Emphasize your text links
The wording of the links on each of your Web pages is one of the most important requirements of SEO, and will significantly affect your search engine ranking. They should always include relevant keywords.
Keyword stemming
Including all the possible variations of your keywords is called “stemming.” For example, variations of the keyword “optimization” include “optimal,” “optimize” and “optimum.” UsingEnglish.com has a free tool to find similar or stem words.
Page linking
Be sure every page on your site is linked to the other pages. Search spiders follow these trails to rank your Web site.
The 2-Click Rule
As we discussed in Step 4, navigating around your site should be as easy as possible for your customers. The same goes for search engines. Be sure that every page on your new business Web site is at most only two clicks away from the home page.
Avoid “spamalot” syndrome
Search engines will drop your site if they think you’re “spamming” – and using any of these things:
- Meta refresh tags
- Invisible text
- Irrelevant keywords in the title and meta tags
- Excessive repetition of keywords
- Identical or nearly identical pages
- Submitting to an inappropriate directory category
- Link farms
Who and What to Avoid
Google’s Webmaster Help Center is a rich source of information not only for optimizing your new business Web site, but to learn the SEO practices and providers to avoid. Be sure to include it in your research. The Web isn’t just crawling with search spiders, but also with scam artists.
If you think you were deceived by an SEO provider, you can report it to Federal Trade Commission online, by calling 877-FTC-HELP, or write to:
Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
Washington, D.C. 20580
SEO Maintenance
The Web never stops buzzing with change, so search engine optimization has to be continually tended to keep up. Simply put, it can always be done better.
Here are some excellent sources of help: