WEB EDITOR & AUTHOR GUIDE ZOOS VICTORIA

Page 6Search engine optimisationThere are important steps to take when creating content toincrease the likelihood of pages appearing early in a searchengine result list. Search engines vary in how they use websitedata to determine a page’s relevance.When creating a new page, think carefully about the keywordsin the content. There are two perspectives to consider - theuser and Zoos Victoria.The userWhat words to do you think people would use if they weresearching for this content? For example, what search termmight people use to find content about the wildlife hospital atHealesville Sanctuary? Make sure those words are there. Lookat google analytics to see what search terms are being used.Zoos VictoriaThink about what words you want your content to appearunder even though not necessarily what the user is searchingfor? For example, many users will not be aware of ZoosVictoria’s conservation work.ElementsTitle (h1)Search engines use words in the page title words to determinethe relevance of a page. So think carefully about the name ofyour page. Ensure the title contains the main key words thatyou would expect someone to use if they were searching forthe content.Sub-headings (h2)Sub-headings, which are the headings we use within a page ofcontent on the site, are also used to weigh key words by searchengines. Introduce other key words to these headings whereappropriate. Try to avoid repetitious headings that don’t assistwith indentifying content such as ‘Further information’.Keywords (meta tags)Search engines often ignore meta tag keywords. However, forimportant pages, it is worth including some of the key wordsthat people might search for to link to the content.LinksLinks with meaningful text can also increase search engineranking. When linking to other pages within the site, includekey words in the linked text.