Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines. Internet users conduct over 625 million searches every day on search engines such as Google, MSN, or Yahoo and a web site’s position in search results dramatically effects whether users find it.

To achieve a higher rank in the search results, SEO considers how search algorithms work and what people search for. SEO efforts may involve a site's coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site.

For legal aid programs, using SEO to improve their web site’s page rank can be a significant tool in disarming cyber piracy efforts.

The following are concrete suggestions about how to optimize your own website. Experts suggest focusing on your home page and then branching out to apply the same principles to other pages on your site. These efforts should improve your page ranking, but your position in the search engine results will fluctuate and be influenced by several factors, including other websites competing for similar search terms.

Keywords

Knowing the search terms (or “keywords”) your potential visitors are searching for is crucial to attracting them to your site.

  • Try to come up with as many possible keywords as you can related to the services you offer. Include your organization's name and location in your keywords list. Be as specific as possible.
  • Check the popularity of your choices using an online keyword database. A very popular free database is Yahoo’s keyword tool http://inventory.overture.com.
  • Narrow down your list to a few keywords including your organization's name, location, and your main subject area.

Website Optimization

Website optimization is the process of modifying your website to include your selected keywords in the content and HTML code of the website.

  • Include a paragraph for each of your top keywords.
  • Make sure your keyword phrases for each page appear in the HTML title tag. Limit the title to about 70 characters and 2-3 keyword phrases.
  • Use one or more explanatory headings on each page. In HTML, these are indicated by the tags H1, H2, H3, etc. Include relevant keywords in heading tags for content sections.
  • Give specific, relevant filenames to all webpages, images, and navigation links.
  • Be sure that every single page on your website is linked from your navigation structure, so that no pages are “orphaned”.

Link Building

Link building is the process of getting other websites to link to yours, which generates direct traffic while increasing your search engine rankings.

  • Encourage inbound links from affiliates.
  • Write media (press) releases and submit them to distribution and syndication services.
  • Submit your website to web directories.
  • Continually search out and find new sources of links to your website.

Analytics

Website Analytics programs generate statistical reports that show how people find and use your website.

  • Tracking the “hits”, “visits”, “repeat visitors”, “page views”, “referrers”, and “keywords” to identify new search keywords and sources of web site traffic will enable you to continually improve SEO.

This material was compiled by Sujay Vennam from the following sources:

Grassroot.org's Introduction to SEO

9 Search Engine Ranking Essentials For Nonprofits

Wikipedia on Search Engine Optimization

Dave Chakrabarti on Nonprofit SEO