Getting the basics of search engine optimization doesn’t have to be rocket science. Sure, there can be a lot to it, but as Aaron Wall of SEOBook.com says, if you do just one SEO-type-thing to your website, it should be to take advantage of the page title (<title>) and header 1 (<h1>) tags. These tend to be the first thing that search engines look at, so you should be using them well.
Note that your page’s title tag is what is displayed on the SERPs (search engine result pages). Your main keywords should be in here, yet it should still make sense to people. In fact, it should not only cue people in that this page is what they’re looking for, but if you’re selling something, this will actually be your first chance to entice the customer. If your page title is enticing enough, it will get clicked.
Also note that with my page title, I put my blog name last, not first. Whether it’s your blog name or company name, it’s questionable if you really need it on every page, but if you want it there, put it last so that it doesn’t dilute your keywords.
After the Click
When somebody clicks a Google link and arrives on your page, your header 1 tag should re-enforce / confirm the message that you started with your page title. The lazy thing to do is to make them the same (which I’ve been guilty of here). If you use some sort of CMS (content management system) or blogging tool, make sure there’s a plugin or some other functionality that allows you to do this.
Also, check that it is really a <h1> tag, and that it is the only such tag on the page. If you have to use more headers to break your content up (which you should do every couple paragraphs, or whenever applicable), make them <h2>, <h3>’s - you can typical go down to <h6>, tags. Not only will this help search engines outline what your page is about, but it makes the page more readable to people.
Also, I say to make sure that your headers really are proper header tags because with CSS (cascading style sheets), you can easily make a simple bold tag look like a header tag, and that doesn’t work as well - you’re actually cheating yourself if you do that. Basic bold text is fine, but save it for stuff within your paragraphs.
Cheers, and happy optimizing!
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