Read Webpage by Search Engine

Even though people and search engines scan webpages contrarily, there are some similarities:

• Page title. Both people and search engines need to recognize at a look what a page is about. The page title, occasionally named the <title> tag, is introduced in the code of a webpage. You’ll see it in the top bar of a Web browser, as in the following example.

Example

The <title> tag for this page is “The top news headlines on current events from Yahoo! News.”

• Headlines, emphasized words, and lists. Both people and search engines see that anything called out in headlines or subheads, in boldface or italics, or in bulleted lists is likely to be significant. Make sure headings, links, and lists in your Web copy are called out with HTML tags.
• Introduction and conclusion. Readers will scan your opening paragraph or your summary for quick information. And search engines, to understand what the subject of a page is, look for keywords throughout that page, including at the top (the introduction) and the bottom (the conclusion). But don’t just shove keywords into the top or the bottom of your page—distribute them evenly throughout.
• Related links. Humans appreciate options for more information. Search engines, too, like to see that you’ve linked to other websites and that other websites have linked to yours.

Search engines and people both like:

• Verbosity. In the search engine world, verbosity means substantial, relevant, original content. Do fill your page with words, but write succinctly: Make sure that every word you write is relevant to your audience and to the topic you’re addressing.
• Good writing. To a search engine, good writing means using variations of your keywords, including those with different endings. For example, if you are targeting the phrase job interview, use the singular, plural, -ing, and -ed forms, such as job interviews and job interviewing.

Search engines and people both dislike:

• Bad writing. Search engines are more likely to penalize your website when you stuff your copy with unrelated keywords, strand a list of keywords at the bottom of your page, and rely too much on headlines and links. Your entire page should be relevant: Like a muffin with the right amount of blueberries, it should have juicy keywords distributed evenly throughout, but not so many that they overwhelm the whole.
• Broken links. Search engines want to provide a great experience for their customers by directing them to a useful and informative website that works properly. Broken links tell people and search engines that a site is poorly maintained and will give people a bad experience.