UPDATED on May 9, 2018
Summary: Search Engine Optimization is anything done to a web page that improves its ranking on search engine results pages. Critical components for ranking include include keywords, updated and relevant content, mobile responsive design, cross reference linking, social marketing, and more.
Search Engine Optimization is typically referred to as SEO.
Simple Explanation of SEO
Search engine optimization is a method of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to a website through high ranking placement in search engine results pages.
It is in the best interest of Lower Columbia College for visitors, students, potential students, community members, elected officials, employees, parents and other interested audiences to be able to search for and find the LCC website, along with web pages inside it, by using search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, Firefox and others.
SEO Components
Critical factors that impact how (or whether) your web page shows up in search engine results.
URL
The address of your page (also referred to as URL) should contain keywords people might use to search for it. Examples:
- URL of LCC web page featuring information about 'accreditation' contains the keyword 'accreditation': https://lowercolumbia.edu/accreditation/
- URL of LCC web page featuring information about 'diveristy and equity' contains the keywords 'diversity' and 'equity': https://lowercolumbia.edu/diversity-equity
- URL of LCC web page featuring information about 'food pantry' contains the keywords 'food' and 'pantry': https://lowercolumbia.edu/student-financial-help/food-pantry
Keywords
Use keywords in the following areas of your website, to provide a clear, accurate sense of what a page is about, which will help search engines find it:
URL
- see above
Page Title
- Use keywords in the title of you page that displays in the breadcrumb area at the top of every page. Example:
Page Meta
- Use keywords in your page's Title and Metadata, located in the Page Parameters areas under Properties. This is the information that defines how your page displays when returned by search engines. See Properties Home for specific help topic.
Page Headers
- Use keywords in your page's header tags. This is the information that creates a hierarchical structure of text on your page, and that provides accessibility to visitors with disabilities. See Typography for specific help topic.
Page Content
- This is the basic textual information on your page—the words that explain what the page is about. Write easy-to-read text in short sentences and make sure your grammar and punctuation are impeccable. Consider creating content in a hierarchy that flows from general to specific, similar to an outline.
Mobile Responsive Design
Google search results favor websites designed for phones, tablets and computers alike. The good news is LCC's website is already mobile responsive. This means once web content is live, it automatically re-arranges itself into user-friendly display on the device being used. This is great news, because so many people use mobile devices today.
Updated Content
Keep your content fresh! Creating great content is the single best SEO strategy. No coincidence that it's also the best way to give visitors the information and experience they want, because nobody wants old information.
Images
Search engines don't look at pictures, they look at filenames. Your images should have keyword-optimized filenames, and always include the 'alt' attribute (which is also required for accessibility). Example:
- Keyword optimized filename: 'fork-and-flame-cafe.jpg' - as seen on this page https://lowercolumbia.edu/cafe
Cross Reference Linking
Search engines consider pages with the most links leading to them, to be the most important pages on the Internet, thus they are more likely to be returned when a person searches for them. Linking back and forth between web pages inside the LCC website is highly recommended. Doing so allows you to feature a single topic on your page, and link to related topics on other web pages. Chances are, if you need to reference a topic, it's already somewhere on the LCC website.
Social Marketing
Promote, Promote, Promote! Effectively promoting your web page naturally leads to more visitor traffic, which increases your page's importance to search engines. Be sure to make announcements, with links to pages you care about most, in your social media efforts and blog posts. Include your URL on all print materials. Include clickable URLs in emails and electronic documents. Verbally communicate the URL to people in face-to-face communications.