SEO: Search Engine Optimization Bible

(Barré) #1
This is called bounce, and the rate at which users bounce off your site is an indicator of the usability
of the site in terms of how relevant it is to what users are searching for. This relates directly to the
keywords the user searched for, which relates directly to how your site matches those keywords.
To maximize the usability of your site, make sure the keywords you choose and the description of
your page are as accurate as possible.

It may take some time for you to learn how to make all of these elements work together, especially
when it comes to elements like descriptions and keywords. Be patient, and be willing to experiment
with different combinations of words or descriptions until you hit on the ones that combine to send
your site rank closer to the top search results. Just remember, it’s an art more than a science, and it
takes time (usually two to three months) to see the most accurate results.

Site interactivity
When the Internet first came into being, web sites were all about disclosing information. The only
interaction between a web site and a user was the reading the user did while on the site. Today, read-
ing is still important. Users search for web sites to learn more about products, services, or topics.
However, there’s much more to web sites today than just text on a screen.

We now live in the Interactive Age. Most of us want to interact with the web sites we’re visiting. That
interaction might take the form of a poll, the ability to comment on a blog post, the downloading of
a file, or even a game that relates to the site content. No matter what the type of interaction, users
expect it, and search crawlers look for it.

Site interactivity is essential to achieving a high SEO ranking. Sure, you can garner a high ranking
without interaction, bit it won’t happen nearly as fast, and the ranking will likely be lower than that
of a site that has some form of interaction with the user.

Why is interaction so important? Simple. If you can influence a user to interact with your site, you
have more of a chance of gaining a goal conversion.Goal conversions are the completion of some
form of activity designed to gather further information about your user. A goal conversion can be
something as simple as enticing users to sign up for a newsletter, or it can be more specific, like
persuading them to make purchases.

No matter what goal conversion you’re seeking, the way to achieve it is through interactivity. And
the more frequently the user interacts with your site, the more likely it is that this person will reach
that goal conversion page that you’re monitoring so closely.

Goal conversion is the purpose of many web sites. For example, the target goal conversion for an
e-commerce web site might be for the user to make a $25 purchase. If you can entice a user to pur-
chase from your site — that is, meet the goal conversion — you have more of a chance of getting
them back to your site for a future purchase, to find additional information, or simply to interact
with your site some more.

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Part I Understanding SEO


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