Important Ranking Factors ? Part 1 of 2

If you have a website, you are probably trying everything in your power to get the best possible rankings in the search engine results pages (SERP's). It can seem like a long, arduous process, and that is exactly what it is. Great rankings in the search engines do not happen overnight, but with time and diligence, you will start to see results.

This is the first of a two part series dedicated to the important ranking factors. This particular article is devoted to on page optimization. This is based upon years of knowledge and information available from Google. While the requirements and requisites seem to change frequently, at this time this is the most up-to-date information available.

Keyword Usage in URL, Domain Name, and Title Tag

While this may not be possible if you have an existing site, it certainly should be a consideration for new sites. Develop your keywords before you develop your site so you can effectively incorporate these into your domain name. Try to include your primary keyword as the first in the URL, but second will be effective as well. Keywords should be included in your title tag and as close to the beginning as possible. Your title tag should between 10 and 60 characters and with no special characters.

Keyword Usage in Keyword Meta Tag and Description Meta Tag

The description meta tag is used to show the theme of your website. Ideally, it should be less than 200 characters. While Google does not rely on this tag any longer, it will often use it. Keep it to less than 10 words, if possible.

The keyword meta tag consists of keywords that must appear somewhere in the text of your website. If these keywords do not appear, Google may penalize your website's ranking for not being relevant. No single word should be in the keyword meta tag more than twice or it might be considered span. It's reported that Google does not use this tag, but other search engines do.

Keyword Density, Font, and Bolding

Five to twenty percent keyword density is recommended. However, the higher the density, the more likely a website will be penalized for being too “spammy.” Placing your primary keywords towards the top of the page, in large, bold font will help with search results as well.

Internal Links

The links you list to other pages on your website should contain keywords in your anchor text. Try to use hyphenated keywords if necessary, but only through the use of one or two hyphens. Make sure the links are not broken on your site. These links should resemble a tree like structure and should not go more than four clicks deep.

Outgoing Links

It's very important that you link only to good, reputable sites. Link can go bad very quickly and it's your responsibility to make sure that your police your own links. Link farms or similar sites can quickly create a trust issue with Google, resulting in penalties. Google also says to limit the number of outgoing links to 100; however, many people feel this is not issue.

Fresh Pages and Links

It's important to update the content on your website. Google seems to appreciate fresh pages and the spiders will continually search your site. Also, creating new links will help as well, but it is also important to keep the older links active as well. Newer pages of an older site will get more recognition than pages that were develop when the domain was created.

These are some of the most important on page ranking facts that Google and other search engines use to determine where your site will end up in the search engine results pages.

Aidan Doran works in the online marketing industry, for more information on these topics visit his website

www.aceinternetmarketing.ie