Basic SEO Tips and Suggestions

The Basics of SEO and Creating a Simple Web Page

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Roy Reyer

Note: This page was developed for those who need some additional training in how to create a simple Web page prior to attending a Search Engine Workshop.

In order to position Web pages in the search engines, you need to know how to create a very simple Web page. You’re probably not going to be designing complete Web sites yourself, but you will be designing gateway, or information, pages. Also, you’ll need to know how to make changes to simple Web page, how to use a software program for making those changes, and how to add tags that can help boost your rankings.

Here’s something crucial to keep in mind. The closer to the top of the page that your important keywords are, the more relevant your Web page will be to the engines. The more relevant the page is for that keyword search, the better your rankings will be. Therefore, you need to remember how important it is to bring all keyword-containing text and tags to the top of the page.

Try to complete assignments #1, #2, and #3 below. If you have time, work on some of the other assignments, but make sure you finish those three assignments first.

After completing the tutorials, you can always refer back to them for more information.

Assignment #1:

Obtain a HTML editor. CoffeeCup is a free drag and drop editor that has a built in FTP program. You can down load it here:
http://www.coffeecup.com/free-editor/

For those of you considering purchasing a HTML editor, I would recommend Dreamweaver as it is the standard in web development programs.

Begin practicing by clicking on this page:

http://www.searchengineworkshops.com/articles/submissions.html

Click on File, then Save As. Don’t change the name of the file. Remember the directory where the computer saved the file. Write it down NOW!

Open your editor, click on File, then Open. Browse until you find the directory where the above file was saved. Highlight the file, which will be named “workshops.html.” Click on Open, and the file will open in your editor.

Play with the file. Add words to it, or take words out. Do whatever you want! When you make a change, click on Preview in Browser, and you’ll be able to see what your changes would look like online.

Assignment #2:

Take the HTML 4 Rookies Tutorial at this URL: http://htmlprimer.com

Complete all 8 lessons.
Then, read over the following information as well:

Javascript; Cut N Paste Tutorial; META Tags; and HTML Validators

Assignment #3:

Find out what FTP program you have. What is FTP? FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, which is a method for downloading and uploading files to and from an Internet site. In other words, an FTP program allows you to transfer files over the Internet. After you work on your Web pages, you’ll need to FTP the pages and graphics to your server. Then, you’ll be able to view the pages on the Web.

If you don’t have an FTP program, go to download.com and download a trial version.

Which ones are good? CuteFTP and WSFTP are both very good.

Try to spend some time playing with your FTP program.