Chaotic Neutrality

An important SEO tactic that should be used for on-site content formatting revolves around the proper usage of HTML Heading Tags.

Heading tags are important because page headings serve as a great indicator of what a given page is about. If you go to a page that has a heading of “SEO Basics: How to Use Heading Tags,” it is a good bet that the rest of the content will be directly related to SEO & Heading Tags. Thus, these tags provide relevancy in the eyes of the search engines.

Now that we’ve touched on why they are important, let’s switch gears to how to use headings properly (plus, what not to do!).

Proper Usage

• Use the <h1> tag for the main heading on the page.
  Ex. <h1>SEO Basics: Heading Tags</h1>
• Use the <h2> tag for subsequent sub-headings on the page.
  Ex. <h2>SEO Heading Mistakes</h2>
• Make sure that you use the current page’s keywords in the <h1> and <h2> tags.

Mistakes

• Don’t use images for headings — styled text has much more relevancy in the eyes of the search engines
  • If you must use an image, make sure it has ALT text
• Don’t style your headings with the wrong HTML tags like this:
  Ex. <span class=”heading”>This is my heading</span>
  • It is important that you use the correct HTML <h1> and <h2> tags or the search engines will not give you credit!
• Don’t try to stuff all of your keywords into headings
• Make sure the heading of the page is relevant to the page’s actual content

Sounds simple, right? Well, it is… which is why it is amazing that so many sites do this wrong and pass up the SEO benefits of using HTML Headings correctly.

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The new “Say Yellow to the Future” campaign represents a natural evolution of Yellowbook’s brand and its goal to help local business remain visible and accessible in an e-commerce society.

After reading the excerpt above from a Yellowbook press release, I did some searching and stumbled upon the Say Yellow to the Future Yellowbook TV Commercials on YouTube.

The commercials were well made and hit on topics that I think the average viewer could identify with. They were clean, concise, and effective in illustrating how Yellowbook could hypothetically help bring a solution to your life’s immediate problems in a non-cheesy way — all with the touch of your finger(s). (BTW - I’m looking forward to the holographic yellowbook display as well, that’s even more convenient than using a search engine!)

From an interactive marketing perspective, these are the types of videos that I value (clever idea, looks good, topics that are easy to relate to).

Unfortunately, most sites do not employ video in this manner and, instead, throw together the flashiest, loudest, longest, and most over-the-top video possible. I know it can be a tough balancing act for creative teams, but in this day and age, I hope serious consumers value substance and quality over that flash and overhype. If they do, I think they will enjoy these Yellowbook commercials and respect the product and message behind them.

If you get a chance, check them out… and then pre-order your holographic, IPTV, Star Trek touchscreen display!

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This will be the first of many posts detailing various tactics that can and should be employed on your website in order to augment your Search Engine Optimization efforts.

It always amazes me to do a “View Source” on various websites that I encounter in my interweb travels. You would be surprised at how many sites do not use the basic, but poweful, HTML Title Tag to its fullest.

The HTML Title tag is extremely relevant and important to your Search Engine Optimization success. This single tag carries significant weight with the search engines and also allows you to control the headline of your site when it is listed in the Search Engine Results.

Let’s take a quick look at some best practices to guide the Title Tag:

The TITLE tag must appear in the HEAD section of each page of your site. It should:

• be descriptive of the current page of your site
• be unique and relevant to the content contained on the page
• use your site’s keywords whenever possible

In the Search Engine Results, the Title that displays is limited to between 60-70 characters in Google. You can still have a longer title*, but it will not display in the results.

*Note: One word of caution with Titles is to be careful not to cram it full of too many words/keywords or it will lose its relevancy in the eyes of the search engines.

<TITLE>Greg Picarello - Internet Marketing Manager</TITLE>

The Title Tag is one of the quickest and most effective ways to start fine tuning your SEO.

I recommend taking a hard look at your site and making sure you are utilizing your titles to their fullest.

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Today marks the beginning of the third week in my new position at Ignite Health. (I’ll blame the inactivity of this site on that!)

I am quickly becoming entrenched in the SEO side of our business and will be slowly getting involved in the PPC/Paid Search side.

Even though I am sure the floodgates are going to spring open shortly, I am glad to finally be part of a team that loves the interactive space and I look forward to making new friends and building something new!

More to come as I continue to explore the world that exists outside of my “comfort zone.”

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