Term of the Week: Search Engine Optimization

Designing sites that support engaging and fresh content.

Developing sites that load quickly and use proper URL structures, unique page titles, header tags, and crawlable text.

Using an adaptive, responsive, or combined—Responsive Design with Server Side (RESS) components—approach when creating a website that will exist on multiple platforms. This will help ensure that search engines do not dilute your content authority or interpret the content as being duplicated, even though it is being published on more than one platform.

Establishing authority on the topic. This is not limited to inbound links, but also depends on the overall influence of the site, including reputation, trust, and quality.

Using keywords in domain names, page titles, H tags, images, and file names. Search engines no longer pay much attention to the keyword metatag. Avoid stuffing keywords, as this will have a negative effect.

Mobile: Use location metatags for mobile sites and mobile-ready content.

Videos: Use a strong keyword for the file name, and include a text caption and text transcript.

Social media: Use social media. Search engines scan and list what’s happening in your social media channels. The more traffic you get, the more that search engines see you as a trusted resource, which will favorably impact the rankings of your primary site.