How to Optimize Your Website:

A Guide to Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization is not an exact science, it constantly evolves as search engines evolve. As search engines develop smarter ways to search, SEO experts develop smarter ways to be sought. Today's major search engines all play a significant role in how we optimize our websites, from concept to design to implementation. Google has by the far the greatest impact on how we optimize, followed by Yahoo!, MSN and a few others. For your convenience we have put together some resources that every SEO novice will find indispensable in their quest for optimization.

Here is the most comprehensive "to do" list for optimizing your website from A to Z.

Planning:

1. Identify your target keywords
   • Frequently used keywords
   • Minimal competition from rival sites
2. Choose a descriptive domain name using the same keywords
3. Name the html files using the same keywords
4. Name the image files using the same keywords

Template Design:

1. File Name
   • Incorporate target keywords in file name of new page
2. Title Tags
   • Include target keywords in page title of new page
3. Meta Tags
   • Include target keywords in description of new page
4. Images
   • Include target keywords in file names of images on new page
   • Include target keywords in alt tags of images on new page
5. Links
   • Include target keywords in hyperlink text from index page
   • Include target keywords in title attribute from index page
6. Headers
   • Include target keywords in header tags of new page • Include some target keywords in bold tags
7. Body
   • Include target keywords in body text of new page
   • Repeat target keywords from 3 to 5 occurrences
   • Link specific target keywords to relevant pages

Site Map:

1. Create a page with a site map of all pages
2. Identify target keywords for each page
3. Incorporate target keyword into page description
4. Include mini-navigation at bottom of all pages
5. Hyperlink the page descriptions instead of the page titles

Outbound Links:

1. Target page must have a PageRank (preferably same or higher than yours)
2. Target website must not be new, should be at least nine months old
3. Target website should be listed in ODP
4. Target page must have original content, of a related nature, with no more than 50 links

Search Engine Submission:

1. Get Listed in DMOZ Open Directory Project
2. Major Search Engines: Google, Yahoo!, MSN
3. Yellow Pages or local phone directory
4. Specialized and regional directories