PharmiMike

I dont intend to devote too much space here to SEO as its a topic of its own and constantly changing, But I will provide you with my “TOP 10” key things to consider and some links to useful sites.

SEO is usually divided into 2 groups.

• On page (part of your own site )
• Off page (what goes on elsewhere)

On Page SEO

1. Page Titles. In HTML, each page can have  a page title. This should be shortish, a keyword or phrase and relevant. So “page1″ is no good, “pharma sales and marketing jobs” is great.
2. Good content:. I cant stress enough the value of good relevant content. And keep adding to it! Use keywords in your body copy (more towards the top of the page), but don’t overdo it. Ideal page content is around 300 words
3. Keyword Variations: Use variations of your words or phrases within your pages, including plurals and even missspellings.
4. Page Meta Description. A short description within the HTML that tells the search engines what the page is about. Keep each page different. 20-40 words.
5. Links: Keywords or phrases in links out. eg : “click here for <a href=”clinical_research_jobs.aspx”>Clinical research jobs</a>”
6. Headers: Header tags and formatting. in HTML H1,h2,h3 tags denote headings. use them (with keywords), and also use bold text on the page on keywords. Not randomly but in a sensible and meaningful way to the reader.
7. Names: Domain, Directory and Page  names. “mikespharma.com/jobs/job_detail.asp” is better than “smellycat.com/aardvark/section1/home.htm“. Some site tools including WordPress, provide site tools for this.
8. Meta keywords. I believe google ignores these, but other search engines may not, so a series of  half a dozen key phrases is good. Use generic ones on your homepage, and more specific ones on secondary pages.
9. Image tags. Images can be very important in some sites, although in job boards there are likely to be very few images. If you use them use the HTML ALT tags.
10. Navigation – Make sure Google (and your users!) can find the pages on your site with clear navigation.
11. SiteMaps – in theory Google will index all of your site, but you can help it out by creating a comprehensive XML sitemap and keeping them up to date.

Off Page SEO

1. Links In Context: Links in to your website from authoritative sites (popular and informative, not not link sites) in your topic area – particularly ones with high pagerank, and not too many other links, and ideally pages containing some of your own keywords.
2. Keywords in Link. Where possible have links using keywords in the link text eg: “<a href=”http://www.pharmiweb.com”>Jobs in Pharmaceuticals</a>“
3. Don’t add too many too quickly. If you add loads of links in to your site very quickly, it may have a negative effect. You are best to have a slow and more organic link building strategy.

Well that sounds simple doesn’t it. Mostly it is, but it does take time, don’t expect immediate results, and don’t do your first phase and then nothing, it really is an ongoing process.