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Search Engine Optimization, A Glossary of Terms
SEO, SERP and Meta Tags
What do these terms mean to you? Unless you are a Website Developer or SEO Manager, you don't need to know the nitty-gritty, but a background in basic Search Engine Optimization will let you work with your website team to maximize the visibility of your website. So here's your vocabulary list:
HTML, Meta Tags and Browsers
HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language, is the most common programming language for web pages. It is written in the form of HTML commands, called "tags." Your web browser, be it Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari or another, translates this programming into a web page. Some tags create the text and formatting that you see on the page. Others, including Meta tags, provide additional information to the browser.
It is also important to realize that every browser won't read the HTML exactly the same way, so it is important to test your for flaws, using many browsers, to ensure compatibility.
What is a search engine?
It is a program that allows web surfers to type into a search box what they are looking for and immediately receive a list of results. Some of the most popular include Google, Yahoo, Bing and Ask.
Here's how they work: A program called a Web crawler scans every inch of the Internet using proprietary calculations that assigns each page a weighted value and then enters them into a database.
When you seek out information on the Internet via an engine, you are actually searching the database. The matches that are provided are based on many factors, including:
- Links found on your site
- Keywords provided in your Meta tag
- The use of keywords within the content
- And the age of the website.
Where the search engine lists your link, the first or the hundredth results page, is a matter of SERP (Search Engine Results Page) Ranking.
How important are keywords?
Have your Googled yourself? We all do! Now think about the process: Consider the terms that you use to look up your own company. What terms would you use to find your competitors? These questions will help a site developer choose proper keywords.
Here are some things to keep in mind when speaking to your Web Developer about optimizing your site:
- Think key phrases. The more specific, the more likely you are to have a qualified lead. The more general, the more likely you are to be lost in the masses. Think about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You're looking for the fit that is just right: “porridge” would perhaps be too general for a keyword, “warm porridge” would be a more directed, and “ Marshall 's warm Maple Walnut Porridge” would be too narrow a term to generate many hits.
- Not everyone types, thinks or spells perfectly, so think include plurals and common misspellings in your list of key terms.
- It is not enough to simply place a list of keywords on your site; you will work with your SEO professional to fine tune and target multiple pages, each of which should be tracked and monitored individually for web traffic.
