Top Ten SEO Tips Anyone With A Website Can Implement

Im going to start with the basics here. The following are ten things everyone with a website should know to gain online visibility in search engines. These are the basics of the basic and when applied will give you a firm basis to start a long term Search Engine Optimisation campaign. The structure of your website is important, just as much as the structure of your link building campaign. I know these may seem rehashed, but they are the building blocks for a good SEO campaign.

1) A Keyword Rich Domain. While not always possible, when setting up a new website, consider setting it up on a domain that contains the sites main keywords. Search Engines give considerable weight to a website with keywords in the URL. Never use a keyword stuffed domain (ie. www.your-key-word-here-and-another.com)

2) Title Tag.

The title tag on your page is the most powerful on page factor you can control as a webmaster. Use it wisely. Carefully choose which keywords are going to go in here and remember that it will be read by humans as well as search engines. Never stuff keywords into your title. It only devalues its weight and makes you look spammy.

3) Heading Tags.

The second most important on page factor you can control is the heading tags. Not only are they useful for search engines to determine the context of your document, it is semantically sound HTML practice.

4) Bold, Strong and Emphasis Tags.

While there is no set answer to which carries more weight, assume that both are the same. Emphasize keywords in bold using the BOLD or STRONG tags. Search engines give more weight to keywords if they are emphasized.

5) Keyword Rich Text.

It is always possible to rank for search terms when they are not on your page but using them sparingly will only help increase your search engine visibility for these keywords and

6) Structured Navigation And Correct Internal Navigation.

Make it easy for search engines to index your entire site. Use a text link navigation. I this is not possible, use a sitemap or second text navigation in the footer of your site.

7) Keyword Rich Internal Links.

Use your sites main keywords in the anchor text when linking to pages within your site. This not only describes the link to your visitors, it also lets the search engines know what content is on the page being linked to.

8) Avoid Flash.

While some search engines claim that they can index some flash content, it is still in its infancy. An entire website does not need to be built in flash. Use it wisely and make sure any text that is output by flash is rendered as html text so search engines can see it. If possible, avoid flash completely.

9) Avoid Duplicate content.

Search Engines do not like duplicate content. Make sure all the content on your website is different on all pages. Many navigation elements, headers, footers etc. is the same, but make sure that each page has marginally more unique content. Some search engines give a penalty for duplicate content, while others just ignore it. Just make your content unique. If anything else, it benefits your site visitors.

10) Keyword Rich, Relevant Inbound Links.

A relevant, keyword rich inbound link is the holy grail of online marketing. There are many ways to get quality inbound links to your website. Directory Submissions, Article writing/marketing, Press Releases, Posting in forums and blogs, Link Exchanges. Obtaining inbound links is the undisputed king of SEO tactics.

David Davis, is the lead internet marketing strategy manager of Redfly Marketing SEO Ireland. For more information visit http://www.redflymarketing.com