It’s easy to to answer the question, “Do you know how I can get to the top of Google?”<\/p>\n
I get this a lot lately, it’s what happens when you go to business networking meetings and announce you are an SEO. I tell them a simple way to increase their rankings is to optimise their title tags. And I just know their title tags are going to be crap because of the type of question asked.<\/p>\n
You know what I love? I love being the only guy in the room that knows something that everyone in that room can profit from. It’s a ego thing and I know it’s a pretty daft thing to get juiced up on, but I get a real buzz from it.<\/p>\n
“Remove the name of your domain from the title tags within your website.” I tell them. Simple, but an instant change in optimisation of their website. Not to be confused with an instant jump in the rankings, like growing a prize marrow, it will take time.<\/p>\n
Make sure the keyword you want to rank for is at beginning of the title tag. For example, on your hairy golf ball sales page your title tag should read, “Hairy Golf Balls for sale”, rather than “Buy Hairy Golf Balls”. It’s a small change, but if we are talking about thousands of pages it’s a big improvement in your keyword footprint.<\/p>\n
Repetition of a keyword can improve things. I have been watching the results page for “linkbait” for a while now and notice Jim Boykin has knocked Matt Cutts off the number one position. Yes there are other factors at work here and yes I think ranking No.1 for linkbait was Boykins’ intention. Whereas Cutts couldn’t care less (repeat this sentence ten times fast to improve your Google Mojo).<\/p>\n
Here are the title tags from the SERP for “linkbait” as I see them right now.<\/p>\n
It’s interesting as you look down the page and notice examples contrary to the rule.<\/p>\n
1. Linkbait, Linkbait, Linkbait – Jim Boykin?s Internet Marketing Blog
\n2. Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO ? SEO Advice: linkbait and…
\n3. SEOmoz | Talking about LinkBait
\n4. SEOmoz | Services
\n5. Search Engine Land: Link Building: Linkbait Archives
\n6. Linkbaiting: Vote Yes or No This Week Only | Copyblogger
\n7. The History of Link Bait | Copyblogger
\n8. Yahoo! Publisher Network ? Blog Archive ? Leveraging Linkbait
\n9. Should You Use Linkbait?
\n10. Link bait – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<\/p>\n
I’m at 19 btw, which would annoy me no end, but I’m up against some heavy action. Actually, to be honest, it does annoy me no end, I need to do something about that.<\/p>\n