Having now read five recently published books on Search Engine Optimization, along with hundreds of on-line articles and forums, I feel I know a little about this exhaustive topic. The problem, however, is that most SEO authors seem to feel the overwhelming need to fluff up their books and articles with unnecessary filler, leaving some of us readers wondering: why can't you just get to the point?Those articles that do seem to get to the point, usually only focus on one narrow aspect of the picture. As a result, I have decided to share with you the accumulation of months of reading, neatly organized into three categories and 40 points.
This list is in no way exhaustive, and it does take a bit of website knowledge to know what I'm talking about. Nevertheless, this list does provide a very solid foundation that will put you at a definite advantage over the majority of website owners. It can also be very useful as a checklist for website owners looking to improve their rankings.
Before I begin, I think it's necessary to mention the importance of keyword research. Regardless if you already have a website operating, or if you are just thinking of setting one up, you must begin your SEO campaign with adequate keyword exploration. I would recommend opening up a Google Adwords account. If for nothing else, you can use this account to take advantage of their Keyword tools. Your purpose is to find relevant keywords and phrases that get adequate searches, but don't have too much competition.
When you have made a list of a few of these keywords and phrases, you should then type them directly into Google to examine your competition. If, for example, the first three pages are filled with PR (Page Rank) 4 and 5 sites all of which are competing for those same keywords and phrases, you should probably go back and try again (you can almost always see what k
eywords and phrases a site is trying to rank for by looking at what's in its title - first line in Google results). It could take you years of link building to compete with these high PR sites (all the while they're improving as well). Find a niche in your keyword research where there is little solid competition. For example, if the first five results have a Page Rank of 3 or less, you might just have a shot.Onsite Optimization
1. find keywords that get searched but don't have too much competition 2. select keyword and keyword phrases based on research 3. calculate competition for these words/phrases 4. acquire a domain with your keywords in it (if possible) 5. acquire fast and reliable hosting (local if possible) 6. create additional site URLs using keywords and phrases 7. create title tags using keywords and phrases 8. create description tags using keywords and phrases 9. create category tags using keywords and phrases 10. create keyword tags using keywords and phrases 11. use keywords and phrases to create headers (h1,h2,h3) 12. write content with a keyword and phrase concentration of 5-7% 13. use bold and strong tags with keywords and phrases 14. use words and phrases in content relevant to keywords 15. content topics should also be relevant to keywords and phrases 16. content should be free of spelling and grammar errors 17. include links to your own keyword rich URLs 18. create keyword rich title tags to these links 19. include pictures with keywords in picture names 20. create keyword rich alt tags for these pictures.
Offsite Optimization
21. acquire one-way back links from relevant quality sites 22. acquire one-way back links from quality directories 23. acquire reciprocal links from relevant directories and sites 24. participate in 3 and 4 way link exchanges 25. ensure keywords and phrases are in link text 26. ensure keywords and phrases are surrounding the link 27. publish articles on relevant content with author box and link attached 28. use blogs, forums, Stubleupon, Digg, etc. to acquire links 29. acquire links from sites with high PR and fewer outgoing links 30. do not link to link farms, or sites that have been banned.
Future Optimization
31. make sure you have the Google toolbar to check PR and back links 32. check your competition to see what they are doing (view source) 33. check back links of your competition through Google toolbar 34. create an account with Google Webmaster Tools and Analytics 35. monitor what sites are linking to you and act accordingly 36. monitor what keywords and phrases people are finding you with 37. update your content frequently and adjust your keywords as necessary 38. monitor your back links and PR as well as those of your competition 39. constantly search for high PR relevant sites that might link to you 40. keep your customers happy and patiently wait for more.
In all your online endeavours, always remember that onsite optimization (what you do to your site) will only counts for so much. Nowadays, with Google being god, your position in the ranks will depend almost entirely on offsite optimization. This means that getting high quality sites to link to you, and getting them to use your keywords in the anchor text, is by far more important than anything else you can do. Also remember that Google does favour sites that have been around for longer. If you do everything right, and you don't get caught purchasing links or linking to link farms, you will likely see your site slowly (or quickly) move up the ranks. Ranking well for keywords will save you a ton of money in PPC advertising, and could eventually ensure your financial success. Good luck.
About the authorJack Strawman is the cofounder of the Late Night Chat and HookUp, a social networking site.
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