Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website

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your site may require. If you’re not careful, your search engine snippet might end up

looking like this.

We’ve already shown you the best ways to avoid this kind of listing: be a stickler for

good robot-readable content. But if you still have the odd error message making its

way into the search results, remember that these messages are usually written by pro-

grammers without a marketing once-over. You might want to get in the loop!

Restructure the page.

If your page is built using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), it may

be a simple endeavor to move scripts around in the source code so that navigation or

other less-optimized content is situated below the page copy. This won’t make any

difference to your users viewing the page in the browser, but to search engines it will

make your page copy come first. This may be a good strategy if your snippets are get-

ting bogged down in navigation text.

This is one of those rare opportunities for you to see rather sudden and dramatic

changes in your listing quality. You may even notice the difference in just a few days,

the next time your pages are spidered.

Wednesday: Catch Up with Your Team

You’re well into the third month of Your SEO Plan now—how is your team holding

up? Are you all working together like a well-oiled machine? Or is your “team” more

like a collection of squeaky wheels, revolving doors, and bottlenecks?

In Chapter 5, we covered some strategies for encouraging members of your

organization to join your SEO effort. Here are some good questions that may help you

keep everyone on the same path:

Are my edits getting implemented?

This is a biggie for many in-house SEOs: just get-

ting simple (or not-so-simple) edits made to the website may require jumping through

design, IT, and even legal hoops. If your recommended edits aren’t being taken care of,

take time today and figure out why. Are you sending your requests to people who don’t

have authority or access to make the changes? Are your requests playing second fiddle

to another department with more “pull”? Or, did enthusiasm wane after the first round

Now:

Assemble your suggested edits for snippet improvement. Deliver them to whomever needs to make

the changes, or complete the edits yourself.

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