10 Tips About SEO That Every IT Department Should Know

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is essentially the science of being found on the Web. We say science because it involves a lot of testing, analyzing and laboratory-like experiments. Sometimes it just about takes your own algorithm to be found and placed by Google’s algorithm.

But don’t worry. We have created a succinct, easily digestible list of 10 tips that every IT department should know about SEO.

1. Search comes first. In the US, the two most popular search engines are Google and Bing. Be prepared to play by their rules.
2. No get-rich-quick schemes. Part of playing by the rules means avoiding gimmicks to jump ahead in the search rankings. Those are called black hat activities and you will be penalized for them.
3. Build a reputation with links. Think of links to your site from others as friends vouching for you. The more vouchers you have, and the more authority each friend has, the more search engines will trust you.
4. Social media matters. Audience size and participation also influences authority. If your voice attracts attention, search engines will also hear you.
5. Think like the searcher. What words will people search when they look for your company? Those words can be used to create phrases and those phrases are your (long tail) keywords.    
6. Use the keywords! One of Terminal’s long tail keywords is “Boston computer repair.” Visit our computer repair page to see if you can find it.  
7. But be modest. Overusing keywords will definitely cost you. Search engines don’t like spammy content and neither do potential customers.
8. Leave bread crumbs. Every page on your site needs to be within several clicks of the main page. If visitors can’t find buried pages, how will the search bots?
9. Draw a map. Sitemaps make it easier to for the bots to search. There are lots of free sitemap generators, but this one has worked for us.
10. Get audited. Terminal offers a variety of auditing services for your IT network and website. You have to know where the site stands before it can reach its potential.

Tips 11 to 100 are more complicated so let’s start with the top 10. Work on those then let us know when you are ready for more.

Happy searching.

Give Us a Call 617-731-6319 and Ask a Professional IT Support Technician Any Questions You May Have!

DNS? Registrar? Web Host?! All I want is a company web page!

Although the Domain Name System used on the internet is as old as the internet itself, it's still a very confusing technology for many businesses.  Understanding all the different hosts and services necessary to create a presence on the web can be confusing and overwhelming.

Most people understand that they need to register a name for their business on the web (referred to as a domain name) and host a website, but beyond that, they're unclear on what they might need.  In fact, there are several layers and different hosts who coordinate to make sure everything goes just right.  Just like when buying a cell phone, there are many parts to the equation to ensure everything works as you expect.

The Registrar

The registrar is the place you start; they are the service which officially creates and maintains your chosen domain name (e.g. terminal.com).  Using our cell phone analogy, this is much like choosing your carrier and cell phone plan.  Initially, Network Solutions was the only registrar, but some years ago law changed to allow other companies to act as internet registrars. Now there are hundreds, such as GoDaddy, Verisign, Tucows, and many others.  They all work essentially the same, though costs can vary quite a bit.

The Domain Host

Once you've registered your domain name, you need to host it somewhere.  Again, going back to our analogy, you need more than just a cell phone plan, you need to get a phone number as well, so people know how to reach you.  The domain host provides directions on the internet for anyone trying to reach your internet services, whether they be email or web or even remote access or corporate VPNs.

The Service Hosts (email, web, etc.)

If the registrar is the cell phone plan in our analogy, and the domain host is the phone number, the service host would be the cell phone itself.  The service hosts are the endpoint that your users are trying to reach.  This can be a web page, or email, or many other business services.  Some companies choose to host these services inside their own offices, while others choose to have other companies host them.  Traditionally, many small and medium businesses have relied on web hosting companies to host their web pages and sometimes their email, as well.  As companies grow in size, they will frequently host their own email and may even host their own web pages.  These days, as cloud computing becomes more popular, companies often host many services with third party service hosts.

While it's entirely possible to choose different companies for each of these categories, many companies offer some or all of these services together.  I often encourage clients to try to stick to as few companies as possible, as it helps keep a handle on recurring costs and creates a central contact point for service-related issues.

It's important to choose wisely, for this very reason; don't be stuck in the situation of not knowing just who to call when something breaks!  If you need help consolidating or making sense of your domain hosting, Contact Us today and a Terminal engineer can help you understand your domain configuration and simplify your management.

Brian St. Marie - Sr. Systems Engineer

Give Us a Call 617-731-6319 and Ask a Professional IT Support Technician Any Questions You May Have!