Who Do You Optimize For?
Posted by: Leslie Norgren, Senior Marketing Coordinator
Search engines are becoming increasingly competitive in trying to detect and respond better to search query intent. As Google states in their corporate information, they are striving to “understands exactly what you mean and give you back exactly what you want.”
Each search engine is able to provide query-specific information based on their unique search algorithms. When you are launching a search engine optimization strategy it is important to consider each engine’s algorithms and their key factors in deciding search relevance.
Google relies on more than 200 signals including hypertext-matching and PageRank technology to assess the importance of webpages. The recently launched Bing appears to place greater importance on a smaller number of factors including content, keyword placement, inbound links and strong site structure. Yahoo also places a strong emphasis on content, in addition to XML sitemaps and the age of the site.
Knowing that each search engine has a different search algorithm may leave you questioning how to develop a search engine optimization approach that meets the needs of every search engine. It is recommended that you follow the overall search engine optimization best practices which meld together the important factors from all search engine algorithms. These factors include:
- Keep content fresh and the top priority. All algorithms look for keyword rich content that is kept current.
- Increase the number of quality inbound links. Search Engines look for a high number of quality sites linking to your site.
- Create a strong site in both structure and usability. Ensure that site does not contain broken links, use search friendly URLs, keep XML sitemap updated.
- Utilize your Metadata. Keep title elements and descriptions current and up-to-date. All engine leverage metadata within their SERPs.
- Keep Keyword Density High. Place important keywords in H1 tags and link text. Use variations of them throughout your site including synonyms, plurals, etc.
