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| 1 | +.. _seo-guidelines: |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +===================================== |
| 4 | +Search Engine Optimization Guidelines |
| 5 | +===================================== |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +Search Engine Optimization (SEO) considers the actual terms that users |
| 8 | +enter into search engines (keywords) and employs best practices to |
| 9 | +improve traffic to web pages from search engines. The following |
| 10 | +guidance should help you optimize your documentation pages for search. |
| 11 | + |
| 12 | +Titles |
| 13 | +------ |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +Use the following SEO best practices for page and subsection titles: |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +- Use a maximum of 70 characters. |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +- Include target keywords (the actual terms that users |
| 20 | + enter into search engines to reach your page). |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | +- Avoid excessive or irrelevant words (keyword stuffing). |
| 23 | + |
| 24 | +- Strive for unique page titles. Identical titles, even between |
| 25 | + documentation sets, might compete in search results. |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +To learn more, see :ref:`titles-and-headings`. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +Alternative Text |
| 30 | +---------------- |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +Screen readers read alternative text for images aloud so that users can |
| 33 | +better understand an image. Specify alternative text according to the |
| 34 | +following SEO best practices: |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +- Use a maximum of 125 characters per image. |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +- Describe the image with sufficient detail to understand what it shows. |
| 39 | + |
| 40 | +- If they apply to the image, include keywords |
| 41 | + (the actual terms that users enter into search engines). |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +To learn more, see :ref:`write-for-accessibility`. |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +Keywords |
| 46 | +-------- |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | +You can add the actual terms that users enter into search engines |
| 49 | +(keywords) to your page to improve its SEO. Add keywords according to |
| 50 | +the following best practices: |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +- Take the most concise form of the information that the page conveys |
| 53 | + and make that the target keyword. |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | + .. example:: |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | + The target keyword for the `Getting Started with MongoDB Atlas |
| 58 | + <https://learn.mongodb.com/courses/getting-started-with-mongodb-atlas>`_ University page is |
| 59 | + ``mongodb atlas course``. |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +- Don't add keywords so broad that they compete with the product page. |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +- Don't add keywords so specific that we miss the actual behavior of |
| 64 | + our searchers. For example, add “mongodb atlas course” instead of |
| 65 | + “Getting Started with Atlas Data Platform”. |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +While keyword tags are available, some search engines might ignore |
| 68 | +these tags. To learn more, see :ref:`metadata`. |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | +Descriptions |
| 71 | +------------ |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +The description is a snippet that appears under the link in the search |
| 74 | +results, which can impact SEO. Write these descriptions according to |
| 75 | +the following best practices: |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +- Use a concise description of the page content that is enticing, if |
| 78 | + possible. |
| 79 | + |
| 80 | +- Emphasize the “why” for using the page. |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | +- Use a maximum of 155 characters. |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +- Include target keywords and a call to action (CTA) that prompts the |
| 85 | + user to complete their desired task. |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | + .. example:: |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | + The following examples use a CTA in the description meta tag: |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | + .. code-block:: rst |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | + .. meta:: |
| 94 | + :description: Use a language analyzer to create search keywords in your Atlas Search index that are optimized for a particular natural language. |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | + .. code-block:: rst |
| 97 | + |
| 98 | + .. meta:: |
| 99 | + :description: Use the character filters in an Atlas Search custom analyzer to examine text one character at a time and perform filtering operations. |
| 100 | + |
| 101 | +- Use unique descriptions for every page. |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +To learn more, see :ref:`metadata`. |
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