SEO or Search engine optimization is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results as opposed to search engine marketing (SEM) which deals with paid inclusion.
So I present, 5 basic “SEO Rules” to follow when you launch a new website.
1) Don’t Re-Use Your Title Tag On Every Page
Many times your website designer doesn’t even realize this is being done. Your creative team is more concerned with the visual presentation than to worry about something they consider more of a minor ‘nuisance”.
Most of the time, your website has been created from a template, which ensures that everything looks the same -design wise- from one page to another. This is perfect to get the site off the ground and out there. Most WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors work this way as well, templates allow for easy production of web pages.
The drawback to this from an SEO perspective is that the Title and Meta tags are all repeated. To get your website off on the right foot, change each page’s title tag to reflect what the page is about. You’ll be surprised at the good this can do for each of your web site’s pages.
2) Keyword Research
It would be wise to do at least a little keyword research before your launch your website. Understanding how your audience searches is the most beneficial thing you can do for your website. Doing even the slightest amount of research can clue you into small idiosyncrasies that could be “gold mines” in disguise.
Keyword research can also let you know how to target the content on your page, how to word each page’s title tag and whether people really are searching on your business name. It’s well worth the time spent to discover exactly what you need to target to have a successful website.