Google's Guide Releases New SEO Guidelines
Sometimes it seems like that we are in a battle with Google when we get into the wacky world of SEO a.k.a. search engine optimization. In fact, there are plenty of people that write about how Google actually hates SEOs. Why? Because these people are sometimes regarded a "manipulators" of Google vaunted algorithms; black hat wizards cheating to get their website rank higher than others.
Contrary to these beliefs Google has actually decided to help us mere mortals by spelling out exactly what constitutes good SEO. It's a one-pager entitled the SEO Cheat Sheet. OK, it's not necessarily the War & Peace or Ulysses version of SEO. It's VERY basic and targeted to SEO newbies. (UPDATE: Google took their one-pager cheat sheet off-line but Moz has a very good four page SEO Cheat Sheet available for download in PDF format.)
The SEO Cheat Sheet Basics
So what's the gist of Google's SEO Cheat Sheet?
- Your domain name, page titles, and META descriptions need to be informative and concise
- Mark up your images with appropriate keywords in your file names, ALT tags, and caption tag if applicable.
- Fresh content rules. Routinely add well-written content that relates to your readership. HINT: a blog embedded into your site is as good a place as any to park your content.
That's it.
The SEO Starter Guide Goes Further
But wait! There's more. If you are looking for a more detailed SEO Starter Guide... it's here. And Google once again has come to the rescue. This 32-page SEO Starter Guide, available in PDF format, details Google's recommended strategies and tactics. This guide includes help setting up your website's structure, optimizing page content, dealing with crawlers, SEO for mobile devices, plus promotions and analysis. You can find this information elsewhere online, but it's nice to know that the information is put all in once place and verified by "the Google".
By Roy McClean