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As an SEO guy I find myself waking up in a cold sweat dreaming
up creative new ways to maximize my clients search results.
"What if I coded it this way" or "If we syndicated the XML feed
a different way, we'd blow everyone's mind".
In the constantly changing world of algorithms, browser search
behaviors, RSS and XML, and simply keeping up with the
competition, even the SEO pros sometimes need to take a step
back from the "coolness" and speed of technology and revisit our
"old friend" the SEO Do's and Don't's!
Here's the list of SEO Do's and Dont's I keep posted on
the wall in front of my Captain Kirk-esque command center:
SEO Do's and Don'ts
Do:
1. Adhere to industry best practices and guidelines.
Bruce Clay's website is good stuff and pretty much
industry standard)
2. Create relevant and useful content for the website using
keyword terms
3. Add new content as often as possible
4. Keep website and sitemap up to date
5. Build links in an ongoing, even paced manner
6. Build unique web pages for each keyword term (product or
service)
7. Monitor and maintain rankings and competition
8. Remember that every aspect of your website is intertwined
with all others (in terms of SEO)
9. Consult your SEO Specialist for recommendations before making
any major changes
10. Be patient! SEO is an ongoing process that takes time
Don't
1. Try to cheat the system, you will get caught, and the gain is
only temporary and the penalties are indefinite
2. Use less than 300 words worth of readable, useful content on
each page. It's best to shoot for around 1,200 words per page. It's alright to repeat yourself, but be creative about it. Remember that a real person is actually reading your content. Try to follow the five Ws and an H. Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Associated Press rules don't really apply to website content, but writing in an inverted pyramid style is alright, as long as your summarize your content at the end of each page. Make sure you are creating a new page for each keyword set, or at least for keyword sets that are grouped together (usually not more than three per page). Don't forget to update your site maps when you add pages.
3. Link to bad neighborhoods or allow bad neighborhoods to link
to you (unless you actually are an online porno casino based in
Nigeria that sells Canadian Viagra to underage US customers!)
4. Spam like there is no tomorrow
5. Add tons of links as fast as you can
6. Focus on only one linking strategy
7. Over use keyword terms (keyword spamming)
8. Put text into images. Search engines can't read it and don't
care about your images
9. Forget to interlink your own website
10. Drive yourself crazy checking your rankings every hour on
the hour!
It's great to stay on top of the latest and greatest changes,
trends, tools and the ever present "What's Google doing" gossip
- there's plenty to be found. What's even greater is achieving
long term success on the search engines without letting your
core business go to hell in a search term basket!
Happy SEOing!
About the author:
Christopher Conlan is Managing Director of Kaboodle Ventures a SEO Specialist located in Scottsdale, Arizona, and proud father of Jack!
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