SEO Articles

As search engine optimization consultant, I conduct competitor research of behalf of our clientele during my time at StepForth. This service aims on destroying the marketing strategies and campaigns of each competitor while determining the ways that appear to have the foundation that contributed to their SEO success. as you might think I bumped in to a lot of fascinating strategies the do create results and some don't. The creation of on-site glossaries and frequently asked questions areas have been overlooked; but, I have proven them to work over and over. The techniques discussed in this article describe these two areas usefulness.

Create a Glossary

I imagine we have both shared one frustration with the Internet Marketing at one tíme or another and that is jargon… and too much of it. Acronyms, and bafflegab seem to be unintentionally utilized on websites all over the web (I am guilty too, I admit it) and I often wish there was a simple way to find a definition within a website rather than visiting an online dictionary. In most scenarios, there are a few websites where the owners have inteligently linked a relatively ambigous term to an off-site definition which is friendly to user but totally junk for great optimization opportunity. It makes a bigger sense to link to the inside pages of your website in order to develop credibility in Search Engines.

You see, Google's algorithm is essentially a credibility calculator; it considers a whole host of elements on your website and pointing to your website to determine where it should be ranked. There are seemingly insurmaountable elements that the algorithm considers, not to mention the uniqueness and importance of each page's and it's content to the number of linkslinking or pointing to your website coming from different credible websites. In this case, a small boost in credibility can be gained by first having the added relevant content inherent to a glossary and second by linking a word/phrase from a page to its definition within your glossary.

For instance, your website.e. www.xyzname.Creating online plans to benefit your comprehensive glossary of terms for woodworking will definitly create a huge sale on your website. Once the glossary is complete you can then occasionally link to the associated terms from within the written content on your website~When the glossary is complete, occasionally you can then link to the associated terms in the written content on your website}~{Once the glossary is complete you can then occasionallylink to the associated terms from within the written content on your website}~When the glossary is complete, occasionally you can then link to the associated terms in the written content on your website}.

Okay, I see that the content within a glossary is relevant but I am not clear on why these links help?

A search engine algorithm tries to ascertain credibility in much the same manner humans do; we just take our innate calculations for granted. This is an issue of customer service. If your customer is reading a tutorial on building a rocking chair on your woodworking site wouldn’t he feel good if whenever a confusing term appeared he was provided with a link to a glossary on the site conveniently defining the term. This small convenience would probably inflate your opinion of the usefulness of the website and in-turn the credibility of the website would be less in doubt. Search engine algorithms assimilate these helpful links in much the same manner so by helping your visitors you are also helping your website.

Wait! There is another bonus to having a glossary:

As an added benefit glossary pages also have a great chance at obtaining rankings for their associated definitions precisely because they have links from relevant text pointing to them. In conclusion, a woodworking glossary is a big factor that allows internet surfers or even other websites to link to your site for a definition.

In short, glossaries are simply a win-win tactic for nearly any website. Actually, as I create this information I can't seem to think of a particular site that wouldn't benefit from a glossary.

Create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Page

Now that you have read why an on-site glossary is important perhaps the concept of adding a Frequently Asked Questíons section to your website is a no-brainer or perhaps not. It is my professional opinion that you need a FAQ page and it is my firm belief that you should get your butt in gear and create one ASAP.

Similar to a glossary, the FAQ page is the best place to establish the credibility of your website ang set aside all the worries that often arise concerning your products and services. Any ideas regarding questions of a potential customers might have in mind, contact some of your clients and ask them their experiences before choosing their company. Place a submission form on your contact page and see if prospects are willing to ask you a question directly – always try to respond promptly. Then put the Q and A on the applicable Frequesntly Asked Questions Page.

Yet another bonus from having an FAQ:

It is very common for the average surfer to search the web using questíons. If your FAQ uses the wording that you think your prospects will use when searching, you will have a good chance at acquiring some extra high quality traffic. Look for the most appropriate wording for each FAQ research something about keyword analysis tool.

Tips for Building an Optimized Glossary or FAQ

Now I imagine that every expert in the SEO field has a different preference for designing the ‘ultimate’ glossary or FAQ but there are definitely some important tips to keep in mind for both:

1. Keep the pages relatively short. For example, I do not recommend having the entire glossary or FAQ on a single page unless they are relatively small. Up to 10 to 15 questions and answers is ideal on each page.

2. When building a FAQ try to devote each FAQ page to a singular topic. For example, on a woodworking site the FAQ for one page might be on the installation of a wood floor and another page would be devoted to questíons on laminate floor installation.

3. Make it a point to link to a related content within your site whenever you are formatting the content of the glossary and the Frequesntly Asked Questions Page. This way if any visitors or search engines enter the site via one of these pages they can find great related reading material in a single click.

4. Always put a "back button" or a link to click on to take the user to the FAQ page or the glossary main navigation is made available after every definition and/or answer. This is the most convenient way for visitors to browse each resource and go back to the original page or back to where they were before.

5. Include content to both FAQs and glossary pages as much as possible. It is often very simple to add a new definition or question and over time each resource will become more and more valuable to your users and ultimately contribute more to your website’s success.

6. Ensure that the FAQ and Glossary pages are included in your XML sitemap so that search engines can regularly index them for fresh content [see Google XML Sitemaps – The Basics ]. That said, I advise setting the suggested re-index rate monthly unless the resources will be updated more often than that. After all, these pages are supposed to help but not take away from the core content of your website.

Your Competitors Are Doing It or They Will

If your website lacks a glossary or a FAQ I can only hope that this article convinced you to make it a priority. These tools are important factors to the success of competitors that I have noticed in many of my analysis contracts. They are too simple to add for anyone to be without them. Hiring your favorite web designer to add those resources will still come to one conclusion - the ends will justify the means.