101 Search Engine Optimization Tips

Tip #1

In order to understand search engine optimization, you need to understand the relationships between the engines. http://www.bruceclay.com/searchenginechart.pdf Optimize for the big ones first. Look for the niche areas in the smaller engines later. Below are 100 search engine optimization tips to help you improve your rankings and site traffic.

10 secrets on finding the right keywords

Brainstorm any possible keywords.

Write down any words that are relevant to your site on notecards

Find Synonyms for each word that is useful to your site

Research your keywords on Overture Search Tool – It’s quick and easy and will give you ideas and baseline data:

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Try Google Adwords Keyword Suggestor

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox

Research your keywords further on Wordtracker

http://www.wordtracker.com/trial/

Check out Google Sets to see how search engines might "theme" your site:

http://labs.google.com/sets

Scope the competition. Type your phrases into a few search engines and see who is topping the SERPS.

Determine which SERPS you can be competitive in and optimize your site around those phrases.

Choose the most relevant, most searched words that have the least competition. (Did I hear the word "Niche?")

10 secrets for Information Architecture

Define the goals of your site. According to Seth Godin there are 4 goals for any website.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2003/09/helping_jack_wi.html

He has a knack for simplifying things.

Your site needs to be structured according to your keywords.

Make sure to balance your keyword structure and usability.

Structure your site according to "themes" when possible. http://www.searchengineworld.com/engine/theme_pyramids.htm

Always put your primary keywords in your link text

Be sure to use "traditional" links that pass link popularity. This means do not use javascript or cgi to link the pages on your site. If you must use these technologies for linking be sure to use static links at the bottom of each page. The more static pages the better.

Try to get many "sub-pages" linking to your third-level pages. This means even though a page may not be a main category, it should be linked to by as many pages as logically possible.

Correct linking techniques will "balance the power" of your pages making your meaty content pages more enticing to the search engines. SE’s love content. Learn how to feed those spiders.

When getting links from other pages do not always have them go to your top-level domain. Have some links go to important sub-level pages.

Make sure you are giving users what they want. Check your internal search reports to determine if something of value to your visitors is being searched for often (often indicates it is difficult to find). For a good internal site search engine try

http://www.atomz.com/search/

(Free demo up to 500 pages)

10 secrets on better website design

Let users know where they are on your site using methods such as breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs are A schematic on every screen that lets you know, a la Hansel and Gretel, where you are and where you've been. Any of the "steps" can be clicked on and you'll be taken back to that particular location, rather than having to back up page by page. (http://www.consumerreports.org/main/detailv2.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=787&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=735)

Tell users where they want to go. Seth Godin says users are like a Monkey with a big red fez on looking for a "banana" to click on. While it doesn’t sound so nice it is not so far off base considering most sites consider keeping a user around for two minutes to be a success. Don’t make users guess what you want them to do.

www.bigredfez.com

Lay your pages out in CSS Just borrow a little code: http://glish.com/css/

Get creative with CSS. It offers a multitude of flexibility that HTML alone does not.

www.csszengarden.com

Get some stock photography to increase your site’s visual appeal.

www.Istockphoto.com

- has quality stock photography as cheap as possible without being free! Also check out Stock Photography at Foto Search

Use lists, short paragraphs, and choppy sentences! Your english teacher will hate you, but admit it….you’re only reading this article because it’s short, easy to read, and informationalJ

Keep line-length narrow (horizontal width of paragraphs). It is easier to read and keeps people from getting lost when going to the next line.

Progressive Enhancement. This is essentially the opposite of "graceful degredation". Fancy words saying build your website starting with the lowest common denominator browsers in mind. More on the subject:

http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/03/21/index3a.html

Use Flash sparingly. It looks really cool, but you can embed it in a regular XHTML page and enjoy the best of both worlds.

http://www.flashkit.com/tutorials/

Use dynamic "fluid" CSS layouts when possible. Three column fluid layouts:

http://glish.com/css/2.asp

10 secrets how to create better code

Keep your HTML under 10k if at all possible. Keep your HTML under 5k if possible. You get the picture. Small is good. Big = Back button.

Link to external javascripts if you must use them. Do not put them in the code.

Link to external CSS file. You SHOULD use them. By using files externally, they do not need to reload that chunk of code for every page on the site.

DO NOT USE <FONT> Tags. They cause code bloat. They are old. The don’t separate form and function.

Separate Form and Function. USE XHTML and CSS so design changes aren’t a pain.

http://www.seotoday.com/browse.php/category/articles/id/321/index.php

Get rid of the tables. They used to be nice to layout pages. There is better technology now. Tables are dead…http://www.alistapart.com/stories/practicalcss/

Validate your CSS

http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/

Validate your HTML/ XHTML

http://validator.w3.org/

Check how long it takes to download your page.

http://www.netmechanic.com/toolbox/html-code.htm

Use <div>’s and CSS to position the content of the site near the top of the code. More on CSS Positioning:

http://www.brainjar.com/css/positioning/default.asp

10 secrets for must-have on-page elements.

On-page factors should correspond to established target keywords. It’s helpful to know the W3C specifications.

Always use <title> tags, preferably with your keyword phrase first.

Always use <h1> tags. They used to be ugly, but can now be styled with CSS. There is no excuse not to use them, and it will help your rankings.

Use as many other <h#> tags as possible. Don’t go overboard, but if you have sections it is a good way to organize, and will help.

Use the title= on all links. This will create a little "tool tip" when someone mouses over a link. It is also likely to give a little boost.

Use those alt tags on your images. They have been abused and discounted in most SE’s, but good usability IS good SEO.

Meta description meta title tags have been severely abused in the past as well. Most engines don’t use them for much, but they may still carry a little weight somewhere. Don’t go more than thirty or fourty words though because it will bump the "meat" of your site lower in your code.

Balance your keyword density. Don’t go overboard where the copy looks stuffed by users, but make sure those important phrases are in there.

Use bold and italics on your keyword phrases. This may or may not help a little bit, but if that is what your users are looking for they will be happy you pointed it for them.

Always use your primary keyword phrases in link text TO the page. This is becoming one of the most important elements of SEO today.

10 secrets on search engine submission.

Search engine submission is not absolutely necessary anymore, but you can do it. The best method of submission is getting a link from a high quality site.

If you can’t get a high quality link, get several lower quality links. If you have no friends, get a link from the Open Directory Project www.dmoz.org

If you don’t get a listing from the ODP in a month, check the status at

www.resource-zone.com

DMOZ links are important to many directory listings, be persistent, read more about DMOZ submission at:

http://seotoday.com/browse.php/category/articles/id/278/index.php

If you can’t get links ANYWHERE, try visiting your site with the google toolbar with advanced features turned on. Toolbar.google.com

SE submission is really just for lazy folks now, but if you must:

http://www.google.com/addurl.html

DO NOT submit multiple times or use an automated program to submit to 10,000 SE’s (only a handful matter anyhow). This may cause your site to get banned for violating SE terms of service.

Yahoo Submission will cost you $299.99 unless you are non-commercial or want to wait A LONG time.

Become a member of Zeal.com and submit your sites.

When you can’t get charity…try using cash. Submit your site with paid inclusion on Inktomi, LookSmart, or various other engines.

http://ranks.nl/submission/index.html

10 secrets for link development

Your site needs lots of links and it needs them now. Make lots of new web-friends.

Find the industry leaders for your site. Try searching for "add url your industry", "add site your industry".

Search DMOZ while adding your site to the directory for other sites in the industry.

Get yourself a good links manager

http://tinyurl.com/pn0a

Add your primary link text to your homepage to make it easy for others to link to you.

http://www.meta4creations.com/likes.htm

Write a draft for link requests for when you find good sites to be potential linking partners. If you are a good link developer you will send A LOT of e-mails. Try to send two a day and you will have lots of links in no time.

Personalize your e-mails to the individual sites that you are asking a link from. Be sure to compliment the good areas of their site and show your interest. Everyone like a nice attaboy every now and then right??

Good ol’ fashion networking. Talk to people in your area. Approach all the local business owners and see if there is someplace you can swap links.

Write some killer content. People love information. This whole tip sheet is one way to get links. Spread your knowledge… and ask for a linkback.

Buy links if you have to. Once you’ve exhausted all resources, or if you are in a hurry, find siteowners that will sell you quality text links for reasonable rates. More on link development here:

http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum12/

10 secrets in your log files

Using a free log file analyzer is a great way to find out important information about your site. One of the best free analyzers is webalizer.

http://www.mrunix.net/webalizer/

If you don’t have access to your server, you can set it up to run on your local machine.

http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum23/1848.htm

Find out which pages people are leaving on most often. Build the content on those pages stronger, and find a new place to lead them from there.

Examine EVERY phrase that people are finding to get to your site. Toy with the variations. Find misspellings. Add and subtract words to the phrases. Make words plural or singular. Very minor tweaks can account for very large changes in traffic.

Search each phrase and examine the competition. If you are low in the rankings but still receiving lots of hits from a phrase it is safe to assume the higher you reach in the SERPS the more traffic you will garner from those higher positions.

Examine top entry and exit pages to run specials on.

Pages with top entry should have their content expanded to increase the duration of a visitor’s stay.

Clicktracks is a pay program that helps with log file analysis. There are several other log file analysis programs:

http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum39/905.htm

Using a program like Clicktracks you can find out the average time on a site for certain keywords. If there is short visits for certain keywords, you need to beef up the content in that area.

With Clicktracks you can also identify how many people are making it to a target page such as a contact or order page.

Clicktracks will allow users to view the next page a visitor went to from any given page. This will give you an idea of the path of navigation to adjust and improve upon.

10 secrets for better usability

Always test your sites. Have your grandmother, mother, and friends and relatives look at it. If you can, videotape someone using the site and have them perform specific tasks to see how easy or difficult they are. More on User testing:

http://www.uie.com/Articles/user_testing/index.htm

Make sure that the navigation interface is intuitive. The web is filled with horrible navigation metaphors that can confuse and lose users. Use the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) Theory.

Be sure that all links on your site work. Broken links can severely undermine credibility. Check your links with Xenu Link Check:

http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html

Users are in a hurry, and will only scan your site. Write short, concise sentences using lists, bold and italicized text, and lots of headings. Keep your users attention.

Study optimal webdesign.

http://psychology.wichita.edu/optimalweb/default.htm

Find out the expected locations for common e-commerce elements.

http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/41/web_object-ecom.htm

Be sure your site is visible in a text-only browser such as lynx.

http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html

Check your site on as many browsers, monitor sizes, and resolutions as possible.

http://www.anybrowser.com/siteviewer.html

Acquaint yourself with the "Box Model" problem with CSS.

http://www.tantek.com/CSS/Examples/boxmodelhack.html

Keep everything within 3 clicks.

10 secrets for faster downloads

Create good code. Use CSS instead of <font> tags and other outdated markup.

Externalize all javascript code so it can be reused for every page.

Externalize all CSS code so it can be reused for every page.

Use heading tags and paragraph tags to style text.

Limit your use of graphics and optimize them. Free 30-day trial of Macromedia Fireworks (to optimize image file size)

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