Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips to Get Started

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a value-added service. Your website may be well-designed, user friendly and have great content. But, can anyone find it?

These tips are meant to give you the basics. Algorithms used by search engines are as mysterious as Area 51. However, by following a few SEO best practices, you may be able to obtain higher rankings for your web pages. To reiterate, having great content will make a world of difference from the get go. I’m only addressing the web page structure and how it can maximize your listing on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Let’s get started.

1. Domain name. I wouldn’t consider this part of SEO technically but it could help. It should relate to the product, service, information, etc. and contain keywords if possible. Unless you have a niche business or something really unusual, most of the good domain names are probably taken. It’s not a deal breaker but it could help.

2. Directory (folder) and file (web page) naming. It should accurately represent content for each section or page. Folders may contain related sub-folders and/or related files.

Products > Televisions > Brand-Name > plasma-model-1234.html

In the above example, the main folder for this set is Products. Within this folder is the sub-folder Televisions. Next is the sub-folder Brand-Name. Finally, within the Brand-Name folder is the file plasma-model-1234.html which is the web page itself.

When you build a logical site architecture, it will be easier to maintain and organize. Also, accurately naming your folders and files will allow search engine crawlers to index your content much more efficiently.

3. Title tags. Search engines place major importance on these to determine the subject of each web page. It’s also used as the title for your listing in SERPs. Ideally, each title tag should be customized for each page. Maximum length is around 70 characters (including spaces).

Bonus tips: include a value proposition. Include keywords (only if it’s applicable to the web page). For small businesses, including your location can be extremely important as it targets users searching locally.

4. Meta tags. The meta description tag is the most important for SEO. It’s also used to describe the web page in SERPs. A key strategy is to place compelling copy here to entice users to click on your listing. Keep the length to around 170 characters (including spaces).

Regarding the meta keyword tag, it seems the consensus around the search community is that it is no longer relevant. However, it never hurts to drop a few in. No need to go overboard, 3-5 words and/or phrases should be sufficient.

5. CSS/JavaScript placed in external files. By moving these elements into externally linked files, it won’t hog up precious search engine crawler indexing resources. And, be sure to exclude these files from being searched by disallowing these files in your robots.txt file (see #11).

6. Heading tags. These help to organize key information points and give structure to your content. The h1 tag should be used to explain the main point of your page. Use additional heading tags (h2 thru h6) to further break down your page into additional sections. With your content properly outlined, search engines crawlers will understand your content a lot better and index it properly.

7. Add title attributes to your links. Use descriptive text for your text links. Be sure they describe the relevancy of the resulting page from which it is linked.

e.g. Purchase any of our <a href=”web-design-books.html” title=”View our list of web design books”>web design</a> books.

8. Add alt attributes to your images. First off, placing these assists visually impaired people who access sites through screen readers. A very important reason to use them.

In regards to SEO, using an alt attribute with your image can place additional relevant text on your page. And, with the advent of Google Image Search, your image content can now be indexed as well. Just another way for your users to find you.

9. Build a site map and XML Sitemap. This is a great way to display your content in a hierarchical format to assist users in finding specific pages. This page can also be used by search engine crawlers to help index your website.

Another useful strategy is to create and submit an XML Sitemap to Google so all your pages can be properly indexed. Go to Google Webmasters Tools to get started.

10. 404 error page. It’s best to customize this because users will inevitably find their way to this page. Web pages can be accidentally deleted or maybe a redirect wasn’t added. We all can’t be perfect! Plus, users can sometimes mistype or receive the wrong URL as well. Try adding a few suggestions such as a site map, search box or popular page links to lend them a helping hand.

11. Create a robots.txt file. Used to disallow files from being indexed by search engine crawlers. Examples include login pages, admin pages, shopping carts, entire directories such as CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) or JS (JavaScript). The point is to allocate as much of the crawler’s resources to your most important content.

Well, there you have it. Follow these tips and you’ll be ahead of the game.

One last thing… you may be asking yourself how I learned all this? Well, check out Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide for more in-depth explanations and tips.

Sure, that guide has everything I need to know so why bother writing this post you say? Well, it’s more about me than it is for you I suppose… I think writing about this or any subject (in your own words) not only validates what you learned but also helps you think and absorb it as well. If you’re just starting out like me, give it a try.

Do you have any tips I missed? Or, did I miss the boat on something? Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions (or just to say hey!).