all search engines currently ignore the keyword meta tag. However it is still good practice to include a keyword meta tag. Add you primary and secondary keywords and keyphrases to the tag, separated by a commas. Some search engines do use this tag, and others may use it again in the future.

   Example: <meta name="keywords" content="keyword1, keyword2, keyword3, keyword4" />

6. Heading tags

   Use the heading tags (<h1>, <h2>, etc.). Search engines consider the words found in the heading tags as important.

   • Use a single <h1> tag, for your page title. Include your primary keyphrase
   • Use <h2>, and subsequent tags (<h3>, <h4>, etc.) to nest and structure your page. Include you secondary keyphrases in these tags

   This page has a single <h1> tag. The Do and Don't titles are <h2> and each recommendation uses a <h3> for its title. This is good structure for the user to follow, but also emphasizes keywords for the search engines.

7. Page text

   One of the most important tasks is to include your keywords and keyword phrases heavily in your page text, as this will help search engines determine the topic of your web page. Ensure your keywords and keyword phrases are including several times, but do not overdo it. If you do you will incur a penalty.

   • Include your keyword phrases several times, try and place them as close to the top of the page as possible, as these carry the most weight.
   • Include at least one of the keywords per 1-2 paragraphs, depending on how large your page is.
   • Make sure you mention your main keyphrase at the very top left and the very bottom right hand side of the web page
   • Repeat your keyphrases between 5 and 10 times per every 100 words.
   • Always keep your text readable and easy to understand. Do not over optimize, so that it reads illogically.
   • Ensuring the text is of a high quality is more important than the SEO effort.




8. Bold and italics

   Use bold and italic typeface for important keywords and phrases. People rarely read web pages. Instead they scan them. There eyes stop on keywords that are bold.

   • Use bold words to catch a scanners eye.
   • Use italic words when you want to emphasize a word, but you don't want to catch the scanners eye.

   Search engines look for bold and italic words. Do not overdo it though, this will incur a search engine penalty.

9. Image 'alt' properties

   Use the alt property of images. Not only does it give the visitor a better experience, but some search engines will consider the keywords.

   • Ensure all images on a page have a descriptive entry for the alt property.
   • Use your keywords and keyword phrases where possible.