ABCs for SEO

A) Create Useful Content
The most important part of any website is the content. Content is what draws users to your site, and subsequently what search engines are looking for when they crawl pages. By creating quality content you are well on your way to developing a highly visited website. Users that appreciate a site’s content are much more likely to bookmark it and return later.

B) Design for Users, Not Search Engines
There are several ‘blackhat’ SEO techniques out there that promise good results in the short term. The problem is that Google and the other search engines are on the lookout for sites that try to game their algorithms. If a site is caught using these techniques, it will be blacklisted and prevented from showing up at all. The best long-term strategy to improve your position in search results is to create a well designed, useful site that others will link to.

C) Choose Keywords That Work
The process of choosing the right keywords is one of art and science. While there are several keyword tools out there that will assist in creating a keyword list, it takes much more than this. You will also want to brainstorm your own list for keywords computers can’t think of. Be creative and try to think of language that your target market would use to search for your site. Once you have compiled keyword list, research also needs to be done on the ’supply’ and ‘demand’ for your list. Think of ’supply’ as how many other websites are targeting that keyword, and ‘demand’ as how many people are searching for that keyword. Obviously it is beneficial for you to target keywords that are in high demand and low in supply.

D) Sweat the Details
There are several smaller technical items that can improve the overall quality of your website. Here are several suggestions: Check your <title> tags for relevancy and keyword use. Make sure you are using friendly URLs that visitors can read. Validate your HTML and CSS against the W3C validator. Optimize your file sizes for quick downloads and rendering. Register as the owner of your site with the Webmaster Tools of each major search engine and submit an XML sitemap. By taking the time to go through the code on your website with a fine tooth comb you will create a high quality site that both users and search engines will appreciate.

E) Measure, Analyze, Tweak
The great thing about SEO is that it is relatively easy to measure your progress. There are several tools such as Google Analytics that will provide metrics on visitors and keywords. Almost all strategies and tactics in SEO can be measured. Remember, all advanced SEO work is an iterative process where techniques are tried, measured, and tweaked continually for constant improvement.

If you would like to learn more about SEO, there are some great resources and articles at the following websites:

• SEOmoz - http://www.seomoz.com
• SearchEngineWatch - http://www.searchenginewatch.com
• SEOBook - http://www.seobook.com
• Search Engine News - http://www.searchenginenews.com/
• Matt Cutts Blog - http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/