How to optimize keywords for seo

Avoid Keyword Stuffing in Document

Edit your page to use your targeted keywords no more than 15 times.
Why?

If you use keywords too many times in the document text, search engines may tag your page for keyword stuffing (a form of search engine spam), which can hurt your rankings in the search engines, as well as appear spam-like in the search results to potential visitors.

Why so much keyword repetition? You’ll probably annoy users and could even get your page classified as spam. Keep it clean, my friends (and check out this Whiteboard Friday for more).

Avoid Keyword Stuffing in Page Title

Don’t use your targeted keywords more than twice in the <title> tag.
Why?

If you use keywords more than twice in the title tag, search engines may flag your page for keyword stuffing (a form of search engine spam), which will hurt your rankings in the search engines. See Title Tag.

You’ve got a limited amount of space in your title tag to make an impression. Repeating the same keywords over and over not only looks spammy, but can hurt your chance of ranking.

Avoid Multiple Page Title Elements

Make sure your page has only one <title> tag.
Why?

Web pages are meant to have a single title, and for both accessibility and search engine optimization reasons, we strongly recommend following this practice.

More than one title? Don’t do it! You’ll only confuse the engines and hurt your rankings.

Broad Keyword Use in Page Title

Add some form of your targeted keywords early in your <title> tag, preferably as one of the first words. Exact keywords are preferable.
Optimal Format
<title>Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword – Brand</title>
Sample

<title>SEO Software, Tools and Resources for Better Marketing – domain</title>
Why?

When search engines rank your page for a keyword, the title tag is the most important place for the keyword to appear. Use the exact keyword or phrase in your title to help search engines associate the page with a topic and/or set of terms.

Page titles are the most important place to put your keywords. A compelling title element that employs your targeted keyword wisely both helps your rank and earns you more clicks from searchers.

Exact Keyword Used in Document at Least Once

Use your targeted keywords at least once in the document text of the page.
Why?

Search engines and potential visitors are both seeking the targeted keywords in the text of your page. Using keywords in the document element is not only a best practice, but an essential part of SEO and good user experience.

While keywords are not the be-all and end-all many believe them to be, both Google and users expect to find the word(s) that could be used to describe the page on the actual page.

Only One Canonical URL

Use the canonical URL tag to point duplicate pages to the same, correct canonical URL.
Optimal Format
<link rel=”canonical” href=”<url of main version of page” />
Sample

The canonical URL tag is intended to refer duplicate pages to a single canonical URL. To ensure the search engines properly parse the canonical source, your page should use only one version of this tag in the header.

Don’t go crazy! Stay sane with a single rel=canonical tag. Any more and Google could get mighty confused.

Sufficient Characters in Content

Make sure your page contains a minimum of 300 characters (not including spaces) of machine-readable, substantive, unique content that provides value to potential visitors.
Why?

Search engines seek pages that contain a sufficient amount of machine-readable content, assuming those pages are more likely to fulfill the goals of potential visitors. Images without alt text, Flash files, Java applets, and other non-text content is virtually invisible to search engine spiders. Search engines may see pages without unique machine-readable content as duplicates of other pages and remove them from the index. Our 300-character minimum is admittedly somewhat arbitrary, but it is a reasonable rule of thumb for the absolute minimum acceptable level of unique content.

Search engines still love text content! Pages that don’t have enough (we recommend at least 300+ characters, not including spaces) may find themselves unable to perform well in many kinds of search results.

Sufficient Words in Content

Make sure your page contains a minimum of 50 words of machine-readable, substantive, unique content in text that provides value to potential visitors.
Why?

Search engines seek pages that contain a sufficient amount of machine-readable content, assuming those pages are more likely to fulfill the goals of potential visitors. Images without alt text, Flash files, Java applets, and other non-text content is virtually invisible to search engine spiders. Search engines may see pages without unique machine-readable content as duplicates of other pages and remove them from the index. The 50-word limit, while somewhat arbitrary, is a reasonable rule of thumb for a minimum acceptable level of unique content.

“Don’t obsess about word count. The point is that your page should be unique and it needs to be relevant to the topic you’re trying to rank on. It’s hard to say anything unique or relevant in less than 50 words.

URL Uses Only Standard Characters

Make sure your URL contains only letters, numbers, backslash (/), comma (,), plus (+), exclamation point (!), period (.), and dash (-). Parameters using ampersand (&) and pound (#) are okay too.
Why?

Using characters that are common in URLs makes it easier for more users to access and interpret your URL, and avoids potential problems with your search engine ranking. Not all users have keyboards that can easily enter less common characters, or browsers that support the display of these characters, and some special characters can look spammy.

The gold standard for URLs is that they are easily typed by a human. Search engines are a little more flexible, but even they can get tripped up with non-standard characters.

Optimal Use of Keywords in H1 Tags

Use your targeted keywords at the beginning of your H1 headers once or twice (but not more) on the page.
Optimal Format
<h1>keywords in my headers</h1>
Sample

<h1>The domain Blog</h1>
Why?

Although using targeted keywords in H1 tags on your page does not directly correlate to high rankings, it does appear to provide some slight value. It’s also considered a best practice for accessibility and helps potential visitors determine your page’s content, so we recommend it. Over-using keywords, however, can be perceived as keyword stuffing (a form of search engine spam) and can negatively impact rankings, so use keywords in H1 tags two or fewer times. To adhere to best practices in Google News and Bing News, headlines should contain the relevant keyword target and be treated with the same importance as title tags.

When visitors first land on your page, it’s important they know straight away what the page is about and can find the information they are looking for easily.

Optimal Page Title Length

Edit your <title> tag to 60 characters or less.
Optimal Format
No more than 60 characters long.
Why?

When search engines display your page on their results page, they often show only the first 50-60 characters. The exact number of characters depends in part on how many pixels wide each character is, but 50-60 is a good maximum target. If your title is longer than this, engines may truncate your title with an ellipsis or replace it with other text. The best possible title (and best way to encourage potential visitors to click through to your page), is a title tag that is less than 50 characters long.

Think about your title as a headline. What would make someone click? Usability research shows that the first few words are the most critical. Bots and people have short attention spans – don’t overload them.

Use External Links

Add a link to a relevant, trusted resource that potential visitors may appreciate.
Why?

Linking externally is something the search engines have suggested provides potential ranking rewards, and many who have tested this can confirm it has SEO value. On any page specifically targeting a keyword, link externally to at least one (and possibly more than one) relevant, trusted resources as a best practice.

Spread the link love! Seriously – external links can help show search engines greater relevance, can send referral traffic that earns you respect and thanks in your community, and has been shown to have a positive correlation with higher rankings and traffic. Plus, it’s good for the web; link unto others and they shall link unto you.

Exact Keyword is Used in Page Title

Add the exact keywords early in your <title> tag, preferably as one of the first words.
Optimal Format
<title>Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword – Brand</title>
Sample

<title>SEO Software, Tools and Resources for Better Marketing – domain</title>
Why?

When search engines rank your page for a keyword, the <title> tag is the most important place for the keyword to appear. Use the exact keyword or phrase in your title to help search engines associate the page with a topic and/or set of terms.

Exact keyword matches aren’t as critical today as in years past, but they can still make a difference for rankings, the anchor text you’ll receive from editorial links, and click-through rate (CTR).

Keyword Placement in Page Title

Move your targeted keywords closer to the beginning of your <title> tag, preferrably first.
Optimal Format
<title>Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword – Brand</title>
Sample

<title>SEO Software, Tools and Resources for Better Marketing – domain</title>
Why?

Put your best foot forward! You want the search engines, and searchers, to understand what the page is about. Put those keywords in the beginning so there is no question.

Keywords in Image Alt Attribute

Add the targeted keywords to the alt attribute of a relevant image or graphic. If your page does not contain any images, consider adding one.
Optimal Format
<img src=”image file” alt=”keyword”>
Sample

<img src=”roger.png” alt=”Roger domainbot”>
Why?

Using keywords in the alt attribute of an image on a page is surprisingly positively correlated with good rankings. It also helps your page rank better in image search, a popular and oft-employed universal search system. Correctly describing your images using keywords also adds value for sight-impaired users who may be using a text reader app to browse the web.

Using the alt attribute to properly describe images is simply a best practice that will never go away. Browsers, humans, and search engines all benefit alike.

Keywords in the Meta Description

Use your targeted keywords at least once, but no more than three times in the meta description tag.
Optimal Format
Meta Description content should be approximately 155 characters, and contain keywords that you want to appear in the search results.
Sample

If your keywords are in the meta description tag, it is more likely search engines will use it as the snippet that describes your page. Potential visitors see the keyword bolded in the snippet, which increases your page’s prominence and visibility. Be careful not to use keywords excessively, however, as it can be seen as spam by both search engines and potential visitors, and can reduce the chance potential visitors will click through to your page.

Keywords here won’t help you rank, but they do get bolded on the search results page and can help signal to searchers that you have a relevant result to answer their query.

Use Keywords in your URL

Use your targeted keywords in the URL string of the page. Use hyphens to separate individual words for a multi-word phrase.
Optimal Format
www.mysite.com/my-keyword-phrase
Sample

domain.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
Why?

Use your targeted keywords in the URL string to add relevancy to your page for search engine rankings, help potential visitors identify the topic of your page from the URL, and provide SEO value when used as the anchor text of referring links. For multi-word phrases, hyphens allow the search engines to read the URL as separate words.

Warning: This is a great improvement for a site launch or redesign, but don’t change your sitewide URLs just to tweak a few keywords. Moving URLs is tricky business.

Use Meta Descriptions

Add a meta description tag to your page, describing content on the page in a way that will make it compelling to potential visitors who see the snippet in the search results.
Optimal Format
Meta Description content should be approximately 155 characters, and contain keywords that you want to appear in the search results.
Sample

While a meta description does not influence your page’s rankings in the search results, it provides context about the page’s topic and focus and can help improve the click-through rate (CTR) of potential visitors. The meta description also shows up as a description when users share your page on social media sites like Facebook and Google+.

The meta description is your opportunity to pitch searchers on why they should click your link instead of others on the results page. Write compelling copy that makes it clear your site is the best choice to solve their query.

Use Static URLs

Use mod rewrite or ISAPI rewrite to change your URL to be static (removing all instances of ?, =, etc.).
Why?

Using a static URL can improve your performance in search engine rankings. Using dynamic parameters does not necessarily cause worse rankings, but domain’s research does indicate a correlation, and they generally do lead to lower click-through rates (CTR). Dynamic URLs are also a common source of duplicate content.

Dynamic URLs aren’t the end of the world, but static URLs tend to perform better from both a ranking and click-through rate (CTR) perspective. If it’s an easy change to make, go for it!

Optimal Meta Description Length

Edit your meta description tag to get your main points across in 156 or fewer characters.
Optimal Format
Meta Description content should be approximately 155 characters, and contain keywords that you want to appear in the search results.
Sample

The snippets that search engines use to describe your page cut off after 156 characters in most cases. The meta description isn’t used for rankings, so words beyond this count aren’t seen by anyone or used by the search engines.

Your meta description’s single most important purpose is to create a snippet that attracts clicks. Remember that people give up reading before Google does.

Minimize URL Length

Rewrite your URL to be as short as possible, preferably shorter than 75 characters and three subfolders.
Why?

Search engines often truncate the URL display at 75 characters and appear to pass less keyword value in longer URLs. Try to limit your URL to 75 characters, while still being descriptive and using keywords appropriately. We also recommend using fewer than three subfolders in your URL to make it easier for search engines to parse.

This is an SEO best practice that simply makes good sense: The more informative you can make your URL, using as few words as possible, the easier it is for users to quickly find what they are looking for.

Avoid Too Many External Links

Reduce the number of external, followed links on your page to under 150. In most instances, under 100 is optimal.
Why?

Linking externally is generally a good thing, but as with many optimization tactics in SEO, moderation is the best path. If your page uses a high number of followed external links, it may prevent the engines from passing much value through any given link and may also set off spam/manipulation triggers, particularly if those links are not pointing to high quality/trustworthy sites.

When it comes to links on a page, don’t think ‘Where can I send readers for additional information?’ Instead, think (a) ‘What information are they likely to need?’ and (b) ‘Where’s the best source for finding such information?’ Think value, not links.

Avoid Too Many Internal Links

Scale down the number of internal links on your page to fewer than 100, if possible. At a minimum, try to keep navigation and menu links to fewer than 100.
Why?

Google has confirmed that the use of too many internal links on a page will not trigger a penalty, but it can influence the quantity of link juice sent through those links and dilute your page’s ability to have search engines crawl, index, and rank link targets.

More than 100 links on a page isn’t always terrible, but it could mean that A) search engines don’t follow them all, and B) users struggle to navigate. That 100 link limit has also long been a Google-recommended guideline.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing in the URL

Rewrite your URL to use your targeted keywords no more than once.
Why?

If you use keywords more than once in the URL, search engines may flag your page for keyword stuffing (a form of search engine spam), which can hurt your rankings, as well as appear spam-like in the search results to potential visitors. Keyword stuffing also makes your URL longer than it needs to be, which can have a negative effect on users and search engines alike. See the “Keyword Stuffing” section at Should I Change my URLs?.

When creating new URLs, a smart structure is often example.com/category/keyword. If your existing URLs contain many instances of the same keyword, be careful about rewriting them, as moving URLs can sometimes lead to a loss of rankings.

Includes a Rel Canonical Tag

If this page is a duplicate of another page, add a canonical URL tag to the header of this page to reference the page you want all duplicates to point to.
Optimal Format
<link rel=”canonical” href=”<url of main version of page” />
Sample

Use the Canonical URL tag to tell the search engines to treat your page as a copy of the URL the tag points to, and to pass all of the link and content metrics back to the canonical URL. Using it will increase the possibility that a page with parameters attached (for example, query strings, session IDs, scraped versions, or licensing deals) doesn’t create a secondary version of the original page and pull link juice or other metrics away. Pages may also contain a canonical tag that references the URL it is located on, also known as a ‘self-referencing’ canonical tag. While Google search has stated that this is fine, it is not known whether or not this can cause problems in Bing search. See Canonical URL Tag – The Most Important Advancement in SEO Practices Since Sitemaps.

Remember that every unique URL is a variant to Google. You may think, “It’s all the same page”, but “site.com” and “site.com/index.html” are different to bots.

Only One Meta Description

Make sure your page contains only one meta description tag.
Why?

If you have multiple meta descriptions, it can confuse the search engines and they may not display the intended meta description tag. See Meta Description.

Make it super easy for the search engines to figure out your page. If you have two meta descriptions, they might get all cranky and decide to make up their own description for the SERP. Try not to make them think!