Gabriel Harper's Blog

Search engine optimization is a complicated subject, and it takes time and hard work to gain an intuitive understanding of SEO. Even the strongest intuition can’t predict all of the eccentricities of search engine algorithms, though, and there are some simple SEO strategies that a Webmaster of any skill level can implement. These are ten SEO strategies that I incorporate in all of my Web sites.

1. Define keyphrases for each site. Tarket keyphrases that are actually reachable with the resources you have. This could be 3 terms or 20 terms, depending on the nature of your site. Usually 5-10 primary phrases. If your site already has search engine traffic, focus on the phrases that you are already being ranked for to improve SERPs.
2. Use keyphrases regularly in content, URL, titles and especially anchor text for backlinks. Keep it natural, though. Don’t SPAM your keyphrase everywhere, and make sure to include lots of other natural content and words that are contextually related.
3. Publish new content regularly.
4. Optimize your URLs. Get rid of dynamic IDs and sessions, and include page titles and keyphrases in URLs.
5. Obtain relevant, natural backlinks from authoritative sites. This means finding links on relevant Web sites with good PR, traffic, age, popularity, etc. Let me stress relevency again. Relevant links are important to SERPs, so if you’re optimizing a ringtones Web site you probably shouldn’t seek out links on say, knitting forums. Links from a content-rich section of a site are better than areas saturated with links, like a list of links in the footer of a site. Sitewide links increase link popularity but need to be complemented with homepage/single-page links. A good mixture of both is best.
6. Deep-link URLs. Obtain backlinks that link to individual pages in addition to links pointing directly to the home page.
7. Be consistent with URL usage. Don’t link to ‘http://www.example.com/’ on one page and ‘http://www.example.com/index.php’ on another. Pick one and stick with it.
8. Reduce link clutter. More outgoing links on your page will not reduce your own PR directly, but it will reduce the PR a link can pass which translates to less PR passed back to your own site indirectly. Also remove any unnecessary internal links, with the exception of having 2-3 links for top-level pages (such as in the header, menu, and footer).
9. Google to find tools like PageRank checker, link popularity checker, and SERP checker to keep track of performance.
10. Regularly analyze and improve your own strategy, and monitor results in SERPs on Google, Yahoo, and MSN. There is no document that can improve your intuitive understanding as well as doing it yourself.

These are some of the fundamental strategies I incorporate, and are by no means writ in stone. These basics have worked for me and I hope they help you as well.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 9:16 pm and is filed under SEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.