Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Assignment 3 in Internet Search Techniques and Business Intelligence. You work in a group of 4 people as you did for the previous assignments.
Task
The task is to simulate search-engine optimization and explain the difference between an optimized and non-optimized website. (Previously, when small-scale "desktop" search engines were still available, we could test the optimization results. Today we have only real search engines, they take too much time.)
Consider the following overall steps of the assignment:
- Make a small website available for the assignment, as described below.
- Create a copy of the website as a reference for "before-and-after" comparison.
- Select a webpage to optimize, and a search phrase to optimize the webpage for.
- Do search-engine optimization according to the instructions below.
- Do "before-and-after" comparison.
- Write and submit the report.
If you happen to do real search engine optimization comparable to this assignment, you may describe your real-world efforts instead of the simulated task. In such a case, you may report on the page ranking achievements instead of comparing two copies of the website.
Preparation
Website
Create a number of web pages and make a small website. Choose a real site if you can - at work, your homepage, your hobby site. If not, create a few throw-away web pages. There are two options how you can publish your mini-site:
- DSV students can create their own HTML pages and publish them through their student account:
- Alternatively, develop your mini-site using blogging and self-publishing software. Please be advised that some blogging and self-publishing sites do not allow "unauthorized" crawlers; make sure your web pages can be crawled before you develop your mini-site. Blogger.com and Wordpress.com seem fine.
- The number of pages on your mini-site should be at least 5.
After you have created your mini-site, make a copy of it for reference.
Page to Optimize
On your mini-site, select one page that you want to optimize. This optimization target page must contain a fair share of text, not only images.
Typical mistake. Some students scatter their optimization activities across several pages. While link optimization does involve several pages, there is only one optimization target page, please stay focused on it.
Search Phrase
Find a phrase, made of two-three keywords, that you will optimize your target page for. Try using the keyword discovery methods mentioned during the lecture.
Typical mistake. Some students have no idea what they optimize for. Scattering a number of keywords across the website is not optimization.
Optimization
Text Optimization
You optimize the text of your selected target page. Follow the guidelines in the lecture slides, use your imagination, feel free to enrich this assignment.
- Choose a keyword-rich URL if your web-publishing software allows it. Normally you cannot or should not change the domain name; you can change the file/path name.
- Optimize the <TITLE>.
- Optimize the body text and headings. Place keyword-rich text in the beginning of the body text.
- Optimize images. Place concise descriptive text with relevant keywords into the ALT-tag of the image.
Develop content that helps people to solve a need. Distinguish keyword-rich entities and relationship between them.
Link Optimization
On your mini-site, pages must be easily accessible.
- Organize your links so that the page rank is focused on the page being optimized.
- Human visitors, however, should not be bothered by your link optimization activities. Use NOFOLLOW if you want the search engine to ignore the link.
- Optimize the link texts, i.e., use your keywords in the link texts that point to your target page.
- Design your own purposeful link structure to facilitate the optimization of the target page (think Assignment 2).
NB! Insufficient link optimization is one of the reasons why the assignment is not approved. Please do put some effort into link optimization.
Typical mistake. Some students only create links that leave the optimization target page. Your optimization target page needs incoming links from other pages.
"Before" and "after"
Summarize your search engine optimization results. In the left column, state the web page/site feature before optimization; in the right column, state the corresponding feature after optimization. If there is no corresponding "before" or "after" feature, leave the column cell empty.
| Feature before optimization |
Feature after optimization |
| Text optimization |
| ... |
... |
| Fill as many rows as necessary |
| ... |
... |
| Link optimization |
| ... |
... |
Report
In the report:
- Include the links to your-mini site, before and after optimization.
- State clearly which page you have optimized.
- State clearly which search phrase you did optimization for.
- Address all the above-mentioned optimization features, motivate all that you did. Include images and HTML-pieces as necessary for better readability of your report.
- Make a list of all the links that you have optimized, which URL was added or changed (the new version if it changed) on which page, tell what was changed and why.
- As the final touch, summarize your results in the "before-and-after" table.
Don't forget to write your names on the report.
Eriks Sneiders