| 6 SEO Tips for a New Website |
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| When
preparing to launch a new web site,
it is important to ensure that your
site is user-friendly and has plenty
of "sticky" content to keep visitors
satisfied. But you must also utilize
effective search engine optimization
(SEO) so that the search engine "bots"
can easily index your site, providing
you with a good ranking on the search
engines and a nice flow of traffic. |
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| 1. Text
is king |
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| Using Flash content
or lots of images will make it difficult for
search engine bots to recognize and properly
index your pages, resulting in poor SEO. Use
Flash sparingly, if at all, and go easy on
the images. Be sure to use ALT tags to label
any images you do use, and remember, a search
engine bot cannot index what it cannot "see."
Bots read only the text on your page. |
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| 2. Integrate your keywords
naturally |
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| Every page should have
one or two specific keywords to sum up what
it is about. Try to naturally sprinkle these
keywords throughout the content of the page,
and include them in ALT and META tags as appropriate.
However, 2-4% keyword density it enough--resist
the temptation to “stuff” your pages with
keywords. This may have been a successful
SEO tactic years ago, but search engines are
far more sophisticated today, and they will
consider your page spammy if keywords appear
excessively, or in an unnatural matter. |
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| 3. Use text navigation links
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| Using Flash or JavaScript
navigation links can screw up your site’s
SEO. Always use a simple HTML compliant structure
for site navigation. If you absolutely must
use a script based navigation system, be sure
to include footer text links at the bottom
of your page so search engine bots can navigate
your page properly. |
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| 4. Submit your site to directories |
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| Submitting to directories
such as DMOZ or Yahoo can improve both your
search engine results and page rank. While
both DMOZ and a Yahoo are paid directories,
there are also free directories which can
help your site’s SEO, though they do not provide
the benefit of DMOZ or Yahoo. |
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| When submitting to directories,
make sure your site is submitted under the
appropriate category. You’ll also want to
keep your site description brief-- 15 to 20
words is plenty. The idea is to briefly summarize
what your site is about, not provide a detailed
description. When it comes to SEO, remember,
less is more. |
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| 5. Exchange links with related
sites |
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| Exchanging links with
other sites is a good way to increase the
profile of your site. However, it is important
to choose sites that are related to your niche,
but NOT directly in competition with you.
For example, if your site is about stress
reduction techniques, linking to a site about
alternative healing or yoga might be appropriate.
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| Before linking with another
site, check out the site on Alexa.com to get
an idea of the traffic the site is receiving.
It's also a good idea to check the site’s
page rank. As a general rule, always try to
exchange links with sites with a higher page
rank than yours. The higher the page rank,
the more “weight” the link gives to your site,
and the better it is for SEO. |
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| 6. Post on related message
boards |
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| For a new site, one simple
SEO tip is to post on message boards or forums
relating to your topic. Of course, you don't
want to spam message boards. Provide helpful
answers and thought-provoking questions on
the topic and you should see an increase in
both traffic and the number of the back-links
to your site. Remember, the more back-links
you get from reputable sites, the better the
SEO benefits to your site, and the more traffic
you are likely to see. |
