Showing posts with label descriptive urls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label descriptive urls. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

10 Common Mistakes that are Hurting your SEO

Search engine optimization can be overwhelming and confusing. There are a few key tips to always remember when optimizing your site, but there are also a few key things to always watch out for. Make sure you’re not letting your hard work be undone by any of these common mistakes.

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Friday, December 17, 2010

How to Choose a Domain Name

Choosing a domain name is an important part of Search Engine Optimization. Not as important as having an optimized title, description and homepage content, but important nonetheless. An optimized domain name will help the search engines to find your website easier and therefore rank it higher. Here are some things to consider when choosing a domain name:
  • The domain must include at least one keyword, e.g. insurance, coverage, quote, geo-target
  • It should not be too long or hard to spell
  • It must be brand-worthy. Does it roll off the tongue, is it easy to remember, can you tell your friends about it without having to repeat yourself or spell it out for them?
  • Don't forget that using an older domain is more advantageous than buying a keyword-optimized new domain. Search engines like older domains.
  • If you decide to go with your agency name as a domain, then you can still use keywords by customizing the web address.
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Customizable Page URLs for IWB customers

Introducing customizable page URLs for Extra pages especially for Insurance Website Builder customers. Now when you create an Extra page on your website you can add a descriptive web address, which is very advantageous for SEO. Here are the highlights:
  1. This feature is only available for Extra pages
  2. There are two fields to fill out, you must enter both fields in order for your page to be viewable.
  3. You can enter your own words or choose the first field from a drop down menu.
  4. You can use the handy View on Site Live link to view live web page, located beside the two fields.
  5. You are only allowed certain characters in the fields: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, hyphens and underscores
  6. The maximum number of characters per field is 50.
  7. The extension ".aspx" is automatically added to the page

Here's what you need to remember to optimize for the search engines: 
  1. Use insurance related keywords and geo-targets in the customized web addresses.
  2. Make sure to separate keywords by either hyphens or underscores. This will make it easier for the search engines to read.   
  3. Make sure you don't duplicate keywords. For example, this is not acceptable, http://www.agencyname.com/homeowners-insurance/home-insurance.aspx.
  4. Don't go crazy on the number of keywords you can add, there should be a maximum of two words per field.
  5. Make sure the web address makes sense to a visitor, that the two fields are somehow connected. For example http://www.agencyname.com/auto-insurance/sr22.aspx
  6. Be careful not to duplicate existing pages URLs.
Additional Resources

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Ever Googled your Insurance Agency Name?

Ever wonder what exactly makes up the pieces of the search results you see at Google? Before that question can be answered, the process of how Google delivers results must be understood. There are three key processes in delivering search engine results.

First, Google "crawls" the world wide web and accumulates information about websites and their content. The program Google uses to accomplish this task is referred to as Googelbot. Googlebot uses an algorithmic process to determine which sites to crawl, and how many pages to read from each site. Next Google compiles a massive index of all the words and locations of the sites it crawled.

When a Google user enters a query, Google returns a result they feel is most relevant. The results that are displayed are referred to as Snippets. In general, Google reserves the right to display what they feel is best for their users. However, you have a great deal of control about what is displayed about your agency on Google.



There are three primary components that make up a Snippet.

Title
The first line of the Snippet is the title. The title displayed comes from the title of your webpage. We have found many websites where the designer will overlook this very important step when designing websites for their customers. WebPages not titled will appear in search results with the title as "Untitled" or "Home Page" which does not encourage the consumer to click and learn more. Whereas a title listing your agency name and a slogan or short concise description of what your agency offers would encourage the consumer.

Description
The description listed by Google typically comes from one of three places.

  • Open Directory - If for some reason, when Google attempts to "crawl" a site and they are unable to read it, Google will then sometimes rely on the Open Directory Project, which is listed at www.dmoz.org
  • Within the Page - Sometimes, Google pulls the description from within the page. Google determines what part of the page it will use so the description gives some context as to what the page contains.
  • Meta Description Tag - the most preferred method and where you have the most control of what description is displayed is the Meta Description Tag which is included in the code of your website. By including a Meta Description Tag, you have the ability to dictate what is displayed about your site.

Descriptive URLs
The last component displayed is the link to your website or the page on your website that meets the searchers' query. Providing a descriptive URL is another key aspect to converting a searcher. For instance, a URL such as www.sampleinsurancewebsite.com/page.php?id=5134, doesn't tell the searcher they have landed in the right spot, whereas a URL such as http://www.sampleinsurancewebsite.com/automobile/car_insurance_quote.aspx will.

Insurance Website Builder
Every website we design, we include a descriptive title, on-target description, and all of the URLS quickly identify to the searcher what they contain. In addition, through our admin console, our users can update their titles and descriptions at any time and is easy as using any word processor.

Get specific details on how to fill in the title, description and keywords for your website.