SEO –Here We Go! URL’s

How to SEO? First, you want a URL for the site that will be easy to be read by search engines. This is a very important part of your overall plan, so you want to consider your proposed URL very carefully. You want to make sure your URL contains relevant text to the main thrust of your website. For example, if your website is about swimming as exercise, a URL that includes “diving lessons” wouldn’t be a bad idea.

HTML, Titles, etc. for SEO

Now it’s time to get familiar with using metadata in the site’s HTML, page title, etc. Many people disregard this or downplay the importance here. You should not be that person. The cumulative advantage of well-considered moves at the beginning of your page should not be underestimated. This is where everyone looks even if they don’t stay on your website. It’s where people decide whether or not your content is worth their time. And importantly, the search engines know this.
Search engines only see the first 25 characters of your URL, so it is important that you include your most relevant information within those 25 characters. Playing around with the possibilities will show you quickly that you can’t just throw something out there –this limitation forces you to be concise, informative and to the point in a very efficient way. This is also the portion of your URL that will appear visible to people when they see your site on the search engine list.

Off-Site SEO

Yes, “off-site” SEO. This is where it starts to get scary. Building up a reputable stable of quality links to your site will work wonders for your SEO ranking, but you’re going to have to put the work in to get it done. An excellent way to build SEO credibility for your site is to write quality content (articles) at reputable web locations that link to your site.
You should also make use of social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Do not underestimate the value of social-networking! You can get links to your site from unexpected places as well as place your site in plain view of people throughout your network (and their networks as well). Bookmarking and blogging are also excellent resources to establish good off-site SEO cred.  These tactics are cumulative, which means that while they may not initially get you to the top of the search engine food chain, their value to search engines will grow over time, and if you keep it up they will create an unstoppable upward trend in the rankings.

Web Directory Listing and Final Considerations–SEO Necessities

The last thing in SEO strategy we are going to consider should not be under-rated. Make sure you are listed in web directories like Mylocal, Frog, etc, and search engines like Yahoo and Bing. It takes some time and effort, but they are often free, and your search engine ranking will thank you later. You should also have a comprehensive well-thought out sitemap so that search engines can easily find all of the content on your pages. Proper site mapping is a SEO mastermind technique that multiplies the effectiveness of just about everything else you do. Finally, never consider any spam email or other unsolicited offers to increase your site ranking. These are often “black hat” schemes that can destroy all of your hard work. If a search engine detects any tactic that is designed to “fool” them, your ranking will tumble down so far nobody will ever find you again. Just don’t do it.