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The Steps To Great Search Engine Optimization

Here, we'll break down for you what we (and you) will be doing to search engine optimize your website. In a nutshell, there are six steps: Goal Definitions, Keyword Research, Competition Research, SEO Copywriting, HTML Coding and Directory Submission. As well, we include a seventh item covering our stance on Linking and Building Link Popularity.

Goal Definition
1. What are the goals of your website? Ecommerce? Information Sharing? A Newsletter? Defining the goals of your website is the first and most important step to optimizing your site.
  1. We start by asking you to come up with a list of the most important Keyword Phrases you think people will use to search for your site in a search engine.
  2. Determining your sites goals gives both you and us the opportunity to determine which of these phrases we will use for each page on your site that you want optimized.
  3. In order to give searchers the most opportunities to find your site, most likely you will want to have more than one optimized page. Targeted traffic comes from targeted keyword phrases. We will optimize any single page for only two or three keyword phrases, and then choose a different set of keyword phrases for each additional optimized page.
  4. We also cull any naturally occurring keyword phrases from any existing text on your site (if you have one).
Keyword Research
1. We now take your list and our list of keyword phrases and combine them for some heavy-duty keyword research using WordTracker, our tool of choice.
  1. We confirm the good choices.
  2. We eliminate any phrases that are not used by people to search.
  3. We find additional phrases that we might have missed.
  4. Specifically, we're researching the phrases that will bring highly targeted traffic. We're also seeking "niche phrases" as these also bring highly targeted traffic.
2. Conferring with you, we come up with a "short list" that contains all the necessary phrases to optimize each individual page of your site, different sets of two or three phrases for each individual page that needs to be optimized.
Competition Research
1. Seeing whom you are up against is an important part in determining what keyword phrases we need to utilize for the optimized pages of your site.
  1. We research locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
  2. This helps us to determine areas in keyphrase research that you or we may not have thought of, thereby increasing your level of exposure.
  3. As well, we can determine the SEO strategies of your competitors enabling us to help you outrank them.
SEO Copywriting
1. SEO Copywriting is the essence of search engine optimization. As all the top SEO's say, 'Content Is King.' Combining keyword phrases with existing or new copy is both an art and a science.
  1. If you have preexisting copy, either currently on your site or in another form, our copywriter will analyze this to fit in the short list keyword phrases.
  2. If you have no copy, we will brainstorm the text for your individual pages incorporating the specific short list keyword phrases with the page goals in mind.
  3. The end result will be that all your individual pages will be expertly copywritten, geared to each pages' specific purpose, with high search engine rankings to bring in highly targeted traffic as the final goal.
HTML Coding
1. We will then optimize the HTML code that makes up your pages. This includes the Title Tag, Meta Tags, Headings and Image ALT Tags.
  1. The Title Tag
    1. The Title Tag is what shows up in the top bar in your Web browser. This is probably the most important SEO aspect of the HTML coding. The Title Tag, which takes the form <title>Your Page Title Here</title> is located in the <head></head> section of your pages' HTML and should be unique to each individual page.
    2. Our goal is to incorporate each individual pages' two or three keyword phrases within the tag. SE's will give a lot of "weight" to this tag thereby increasing your rankings if it is constructed well. We need to make sure that the keywords included in the Title Tag are also on the page to help boost rankings.
    3. We don't recommend putting your company name in the Title Tag unless it is very well known, such as Microsoft or Kraft Foods. If you really really want it in there, we recommend that it gets put at the end of the tag.
    4. The Title Tag will be picked up by some SE's as part of your sites description in search results. In other SE's, your sites description will come from either snippets of text in the body, or from the Description Meta Tag.
  2. Meta Tags
    1. Meta tags are snippets of code that are placed between the <head></head> section of your pages' HTML. These tags are not visible anywhere on your page in the Web browser. Presently, for SEO, there are only two Meta Tags that should be included. These are:
      1. The Description Meta Tag
        
        This tag will also be displayed as part of a search result by some SE's, and should be constructed in such a way to entice visitors to click on your link rather than your competitors.
        
        This tag should be a short, concise and descriptive of that pages content.
        
        Though the SE's probably don't give as much "weight" to this tag to boost your rankings (not nearly as much as the Title Tag) it is still important to incorporate your keyword phrases into this tag.
      2. The Keyword Meta Tag
        
        This tag arguably is not used anymore by most search engines. Still though, we recommend using it as it can not do any harm (if used ethically; i.e.. - no keyword stuffing) and may possibly help, all other things being equal.
        
        This tag is not visible to anyone but the SE's spider programs (these spiders, or bots, automatically "surf" the web in search of pages to add to the SE's databases).
        
        We simply list your two to three keyword phrases in order of importance in this tag.
  3. Headings
    1. Simply put, headings (or paragraph headings) are keyword phrase rich snippets of text placed on the page above and between paragraphs. They vary in physical size (font size) and are usually slightly larger and bolded. Their main purpose is to break up the page into manageable chunks making the page much more readable. They give the reader a quick overview, letting them know what's in store for them on the whole page, and making their reading experience much easier.
    2. For these tags, we will make use of <h1>,<h2>,<h3>, etc. HTML coding. <h1> for headings at the top (implying more importance) and decreasing, in both importance and size, down the page.
    3. We will place keyword phrases strategically into headings, thereby increasing chances of higher SE rankings.
  4. Image ALT Tags
    1. One final method of HTML SEO is to utilize Image ALT Tags. These tags remain invisible (except to the SE's spiders) until a visitor moves their mouse pointer over an image.
    2. These tags, if incorporated with keyword phrases, can boost a pages rankings.
    3. Additionally, these tags will increase your sites usability and accessibility, allowing handicapped visitors to "see" your images, as well as helping those visitors who have image viewing turned off or those with text-only Web browsers.
    4. We will not abuse Image ALT tags, SEO-wise, by keyword stuffing them, but rather we will use them as intended which is to describe the image they are related to. Sometimes this can have some small SEO benefit.
Directory Submission
1. Well, most of the work is done at this point. Now it's time to submit your finished/updated site to the Directories.
  1. DMOZ (AKA: The Open Directory Project - or - ODP)
    1. We now submit your site to DMOZ.
    2. Submitting to DMOZ is absolutely free.
    3. DMOZ can take up to six months or more before your site is included. (We've seen same day turnaround, though very rarely).
    4. Be patient, we'll handle it.
  2. Yahoo!
    1. We next submit your site to Yahoo!
    2. Yahoo Business Express costs US$299.00, and there is no guarantee of inclusion, only that your site will be reviewed for inclusion.
    3. Noncommercial sites/pages can be submitted to Yahoo! for free.
    4. In light of Yahoo!'s recent deal with Google, it may not be necessary to submit to Yahoo! anymore, and we will discuss this with you.
  3. We'll also submit your site to the following Directories:
    1. WebSavvy
    2. Gimpsy
    3. GoGuides
    4. JoeAnt
    5. Skaffe
    6. Zeal
2. We don't find it necessary nor recommend that you submit your site to any search engines. Eventually, with your site in DMOZ, Yahoo!, WebSavvy, and the rest of the directories, the search engines will find and index your site on their own.
3. DO go ahead and submit to Specialty Search Engines and Industry Specific Portals. We will make recommendations as to which of these will give you the most benefit.
4. At all costs, DO NOT submit your site to ANY Free-For-All (FFA) sites/pages. These are frowned upon by nearly all SE's and they WILL GET YOUR SITE BANNED.
5. Do not submit to any sites claiming that they will "List Your Site With 10,000 Search Engines For only $24.95". These sites are scams and the only result will most likely be to fill up your inbox with tons of spam emails.
6. We recommend that you do not make any SEO changes to your site for the first three to six months. If you need to make any changes, we recommend that you have us do it for you.
7. Be Patient! SEO is a waiting game.
Our Stance On Linking and Link Popularity
1. Link Popularity, though still a part of search engines ranking criteria, has become a highly debated topic within SEO circles. Our stance on linking is that one should only link to sites or pages that are of high value to one's sites visitors.
2. Further, we believe that reciprocal linking is now a complete waste of time, money and energy.
3. We firmly believe that only what we call "natural links" are and will remain of value. Natural links are simply links to your site or pages within your site that were gained without your asking for them. You gain these types of links by having a lot of unique valuable content.
4. All other types of links will no longer be of any value to your site. This includes reciprocal links, link farms, three-way (or more) links (also called triangular links), webrings, forum and blog links, and any type of link scheme, ethical or otherwise.

That's it! Now that your site has been optimized, sit back, relax and get ready for the influx of highly targeted traffic you will be receiving!