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Top 5 ways to boost your site's ranking

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<h1>Top 5 ways to boost your site's ranking</h1> <p><i>by Robin Eldred, Apis Design</i></p> <p>First off, I should mention that before undertaking any of these steps, you need to gather up a list of quality keyphrases that you want to target. Skip the individual words (e.g. design, web, internet) and go for the phrases that people actually search for (e.g. Calgary web design, web promotion company). Free online tools such as <a href="https://adwords.google.com/select/main?cmd=KeywordSandbox"> Google's Keyword Sandbox</a> and <a href="http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/"> Overture's Keyword Suggestion Tool</a> can help you find out which keyphrases people are actually searching for. <a href="http://our.affiliatetracking.net/wordtracker/af.cgi?aid=7533"> WordTracker</a>(which is a subscription-based service) can even tell you how often the phrases are searched on and how many websites are competing for those phrases.</p> <h2>1. Proper file and directory structure</h2> <p>The names that you give your web files can be just as important as what's in them. Certain search engines will pick out keyphrases from the names of your files and directories to use when indexing your pages. As such, naming your web page "/Web-Design/Calgary-Website-Design.html" is far more valuable than simply calling it 'services.html'.</p> <h2>2. Proper use of META tags</h2> <p>Most major search engines still make use of META tags when indexing your web pages, so you need to ensure you get them right. Be sure to include both ‘keyword' and ‘description' tags. Your keyword tag should have your most important keyphrases at the beginning, separated by commas, and keep the list as short as possible. Stuffing gobs of terms into this tag will only dilute the power of the terms your really want to go after. Stick to 5 to 10 if possible. Most search engines will only go about 50 characters in anyway. As for your description tag, write it in plain English and be sure to include your most important keyphrases. Try to keep it short and be sure to include your company's name somewhere. And be sure that your content includes your chosen keyphrases. There's little point to stating 5 keywords in your META tags and then not use them anywhere in your content.</p> <h2>3. Proper accessibility features</h2> <p>This is a step that takes practice and knowledge of HTML (so you may want to pass it along to your web designer). Accessibility and good search engine rankings go hand in hand. You need to ensure that your HTML code is optimized for these features. They include ‘alt' text in all your images, ‘title' tags for all your links, proper use of heading tags (H1, H2, etc.), and properly formatted HTML code. For more information on accessibility, check out the <a href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/QuickTips/">World Wide Web Consortium</a> (W3C).</p> <h2>4. Inclusion of key pages (Site Map, Links page)</h2> <p>Certain search engines will look for a couple of key pages on your website. These pages include a Links page and a Site Map. A Links page is important as it demonstrates to search engines what you feel are complimentary websites, and it also shows that your site is not a dead end (search engines are big proponents of the democratic nature of the Internet). A Site Map is a great page for search engines (especially Google… wink wink) as it gives the engine a single source from which to index your entire site. The page demonstrates that none of your pages are orphaned, and presents all your pages as ‘second level' pages, even if they're buried deep down in your site.</p> <h2>5. Useful, user-centric content.</h2> <p>This one may sound pretty obvious, but it is the most overlooked item of all. If you don't have quality, useful content, then search engines won't index your site or your pages favourably. This is a result of the occasional human being visiting your site from a search engine company, as well as visitors who bookmark and spread the word about your site. If you offer good information, word will get out, and other sites will start linking to yours. The more sites linking to yours, the better. So be sure you have something great to say.</p> <p>By following these 5 simple steps, you should be able to improve your rankings and gather more targeted visitors to your website. Good luck!</p> <h2>About the Author</h2> <p>Robin Eldred is the president of Apis Design, a <a href="http://www.apis.ca/">Web Design and Promotion company</a> located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Apis specializes in building and promoting eye-catching, user-focused websites that work.</p>