Do It Yourself SEO: Ten Search Engine Optimization Tips (Part 2)

In the first article of this series I outlined five important steps in the
optimization of any web page or website. Here are five more tips for those
who want to make sure that their web pages are both user and search engine
friendly.

6. Write copy that includes your keyword and search phrases at the
beginning, middle and end.

If you want to write website copy that is search engine optimized, then you
just have to follow good writing and presentation procedure. State clearly
what you want to say in the opening paragraph, elaborate on your basic ideas
in the middle section of your text and at the end summarize what you have
said, reminding your readers with text that is similar to the opening
paragraph. Be natural; don't try to stuff your page with the keywords. If
you read the page out loud and it sounds funny, then you have overdone the
repetition of your search phrases and keywords. A density of 2% is
considered to be OK.
Thus in a 400 word page of text your keyword might be repeated eight times.

7. Place your keywords and phrases in the link text of your web pages

So far we have placed the keywords in the strategic places of the web page:
the title, the description, the headlines and the body text. Now we have to
see that the keywords are included in clickable link text on the page.
Whenever you are linking to sub pages or other pages of your site, make sure
that your keywords are included in the clickable portions of the links.
Thus, instead of making a link that says "click here" for more information
about bicycle accessories, it would be better to
write: click here for more information about "bicycle accessories," with the
keywords "bicycle accessories" being the anchor (clickable) text.

8. Install a navigation system that can be easily followed by search engines

One of the most important steps in getting more traffic to your site is to
ensure that all of the site's web pages are included in the search engine
indices. Normally a search engine robot will visit the main page of a site
and follow links to the other pages. If your navigation system is based on
java script, or on images, there is a possibility that some search engine
robots will not be able to follow the links and thus they will not pick up
the interior pages of your site. One simple remedy for this problem is to
build an additional text-link navigation bar and place it at the bottom of
the page. This additional navigation bar will serve multiple purposes:

a. Helping the search engines to reach the interior pages b. Putting your
keywords in link "anchor text"
c. Reminding the user to go deeper into the site by repeating the navigation
options again

9. Build a site map page or use the Google sitemap option

Getting all of your pages indexed is so important, that it is also prudent
to take another step that will ensure that all of your pages are visited by
search engine robots. A site map is a page that has text links to all of the
pages of your site. As with a text link navigation bar, a site map serves
multiple
purposes:

1. It helps users to find what they are looking for on the site by providing
an outline summary of all of your pages 2. It helps search engine robots to
land on the interior pages

After your build your site map page, be sure to make a link to it from your
home page and the other important pages of your website.

In addition to a normal site map page, you can also make an XML site map,
upload it to the server and then register it with the Google site map tool.
You can use a free online utility to create your XML site map at:
http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ and visit www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps
for more information.
This process is easy to accomplish, and it will supply you with important
statistical information from Google as well as help get all of your pages
indexed.

10. Once your website is up and running concentrate on off-site optimization

So far all the steps that I have outlined are concerned with on-page
factors, the parts of your website that are under your control. But your
ranking in Google and other search engines will also be heavily dependent on
off-page factors such as how many high quality sites link to your site.
Unless you obtain a good amount of high quality links to your site you will
not be able to compete in highly competitive search categories.

By far the best way to get links to your site is to first build a site that
has valuable content. You should endeavor to build a site that is so "cool"
or so unique, that other people will link to you without even asking you. Of
course this is easier said than done, but it should be what you are striving
for.

The next best way to get high quality back links to a website is to write
informative articles and get them published on other websites with a link
back to your site. This process is known as article marketing and it not
only helps to build incoming links, but it also builds your online
reputation as an expert in your field.

Other common methods of increasing incoming links include submissions to
important directories, participation in forums and careful trading of links
with high quality websites.

If you follow the ten "do-it-yourself" search engine optimization tips that
I have described in the two articles of this series then you will have taken
a big step towards guaranteeing the success of your online enterprise.

About The Author: Donald Nelson is a search engine optimization specialist.
His company, http://www.a1-optimization.com offers affordable search engine
optimization, website copywriting, article writing and link building
services.