SEO - Frequently Asked Questions
Please have a look through this fequently asked questions section. These are commonly asked SEO related questions. If you have encountered a problem the chances are that there will be an answer here. If you can't find the answer here search this site. If you still can't find the answer to what you are looking for then please email us with your query including as much information (and the URL) as possible.
- What is the optimum or best keyword density to use?
- How do I increase my Page Rank?
- What is the Google Sandbox?
- Why won't Google list my site?
- Why doesn't Google show all my links?
- What is Anchor Text?
- What is a Back Link or an IBL?
- What is a robots.txt file?
- Whats a Link Farm?
- What is Link Populiarity?
- What are SERPs?
Q. What is the optimum or best keyword density to use?
A. There isn't one! Despite what people say there is no known magic number
for keyword density. Keyword desntiy and other on page optimisation
factors account for very little when dealing with even mildly competetive search terms.
It is much better to write effective copy than it is to specifically write for search engines.
If you must have a number a figure of around 4% would be suitable. People quote numbers as high
as 25% but think about it! That means for every four keywords there is on keyword.
Could you really keyword read something keyword that has a keyword every 4 words keyword?
Q. How do I increase my Page Rank?
A. Page rank is a simple formula of links. A link from page A to page B is seen as a vote for page B from page A.
When sites link to you you accumulate Page Rank. When you link to sites you lose a bit of Page Rank.
Page Rank is not very important nowadys and does not help rankings much at all. Many people are hell bent
on moving that little green bar but my best advice would be forget about it!
Q. What is the Google Sandbox?
This is something that nearly all new websites will face. It is not the dark and dismal pit of no return
as some people make out but it is never pleaseant none the less. The Google Sandbox is a filter which applies
to certain commecial and competetive search terms and is applied to nearly all new web sites in some manner.
There is no magic way out and there is no set duration. It is typically between 3 - 9 months.
Q. Why won't Google list my site?
A. Well there is usually no special reason why. First off all, search for your web address in the google search box.
If it returns a result you are in the index but may not yet be ranked for a variety of reasons - see above.
If your site does not show when you type in the URL first you need to submit it.
If you have already done this and you still don't show you need to get some links to your web site.
Q. Why doesn't Google show all my links?
A. This is because Google shows only a selection of the links it knows about. If the page the a link is on
is in Google then you can be sure it knows about and takes into account all your links. Use Yahoo or MSN to check your back links.
Q. What is Anchor Text?
A. Anchor text is simply the text used for a link. For example when I say click here the words
"click here" are my anchor text. Anchor text is important for describing the page. For example if I were describing
a page about search engine optimisation news I might well write SEO News as my anchor text
Q. What is a Back Link or an IBL?
A. Back Link or an IBL (In Bound Link) is simply a link from another web site to your own. The ammount of back links you have
are important to your site. If lots of relevant sites link to you youre site will be ranked higher.
Q. What is a robots.txt file?
A. A robots.txt file is a plain text file that is either left blank or that
contains simple instructions to search engines on areas of a site that they are not allowed
to index. Read more on robots.txt here.
Q. Whats a Link Farm?
A. A link farm is a collection (or a farm) of links on one site that links to lots and lots of other sites that are not realted to each other.
It is just a long list of links. Link farms are usually considered bad neighbourhoods. You should not be part of a link farm. Why do people
do it? To increase their link popularity.
Q. What is Link Populiarity?
A. Link popularity is just the number of links a site has coming to it. The more
links, the higher your link popularity. This number used to be a major part of
a search engine's algorithm but in more recent times this has been superseeded
by more complex linking metrics and has been made pretty much obsolete.
Q. What are SERPs?
A. SERPs as an anacronym for Search Engine Results Pages. These are the results
you see when you search in a search engine.