One of the keys to a successful website is that it can be easily recognised and found by a search engine, placing it higher up on a results list, and closer to a potential customer or client.

Several main aspects should be considered when attempting to optimise your website.

The Title Tags of your Website need to be carefully considered. The Title Tag is the text in the bar of the web browser located at the top of the page. The Title Tags help a search engines identify if your site is relevant to a search by the keywords used. It is suggested that between 6 and 12 words are used in your title tag, generally the title of your website and a couple of identifying keywords.

The Description Tags are also important in attracting potential clients. The Description Tag is the text that appears underneath your website name in the search results. It is important that the description tag is between 12-24 words and consists of a brief description of what your website does. The description should lure the potential client to click on the result and therefore explore your site. Remember that most people scan these descriptions in a result list, so your tag should be concise and relevant to your website.

Keyword Tags alert search engines to the purpose of your site so that when a potential client searches using keywords that match your keyword tags the search engine knows to display your website in the results list. It is suggested that there are 24-48 keywords per page and that your keyword tags are different for each page within your site, relating to the purpose of that specific page. The keywords should only be keyword tags if they are visible on the actual page, i.e within the information. Avoid repeating the same keywords too many times as this may actually result in the search engine ignoring your site or refusing to list it.

Your website should have a site map. This works to help direct visitors to relevant pages and may also help search engines recognise your site.

According to SearchForecast.com the greater the number of outward hyperlinks to sites with the suffix .gov, .net, .org, .info, .com, then the more it will be picked up by a search engine and the higher it should be on a results page.

Good luck with optimising your website!

(sources include: www.searchforecast.com , beanstalk SEO)