Country Communication Pages

Transcription

1 Country Communication Pages Lesson 5: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Lesson 5 There are a few ways you can improve the search engine optimization (SEO) of your web pages. In this lesson, you will learn the best practices for improving SEO, including how to effective use: SEO titles, descriptions, and keywords. Page content, image file names, and alt text. Links and link text. Social sharing. Contents Understanding SEO... 1 SEO Titles, Description, and Keywords... 2 Page Content and Images... 3 Links and Social Sharing... 5 Checking the SEO... 6 Understanding SEO Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of determining how search engines, like Google, work and then striving to improve the ranking of a website so it appears higher in a list of search results. Search engines consider how relevant the content of a website is compared to a user search on that topic in order to determine the ranking for search results. For a better understanding of what is involved in SEO, watch this video on YouTube: In this example, searching for fiji service centre shows the Church web page about the Fiji service centre as the first search result. The words used in titles, descriptions, keywords, page content, and even image file names and alt text all help a search engine determine what a web page is about. Links, both to and from a web page, help determine the level of trust, authority, and relevance of a page for a particular topic. Even some social media references are used by search engines. Notice in the source code of this area communication page how many times Fiji Service Centre appears. As you develop your pages, follow these best practices to improve the search engine optimization and ranking of your pages. English approval: 5/14, PD by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 8

2 SEO Titles, Description, and Keywords The words used in SEO titles, descriptions, and metadata keywords help a search engine know how relevant a web page is to a topic. By using the same terms a user searches with, you can increase the ranking of a page given by a search engine. 1. In LDS Publisher, click the top left corner to open the menu, and select Edit Hidden Text Add an SEO title. Keep it descriptive, short, and unique. Good titles help users recognize the information they want to find in the list of search results. Note: SEO titles can be different from the actual page title. Keep it to 65 characters or less. Search engines show only the first 65 characters of a title. Put the most important words at the beginning of the title. Focus on 2 to 3 keywords in the title. These should be keywords someone would use to search for the information. The words the user searches for will be displayed in bold in the search results. 2 For some pages, you may want to include two main keywords or phrases separated by a hyphen or pipe symbol ( ) to provide various ways to find a topic or to connect it with a parent topic, such as Fiji LDS Service Centre Facebook. English approval: 5/14, PD by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 8

3 3. For the meta description, go into more detail about the web page. The description should be kept to 150 characters or less. This description is displayed in the search results under the SEO title. The Snippet Preview shows an example. You can use a few keywords in the description to strengthen the relevance of the topic. You can also offer a call to action, such as View the latest message from the Pacific Area Presidency. Remember that these two lines of text help a user decide whether or not to click the link. 4. For the metadata keywords, add several keywords that describe the content on this web page. Do not repeat the same words. These should be words users might use to search for this content. Users might be Church members, news reporters, or those interested in learning more about the Church. Consider all audiences. 3 4 In this example of a landing page with Area Presidency messages, notice keywords that were included to associate the content with the LDS Church, Mormons, and the Pacific Area. 5. At the bottom of the page, click Save. 5 Page Content and Images The words used in web page content, as image file names, and as image alt text help a search engine know how relevant a web page is for a topic. By using the same terms a user searches with, you can increase the page s search engine ranking. English approval: 5/14, PD by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 3 of 8

4 1. For area websites, when creating relevant pages for a specific country, include the country in the URL page name. Type the country name in all lowercase letters with a slash after, and then add the words from the title separated by hyphens, like this: /samoa/new-stake-president-calledfor-upolu-samoa-south-stake 2. Make sure each page has enough good content that a search engine can understand its relevance to a topic. When possible, include keywords that the user is familiar with and would search on. In this article Strengthening Families through the Melchizedek Priesthood, the term Melchizedek Priesthood appears several times in the content on the page. English approval: 5/14, PD by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 4 of 8

5 3. Both image file names and image alt text should describe what the image is. Use 6 words or less. Where possible, use keywords in the file name and alt text. When creating image file names, separate words with hyphens instead of underscores. 2 For example, this image of the Suva Fiji Temple includes this information: lds-temple-fiji.jpg Mormon temple in Suva Fiji serves members of the LDS Church 2 Notice that lds and Mormon temple were included to help identify this image with the Church. Links and Link Text Search engines use links to determine the authority and reputation of a web page both links from a page and links to a page. Links to or from other official Church website pages or links with other website pages that support a positive view of the Church help improve the SEO of a page. 1. Where possible, provide links to related content on official Church websites or other websites with a positive view of the Church. Use descriptive words for the anchor text of the link so that users know where the link goes. For example, in this article there is a quote from a talk by Bruce R. McConkie, with a link from his name to the talk on LDS.org. English approval: 5/14, PD by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 5 of 8

6 2. Publishing well-written articles and blog posts where you then link to Church content gives you an opportunity to share the gospel and drive traffic to Church pages, thus improving the SEO of the pages. Create a blog using a free blog site, such as or wordpress.com. Search online for free blog or article directory or write for us to find other free publishing websites to host a blog. Search Wikipedia to find a gospel topic that has not been created, and create one. Link to an official Church page or one of your country communication pages. Social Sharing Search engines also look at social sharing to determine the reputation of a website. 1. Social sharing is another way to share the gospel. Create a social profile page on Google+ or another social networking site. Link to Church websites from your profile. Like, bookmark, +1, or share your favorite Church webpages on social media sites. Use Twitter to tweet links to Church websites. Encourage members to use the social sharing tools available on Church web pages. English approval: 5/14, PD by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 6 of 8

7 2. Blogs and articles that provide links to Church websites are also helpful. Comment on blog posts and news articles, where appropriate, and provide a link to Church websites. Thank news writers for positive articles about the Church via or their social channels. Let bloggers and news writers know about your country communication pages or other Church websites. Offer to guest write on a blogger s or news writer s webpage about Mormons. 3. You can also help validate a Church location, making it more visible in search results. Submit reviews for chapels, temples, or other Church locations you have visited. Use the keywords for that site in your review. If possible, check in with a smartphone at a Church building. This will help validate the physical location of the building. Checking SEO After optimizing your web page for SEO, try searching for it in Google or another browser to see how it ranks in the search results. Every day, the ranking of websites may change slightly, moving up or down in the list. But in general, following these SEO principles should help your web pages appear where they need to in a list of search results. English approval: 5/14, PD by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 7 of 8