Internet Marketing Digital_marketing_for_dummies | Page 195

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) describes a site or page to visitors and search engines, so it’s important to keep the URL relevant and accurate so that the content ranks well. A URL (also referred to as a slug) is set up like this: www.YourSiteNameHere.com/keywords-that-describe-this-page Include your keywords in the URL after the forward slash (/). Search engines use the keywords in this section of the URL to further determine what the page is about and where it should rank. Although the keywords in your URL don’t play as big of a role in your search rankings as your title tag does, keywords are still important elements to optimize. Step 4: Write body copy Text on a page, also called content or copy, gives the search engine information about what search queries your page will satisfy, so it’s important for every page on your site to have text. Having content on a web page is also very helpful in getting the page to rank in search. Aim for 500 words or more on each page, but don’t fill your web pages with low- quality content just to get words on the page. On video- or image-heavy pages, of course, you may have very few words on a page, and that’s okay. Always err on the side of satisfying the intent of searchers by giving them enough information to make sense of the page. Throughout the body, use relevant keywords or keyword phrases that describe the page. Include your keywords and variations on those keywords in the body titles or headings. In short, use the keywords you’re targeting and variations on those keywords anywhere it seems natural to do so. Step 5: Optimize the tag The tag provides alternative information for an image on your page, in the form of text, for users who can’t view the image (because of a slow Internet connection or an image error, for example). In the tag, describe the image while using the keyword phrase you’ve chosen for your piece. Optimizing for YouTube YouTube is a search engine and, therefore, is interested in keeping searchers within its network so that it can show those searchers ads. As a result, YouTube sends traffic to videos that are keeping YouTube visitors engaged on its site. Here’s how to get more search traffic to your videos on YouTube. Step 1: Create engaging thumbnails The YouTube search engine measures how many people see your video in their search results against the number who play your video. If your videos get played often, YouTube rewards them with higher rankings. The most important factor in increasing the number of plays that a video gets is the video