<Title> & <Meta> Tags

  The key to getting noticed by most search engine programs is to properly code your <title> tag and properly create and place your <meta> tags. Proper coding of the <title> tag is imperative because almost all search engines that use spiders or robots zero in on the <title> tag. Your page is classified based on the keywords you have provided in the <title> tag. We suggest that you use self-identifiers in the <title> tag, then add the name of your site. (We currently have customers that come up top 5 on AOLnetfind and Excite by doing things our way!). Search engines also read the <meta> tags containing descriptions and keywords from your site. If you don't have descriptions and keywords as <meta> tags, you've probably lost a 50% chance of getting listed in the top 40 hits on a keyword search.

Placement of Content

  Some spiders and robots will also look at the first paragraph or two
of your Web page. It's important to have this first paragraph containing identifying information up front. Don't put a banner link on top of your page. The spiders will read the banner content instead of the page. Similarly, some of you have a picture or an image up front. Search engines will read this before reading the paragraph of the page. Because the robots or spiders are looking for information, give it to them with the use of the <alt> tag in the image. It's amazing what a few keywords in the <alt> tag will do for a search engine.

Keywords and Keyword Phrases

  When you ask most people to describe the content of their websites, they usually can do it in two or three words. The problem is that there are probably hundreds of thousands of websites arleady claiming those words! Select your keywords by performing a true evaluation of what your website is about, then go beyond that.

  Also, pay attention to the positioning of your keywords. Place them so that, when read from left to right, they make a phrase relevant to your site. For example, instead of entering "books, used, vintage, rare" as your keyword string, try losing the commas and rearranging the words like this: "rare used vintage books." Keyword positioning such as this is known as proximity. Sites with words in exact search order tend to pull before sites simply containing the words.

  Remember, there are hundreds of search engines out there, all with their own programming for classifying your Web page agains all the others it indexes. Every little trick helps! Also, remember that search engines periodically purge their listings, so it pays to visit www.PostMySite.com regularly to read the latest search-engine practices.