2. Intro Hitting that top result spot in Google for a high traffic search term is seen as the path to success. Sadly, there can only be one number one, while there is always an increasing amount of competitor websites.
3. Intro Following the Stream:20 Top 20 SEO tips will give you the advantage and may even get you onto that sought after 1st page.
4. Keywords 1. Keyword Research Get as much input as possible from colleagues, competitor sites and focus groups The idea is to get inside your potential site visitors’ heads and find out what they would type into a search box to find your site-pages.
5. Titles & Headlines 2. Page Titles Each page on your site should have a unique page title, with a consistent structure along the lines of: “Main page Keyword – call to action – site/brand name” - all within 66 characters. 3. Page Headlines <H1> tags – Each page should have ‘one’ unique page headline, that contains a main relevant keyword, you can then use <H2> and <H3> tags multiple times for sub-headers containing other relevant terms.
7. Alt Tags and Titles 5. Use Alt and Title Elements Search engines still mainly view your website in terms of text, so make sure that any non-text items like images, video, flashetc. have proper text descriptions in the Alt or Title elements. These should primarily be descriptive, but can also contain key phrases.
8. Internal Link Structure 6. Internal Site Link Structure Search crawlers navigate around your site through your navigation and internal links, so make sure your most important pages have the most internal links pointing to them, and that no individual page is orphaned (stuck without any internal links pointing to it!)
9. Get Crawled 7. Use Robots.txt and Sitemap.xml files The robots.txt file is really to tell the search crawler (robot) where not to go on your site, this would include code directories, pdf directories or even terms & conditions and legal pages, in fact any page you would prefer not to appear in the search results. A sitemap.xml file is the opposite, here you are listing all those pages you want the search engines to index, and can even add other information like page importance or update rate. Google points out that this doesn’t guarantee that they will index your page but at least they know about them.
10. Descriptions 8. Meta Description Tag Even though this tag isn’t used for finding your site, it can be the difference between a searcher clicking on your result or not. Make sure you use 155 characters to get a unique two-line description of your site page. This is your Search results’ marketing message that will make your results stand out from the crowd.
11. Webmaster Tools 9. Use Web Master Tools Webmaster Tools tells you what Google already knows about your site. It tells you about any crawl issues it might have with it. The information they give you is very valuable to making your site as search friendly as possible.
12. Analytics 10. Use Analytics Having proper information about your site is essential, so long as you can get to it and actually act on it.
13. Engage 11. Engage with your visitors Allowing user interaction and comments on your site not only gives you constant updated content, but also gives your site visitors greater connectivity with your site by being able to comment on it. Obviously, this needs to be monitored, but the benefits of an engaged audience outweigh the odd negative comment you should be acting on. Search engines love updated content on web-pages, and this is an easy way to achieve that on a regular basis.
14. Social Considerations 12. Are you Social? If possible and relevant then get a social media strategy and become part of the online conversation, create a Facebook group, widget or game; get on forums and blogs, get organised and get commented on. With Search engines including real-time search results, having a social media presence will increase your chances of appearing higher in the search results.
15. Go Universal 13. Universal Search Since Google started mixing in other search elements into its web results pages, it has been essential to optimise your site to take advantage of these verticals. Make sure your site is optimised for Images, Videos, Blogs, News, and Local search (Maps); and you might get a leg up over your competition.
16. Submission 14. Are you submitted? Just because you have optimised your site, don’t assume your are actually on those search engines and directories. Check that you are, and if not then submit your site onto them, using the most relevant keywords, descriptions and categories.
17. Spread the News 15. Blow your own trumpet! If your site/company does anything worth mentioning then mention it! Have a news section and put out press releases to tell everybody how wonderful your cause, product, service, staff really are!
19. Inbound Links 17. Review existing inbound links Since getting new links into your site is quite a task, you should review the existing links that already point to your content by – correcting any errors making sure they are not pointing to dead pages changing the anchor text to something better than just your URL.
20. Update 18. Don’t forget about your site Search engines like sites to be updated frequently, and have new content added. So create new pages, and expand on those existing pages. Site blogs, and News and Comments sections are a good way to achieve this.
21. Customised 404 19. 404 Page Not Found You’d be surprised at how many of your visitors reach a “page not found” page on your site. You need to create a custom 404 page which is helpful and aims to keep that visitor on your site by supplying useful information and navigation/links to relevant areas of your site. This means those people arriving at a page not found on your site are more likely to stay on-site.
23. Stream:20? Stream:20 is a leading digital consultancy based in London, UK We help senior digital marketers with strategic, tactical and resource issues to drive revenue We work with leading blue-chip clients and start-ups
