Search Engine Optimization

Today, I am learning about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Etsy does all that for you (ie you can't mess with the HTML to help yourself out), but today I am acting as SEO Adviser for my husband who is a web developer.  He knows how to make a website, and I am learning how to make sure that website gets in the top 10 when certain terms are googled. It can be a very time consuming task! As I said, this isn't very relevant to Etsy sellers. BUT I have learned a couple things I've learned so far that are helpful:

1. When you title a new item for sale: keep it simple. Call it what it is. For example, don't list a set of earrings called "Dainty Glitter Fairy Wings." That will not be put into the "relevant" category if someone searches for earrings. Call them "Earrings: Fairy Wings" or something short. Think about the terms people will use to search for your item.
2. How do the search engines do what they do?! When a term is searched on Google (or any other search engine), it determines if a site is relevant to your search by checking out the following:

• It first looks for pages containing your exact phrase first. Having the exact phrase in your Title is important.
• Then it looks for pages that have those words close together but not necessarily even in the same sentence.
• It also looks for synonyms of the words your searched for.
• Then it looks at pages that have those words scattered around the page.

So: The content you provide for your item description should contain keywords (words people may use to search for your item) as well!