Did you know you can improve your search engine results just by using simple HTML tags more effectively? In this article, I'll share those you can use today to improve search engine rankings... even if you're not a webmaster.

H Tags

When a search engine is evaluating your webpage, it takes a look a the text the lies between heading tags ("H" tags) and weighs those more than text that lies outside of them. Therefore, words that are put between the H1 through H6 tags carry more defining weight than other words.

So, you should be using these tags for all your key word phrase headings... not the "b" or "strong" tags. Many website owners miss out of this little bit of search engine optimization (SEO) by using bold tags instead.

Of course, text in between bold tags carry more weight than plain text, so that tag still can help you SEO efforts.

The "alt" Attribute

The alt attribute is an attribute of the "img" tag and was created as an alternative for non-visual browsers when they come across images. In other words, the text is meant to be used when the image is not visible on the page. Instead, what is displayed (or read) is the alternative text.

But now that people can search for images on search engines, this attribute can contribute to your SEO. So, include a key-word rich, but simple description of the image in your "alt" attribute and your site will show up on image searches, as well. This, in turn, can improve your overall ranking.

Title Tag

The words you use in the title tag are what appear in the clickable text on the search engine results page. Therefore you want to make sure that this includes not only the name of your website, but also the key benefit (using key words, of course) you have to offer. If you don't know how to add or modify your website's title tag, make sure your webmaster does it for you.