File Names and Search Engines

File naming is easy to do

This is something easy to do and Google highly recommends you to do it. It is always important that what Google likes you should do if possible.

File names are the names of your website pages. For example: A page about dog food you probably will name it something like dogfood.html

Use Punctuation Marks in File Names

Google suggests you use punctuation marks in your file names. Instead of dogfood.html put it dog-food.html

You should use the - symbol to separate words, not the _ symbol.

This is great way for visitors to understand faster and easier what the page is about. Makes sense.

Little things make a difference

Google always tried to give their users (the people who search the search engine) the best results and experience. These little things make a difference, and for search engine optimization purposes you will get (even though small) credit. It is a good thing to do.

Do not however go and rename all your website pages. That will results in lots of 404 page not found error pages. Just for next time when you create pages, start using the punctuation symbol to separate words.

Let me give you few more examples. Wrong way to name a page is catfood.html or cheapcatfoods.html

File names that make sense and are good for seo

Good way to name a page instead is cat-food.html or cheap-cat-foods.html Easy and simple tip. File names also make more sense.

Something to think about now. Blogger blog platform is created and owned by Google. By default the blogs you created are search engine optimized. Notice the file names of the post pages. They are all created with the punctuation symbol. Google implemented this in the blogger blogs by default.

Here are some more tips on this subject.

1) Do not create a ton of different folders or directories on your website. For example create a folder named articles and put all articles inside it.

2) Avoid creating sub domains with identical or very similar content as your domain name.

3) Make meta tags unique for each webpage. If your site is big, you obviously cannot make each page with a unique meta tag. In that case at least make the most important pages with very descriptive meta tags that clearly describe what the page is about.

4) Avoid also creating pages like this: www.domainname.com/Support

(You do that by creating a new folder called Support, then putting an index.html page inside the folder) That can result in some errors too with redirection and so on.

So it is best to create html pages, like this: www.domainname.com/Support.html

These things that deal with how to structure your website and so on are all known as onpage optimization strategies/methods or techniques.

They are not so important as the offpage optimization strategies, which deal with getting links. But they still count and obviously simple things like these you should start implementing them.

Email Cover Letter and Resume Tips

When you send an email that contains your cover letter and resume, it is very important to keep in mind that you only have between 15 and 20 seconds to get the attention of your prospective employer. During this time, you have to get the person who receives the email to open your email, read your email and not delete your email. To make these things happen and to get your submissions considered, it is important to remember the following rules:

1. Use a subject line that catches your reader’s attention. When you respond to a job listing, include the job title and/or job code in the subject. When you are not responding to a jobs listing, use a short sentence that specifies the purpose of your email. This helps your recipient quickly understand what your email is about without having to actually open the email message.
2. The first part of your email message should include your cover letter. Don’t attach the cover letter in a second document. Including the cover letter in the first part of your message will allow your reader to quickly get into the important details of you fit the position.
3. Never send your resume as an attachment to an email. The resume should be included direct below the cover letter. Including attachments in your email could cause your message to be rejected by email systems and no one wants to download an attachment that might take a long time to download and isn’t from someone they know.
4. Unless your email is properly formatted for email, it may not appear correctly in all email clients and operating systems. Format your email message using a plain text editor, such as Note Pad, and then copy and paste into your email client. Try to check how your message looks on multiple operating systems and email clients.
5. Always follow the directions specified by the job posting, even if some of the specification break some of the above rules. It is more important that you show the prospective employer that you can follow direction. If they tell you to send the message as a PDF or a Word document, then that is exactly what you should do.

Top 10 Cover Letter Writing Tips

Below are the top things that are critical to successful cover letter writing. If you remember to apply these simply tips, they will definetly have a positive effect in your job search.

1. Try to find the hiring managers name and use it along with a standard business letter format when constructing a cover letter.
2. When you write an opening sentence for a cover letter, always give a clear purpose for the letter.
3. Show potential employers that you know something about the company by including a reference to a company specific piece of information in your cover letter.
4. Let employers know facts about your current life situation that will have an effect on the position.
5. Let potential employers know the reasons the position is of interest and how your skills can make you successful in fulfilling the requirements of the position.
6. Draw attention to your resume by referencing particular parts of it within your cover letter.
7. When you write your cover letter, don’t repeat the same information that is contained within your resume.
8. Proofread everything for grammar and spelling errors a few times, and when you are done, have a friend do the same thing.
9. End the letter with standard formal business letter closing phrases.
10. Electronic cover letters can be written similarly to standard cover letter format, accept they can generally be shorter and it is more critical to include detailed contact information.