Because search engines alter their algorithms constantly, it pays to keep a close eye on our ranking and monitor how the metadata (keywords, titles and descriptions etc.) of our site performs. What was received knowledge changes radically over time, so it is always worthwhile carrying out a regular audit to ensure our sites are doing as well as they could, and not being penalised.

But it is not only search engines that are changing, so too are internet users. As well as becoming more diverse demographically, your average user is also more web savvy than ever before. The way people search and arrive on a web site is more sophisticated than was previously the case.

Human nature hasn?t changed, it?s the users themselves who are now increasingly educated in the ways of search engines, how they work and how to refine their search. In fact, search terms are evolving. When was the last time you put a single word into a search engine?

Exactly. Users are entering much more descriptive terms as they know what gets the best results. Quality of results is far more important than quantity hence the now dominance of the two or three plus word search term. And often search terms are further qualified by the addition of a geographic location. For example, ?Volvo parts Inverness? would be infinitely more useful than entering ?Volvo car parts? if you were urgently in need of same and lived in the vicinity of the Highland capital. In fact, doing a UK only search retrieves 18,900 for the former and 745,000 for the latter more generic search term. Realistically, though, most folk would enter their particular model of vehicle into the mix for good measure.

The upshot of this illustrative example is that web site owners need the nous to construct pages in a three-phase approach, i.e. individual pages for their primary keywords, pages for niche keyword phrases and for the longer keyword phrases.

First, though, we need a clear idea of which keywords and keyword phrases work best in our particular market. Generic title tags are no longer effective in most marketplaces, especially where there is a lot of competition. Search engines place most weight nowadays on title tags. It is the title tag that will in large part decide, along with a number of other factors, how search engines view a site and determine how it should be categorised. First impressions are important for search engines too, so a carefully worded title tag is important. It will also be crucial in how a search engine ranks a site.

Another important point here is not to target too many keywords; prioritise and drop any that are likely to dilute the perception of those keywords that are business critical. Targeting numerous keywords can be detrimental to a site?s ranking, especially if there is no relevant content or a dedicated page devoted to each keyword. Concentrate on the killer keywords and phrases and build supporting pages for each of these. When this is done, the extras can be rolled out thereafter on a planned basis.

Kate