Article printed from SEO-News:
http://www.seo-news.com
HTML version available at:
http://www.seo-news.com/archives.html
10 Do's and Don'ts to Avoid SEO Mistakes
By Debbie A. Everson (c) 2010
With so much misinformation out there, along with a lack of
knowledge about how SEO works, you could end up getting
your website banned from the search engines. Learn how to
avoid common mistakes with these 10 simple do's and don'ts.
10. Don't Use Flash for SEO.
Flash websites are very eye-catching, but search engines
cannot read or index this type of content. If it is
impossible to avoid a Flash-centric website and you need
search engines to index it, you will have to offer an html
version too. Search engines don't like Flash sites for a
reason - a spider can't read Flash content and therefore
can't index it.
9. Don't Use too Much JavaScript.
Searchbots are not designed to read and understand
JavaScript code. If a website contains a few lines of text
in the JavaScript code, chances are that searchbots will
ignore the entire block of code along with the text. This
is true in the case of JavaScript menus. Try to keep the
use of JavaScript to a minimum. Alternatively, create an
external JavaScript file if it is unavoidable.
8. Do Implement a Robots.txt File.
The primary purpose for using a robots.txt file is to gain
complete control over the data indexed by the searchbots.
Implement a Robots.txt file only when you want to prevent
unwanted web pages from being indexed. A robots.txt file is
always placed in the root folder of the website where the
searchbots can access it easily.
7. Do Target the Correct Keywords.
Targeting the wrong keywords is a common mistake many
optimizers make and even worse - veteran SEO professionals
do it. Marketers select keywords that they think are
explanatory of their website, but the average searcher does
not think in those same keyword terms. Picking the right
keywords can increase or decrease traffic to your SEO
campaign. A first-class keyword suggestion aid, for example
the Google search-based keyword tool
(
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal),
will help you find keywords that are appropriate for your
site.
6. Do Include Long Tail Keywords.
With a million websites competing for short tail keywords,
it can take more than 6 months to rank in the top 20 for a
competitive keyword. In this case, long tail keywords come
in handy. Long tail keywords are more specific and can
contain the name of a specific product, brand or city.
Ranking for long tail keywords is comparatively easier and
the rate of conversion is better than that of short tail
keywords. Do include keywords in the title tags.
5. Do Maintain a Uniform URL Structure.
If your website is dynamic, then you need to modify the URL
structure of the web pages. This maintains uniformity and
helps searchbots to understand which page it is indexing.
It is very easy to maintain the URL structure in dynamic
websites. Blogging platforms like Wordpress provide an
option for permalinks. Customized dynamic websites can use
URL rewrite in the .htaccess file for the same.
4. Don't Link to Low Quality Websites.
Link building is a very crucial aspect of search engine
optimization. Search engines consider the number of incoming
links to a website as an indication of their popularity and
give them priority rankings. Many beginners fail to realize
that it is links from authoritative and quality websites
that are important and they mistakenly link to low quality
websites for higher rankings. This tactic can cause the
credibility of the website to go down with search engines
and in some cases, the website may get banned.
3. Do Perform Competitive Intelligence.
Before starting your search engine optimization program,
visit the competing websites in the top results. Research
these types of questions:
A. How many websites are competing for the same keyword?
B. How old are the websites in top search engine results
pages?
C. How many back links do the top ranking websites
list?
D. What type of social media is used by the competing
sites?
2. Do Take Advantage of Google Analytics.
2009 was the year when web analytics gained momentum.
Google Analytics (
http://www.google.com/webmasters/)
came up with advanced metrics and intelligence report
features which revolutionized free analytics tools.
Companies realized the benefits of using web analytics
tools to extract their relevant data. Implement Google
Analytics to analyze data and build a 2010 plan to
increase traffic and rates of conversion.
1. Do Create Fresh Content.
Search engines are famous for penalizing a website for
publishing duplicate content. With plagiarism on the rise
and availability of content checking tools such as
Copyscape, marketers have become more cautious. Yahoo is
considered to be among the harshest of all the search
engines with regard to this penalty. Add fresh content to
your website to help build visitor interest and
credibility with the search engines.
These 10 simple do's and don'ts can help you to avoid
making potentially dangerous SEO mistakes and ensure your
site is indexed and boost rankings.
===========================================================
Debbie A. Everson is the CEO of SearchMar.com, experienced
SEO Consultants and Search Engine Optimization Agency to
over 2,000 small businesses. Learn about search engine
optimization, paid search advertising, social media, and
email marketing. Read my SEO Blog at
http://blog.searchmar.com for hints and tips. Follow me on
Twitter @searchmar. Call 1.866.885.6263 to speak to one of
our SEO Consultants. Visit
http://www.searchmar.com .
===========================================================
Copyright © 2010 Jayde Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SEO-News is a registered service mark of Jayde Online, Inc.