June 08, 2005
Don't Optimize Your Web Site
When I'm giving a seminar on search engine optimization and marketing I often ask the audience, "who came here today to learn how to get their Web site to rank higher at the search engines?"
Assuming they have had their coffee, everyone raises their hands.
"Well, I'm sorry, but we're not going to be talking about that today." (A response somewhere between a polite laugh and a slight groan is usually heard at this point...depending on how many confederates I've placed in the audience.)
My point is that it's not Web sites but rather Web pages that should be our focus when it comes to search engine optimization.
Search engines don't return Web sites on their results pages, just Web pages. Often it's the home page, but not always.
Elizabeth Harvey of Harvey Marketing Group concurs. She writes:
One of the most important optimization techniques to keep in mind while working on the site edits is consistency. Choose 2 to 3 keyphrases per page and use them in the copy, the metatags, the internal links, the alt tags, and the navigation (including breadcrumbs.) Think in terms of Web "page" optimization, rather than Web "site" optimization and you will have search engine success.
If your mindset is all about optimizing your Web site, then you're putting artificial limits on how many keyphrases you can target. If your mindset is about optimizing each page, then you can target as many keyphrases as are appropriate to your business.