Dos

1. Be Specific

Every page on your site should have a specific purpose. Think about the page in front of you, and try to describe it. If you're using "and" to combine multiple thoughts on this page, its time to make some new pages. When writing the titles for each of these pages, keep the specifics of the page in mind. If this is a page just about "toasters", the title should include your keywords centered around "toasters", and not a more generic keyword phrase like "kitchen appliances".

2. Be Unique

Just like every page title should be specific to each page, you should also make sure that each page title is unique across your entire site. If you're following the first rule and making sure that every page is laser-focused on a single topic, it should be extremely easy to also make sure that each page title is unique.

3. Be Compelling

When you are looking at a search engine results page, there's only three things that appear for a visitor - the page title, the page description (bonus points if you've got a unique and targeted meta description), and your page's URL. Try and treat your page titles like the titles for your blog posts, and make them compelling.

1. Links Should Always Be Underlined

I know this may sound simple and there are web developers out there pitching a fit for design reasons, but people are still comfortable with links being underlined. Make sure that yours are underlined because your site "isn't about you." You want people to click on links, so make sure that they stand out from regular content. You will notice that this point is common in a few of these tips.

2. Make Links a Different Color

Similar to #1, when people think about links they tend to think of blue for not visited and purple for visited (most of the time). I'm not saying that your links all have to be blue and purple, but they should definitely be a different color.

3. Use Descriptive Link Text, i.e. not "Click Here"

There is nothing worse than getting to the end of a sentence about product X and finding a "click here" link. Save the extra text and turn that great descriptive sentence into the link. Also enjoy the SEO benefits of descriptive keywords in the anchor text.

4. Make Links Bold

Hopefully this is where I'm starting to get you thinking. I did some email A/B testing a while back and noticed that links got a 20% higher clickthrough rate when they were bold. I'm not saying your results are always going to be this high, but it's worth testing.

5. Use Images to Help Your Calls to Action Stand Out

Now that we have the link mostly right, maybe you can add a picture to help draw the visitor's attention to your CTA? Remember a picture is a thousand words. Also make sure that you have alt text on that picture for those search engines and other blind users.

6. Use an Image With Descriptive Text Below the Image

So we've figured out a picture and descriptive text. Now let's combine the two and make them both links. I also did some email A/B testing with this and noticed a 100% higher clickthrough rate when the image was actually a link along with the text.

7. Keep Your CTA Above the Fold

People are lazy. If you want their attention, you have to catch it quickly. If people have to scroll down page, chances are that they will not see your call to action. Keep it closer to the top!

8. Links Pointing to External Sites Should Open in New Windows

This is usually done by adding the target="_blank" attribute to a link, but there are many schools of thought on this one. Let me give you the marketing reason to do it: A visitor is on your site and they click on a link to take them to another site ... they are gone. Oh wait, that link popped up in a new window (or tab). At some point they will get tired of surfing that window, close it and right then and there your site is back in front of them. It might not work for every visitor, but some of those visitors will continue to surf your site at that point.

9. Always Be Testing

Seriously. Keep testing. Now that you've optimized around the other eight tips, maybe you can swap out the most important content, or offer a different mix to your call to action to drive attention. How about that descriptive text link, maybe it could be more enticing?

In Summary

So what are you waiting for? You have work to do, go optimize your links!

But ... since you're still reading, how about some feedback?Do you know any tips that I might have left out or have any strategy that you use? Please share!

Dos

. Be Specific

Every page on your site should have a specific purpose. Think about the page in front of you, and try to describe it. If you're using "and" to combine multiple thoughts on this page, its time to make some new pages. When writing the titles for each of these pages, keep the specifics of the page in mind. If this is a page just about "toasters", the title should include your keywords centered around "toasters", and not a more generic keyword phrase like "kitchen appliances".

2. Be Unique

Just like every page title should be specific to each page, you should also make sure that each page title is unique across your entire site. If you're following the first rule and making sure that every page is laser-focused on a single topic, it should be extremely easy to also make sure that each page title is unique.

3. Be Compelling

When you are looking at a search engine results page, there's only three things that appear for a visitor - the page title, the page description (bonus points if you've got a unique and targeted meta description), and your page's URL. Try and treat your page titles like the titles for your blog posts, and make them compelling.

After months of testing and speculation, Google is finally releasing the next edition of Google search to the public, complete with a left-hand menu bar and even an update to the well-known Google logo.

The new version of Google () has some major differences, but the changes can be broken down into three groups: design changes, the addition of a left-hand navigation panel and a more “unified” search experience.

The product that is launching today has been the result of countless experiments Google has run, many of which our readers have noticed. I spoke with Patrick Riley, the technical lead for Google Web Search, about those experiments and how they ended up in this edition of Google Search ().

Design Changes: Simplicity Is Bliss

The first thing most people will notice are the design changes to the home page, search results page and the Google logo.

Here’s what it looks like:

The focus on simplicity hasn’t changed — in fact, that’s why Google created a new edition of the logo, which removes most of the shadow, some of the gradient and even the “TM” symbol at the end.

As Patrick Riley told me, the intention is to go for a cleaner and simpler look across the board. The new Google logo will roll out on Search starting today and will eventually replace all of the other logos on Google’s other properties.

The search results page has also been cleaned up. The traditional blue box that encompasses the search box at the bottom of the search engine results pages (SERPs) has been removed. The underlines under the numbers and several of the links have also disappeared.

Left-Hand Navigation

The design changes aren’t the biggest ones rolling out today, however; it’s the left-hand navigation that is going to be most obvious to users.

Whenever you perform a search with the new interface, the left-hand navigation you see above will appear. The top left should be self-explanatory; it lists the types of searches you can make, such as image search, shopping search and books search.

What you may not realize at first glance is that this is a dynamic sidebar; Google has designed it to change based on the type of search you’re making. If you’re looking for breaking news, Blog () and News () search is more likely to pop up, while if you search for clothes or shoes, Shopping Search is likely to appear in the list.

Below that section are the query related search tools — things such as related searches, Wonder Wheel, and timeline. Again, this section is dynamic and changes based on the type of search you are making.

Overall, the system is designed to help users refine search results by adapting to their search needs. However, the changes are also meant to “unify” the search experience — when you click on any of the menu items, it doesn’t take you to a completely different looking search results page. The left-hand menu will stay put as you search, which should make it easier for users to navigate the page.

The Experiments Are Not Done

While the new version of Google Search has officially launched, Riley told me that it isn’t the end of the experimentation or of changes to Google’s best-known product. He pointed to the countless iterations of Google over the years, as well as some different designs that the company tested out. Google will continue to run most of its search experiments as it rolls this version to the rest of the world.