Search Engine Optimization
Optimizing a web site for search engines, so that your site appears at the top of the search results in Google, Bing! or Yahoo requires a technical understanding of how search engines view your website. Websites developed with the WCG:CMS format your content in a manner that is easy for search engines to understand.To get to the top of the search engines, there are internal and external factors that you must consider.
External Optimization
You can't get to the top of Search Engines without other websites linking to your site. Think of each inbound link to your site as "vote" in a popularity contest, and Search Engines put the most popular first. While there are many factors in SEO, getting other sites to link to your site is the single most important. For a full summary of what SEO experts feel is important, see http://moz.com/search-ranking-factors
Internal Optimization
While external optimization is most important, it's also important that your website be built in a manner that search engines can understand. Websites build with the WCG:CMS create content that is specially constructed to communicate with the search engines. Specifically, the page content includes the key attributes that search engines use to determine the subject matter of your website, including:
- Use of Keywords in the Page Title, Meta Keywords, Meta Description
- Optimized URLs that include the page title and key words
- Keywords are contained in heading tags
- Images contain alt and title attributes containing keywords
- Use of internal links with keywords
SEO A Black Art
At WCG, we are sceptical of most search engine organizations, the SEO industry is fully of "experts" that promise to get you to the top of a Google. It's simply not possible to follow-up on this. While it's relatively easy to get to the top of Google in a local market, with a unique set of key words, it's not a guarantee that users in your area will find you. Focus on SEO organizations that can deliver results, and keep them on a short leash.