| New website owners and existing website owners | | | | content that is the right |
| alike consistently make a very common, yet | | | | length and reflects the content on the given |
| extremely costly mistake. They find a web designer | | | | page.Again, make sure that your designer |
| first and then an SEO second. Unfortunately, these | | | | programmer understands that this is a |
| entrepreneurs do not realize that literally every single | | | | requirement of the job.4) Clean, simple code. Ideally |
| thing that goes into building a new website will impact | | | | you want to define all aesthetic properties that |
| your SEO campaign. They commonly funnel | | | | different types of text on your site are going to |
| thousands of dollars into a brand new website, only | | | | have in a separate CSS file. This |
| to find out that there are a lot of areas that must | | | | means that you want to avoid using as many tags |
| be rebuilt in order to have an optimum SEO | | | | as possible, especially font, size |
| campaign.I will identify 6 major areas of concern, in | | | | and color tags. You also want to avoid creating PHP |
| hopes that even a small percentage of | | | | scripts that are either two long, |
| these website owners will come across this | | | | and contain a lot of unnecessary steps, or ones that |
| document at the right time, which is | | | | rely heavily on javascript. It is |
| BEFORE they begin to develop their website.1) | | | | best to avoid using javascript as much as |
| Domain name registration & hosting. Make sure that | | | | possible.Remember, the most important thing your |
| when you register your | | | | site can be doing is making it easy for |
| website's address that you register it for at least 5 | | | | search engine bots to easy scroll through the code |
| years. Sites that register their site | | | | of your website and follow all the |
| for a short amount of time send up a red flag at | | | | links that it finds. When there is unnecessary code |
| Google, who end up thinking that | | | | and script on your site, it makes |
| site site has been registered short-term in the hopes | | | | it a lot harder for them, thus hurting your SEO |
| of helping another website, | | | | campaign.Make sure that whoever is helping you build |
| that is owned by the same person/company, to | | | | your site understands that there job is |
| rank well by linking to it. When | | | | to output the cleanest, simplest code possible. If |
| choosing your domain name, do not choose a URL | | | | you have any questions about this |
| that is riddled with hyphens | | | | or don't understand it, it is best to talk to an SEO |
| between all your keywords. It is more important | | | | expert about it, to ensure that it is |
| that you target this to your visitors | | | | done properly.5) Ensuring that visible written content |
| than to the search engines.2) Creating static URL's. | | | | is editable. The writing within the body of |
| This is one of the most overlooked yet important | | | | your site is one of the most important areas for |
| things | | | | you or your Optimizer to help your |
| that you can do to ensure that your SEO campaign | | | | site increase it's rankings. Ensuring that either of you |
| is a success. By eliminating | | | | can edit it at your own |
| dynamic parameters within your website's URLs, you | | | | convenience is extremely critical to the entire SEO |
| are ensuring that search | | | | campaign. This because from |
| engine bots will have no problems indexing all of your | | | | time to time search engine algorithms will change, |
| pages. Creating static URL's | | | | and that might mean that a |
| can be accomplished by using the mod rewrite | | | | strategy that was implemented in the past might |
| command in the .htaccess file in the | | | | not suffice, so you must be able to |
| root folder of your server. Here is an example of a | | | | change it to keep up with the most up to date SEO |
| dynamic URL (which you want to | | | | techniques.6) Site structure. Considering the nature of |
| avoid), and a static URL (which you want):Dynamic: | | | | PHP, your site will most likely (and |
| Static: sure that any potential programmer or | | | | should) be created by a series of includes that puts |
| designer that you hire understands that | | | | all of the pieces of a given page |
| this will be a full requirement of the job.3) Editing the | | | | together. You want to ensure that the layout and |
| head tag. There are three areas in the head tag that | | | | placement of graphics and |
| you will want to | | | | navigational links within these includes is strategically |
| be able to either edit yourself or have your SEO | | | | correct. Remember, you don't |
| edit. They are the page title, the | | | | want to have to pay someone to go back and redo |
| description meta tag and the keywords meta tag. | | | | this, so it is critical to get it right |
| Having control over these for each | | | | the first time.If you are unfamiliar with a lot of the |
| of your top level pages (all the pages linked to from | | | | information that I presented in this article, it is |
| your home page), will be critical | | | | probably in your best interest to at the very least, |
| to your websites success in the search engines. You | | | | consult with an SEO or SEO |
| definitely do not want these to | | | | company during the entire design process. A good |
| be the same on every page (they must be unique | | | | SEO will be very comfortable |
| and reflect the nature of the | | | | working with you and your design team to ensure |
| content on the given page). For other pages that will | | | | that the end product will be one |
| be created in high volumes, | | | | that will last you a long time, and will go a long way |
| you will want to make sure that there is a variable | | | | in helping your site generate |
| string (your web designer/ | | | | revenue online.Bobby Heard (bheard@abalone.ca) is |
| programmer will understand what this is) in place for | | | | the Vice-President of Abalone Designs ( which offers |
| each of the three areas in | | | | great SEO results at affordable prices. |
| question, so that they will automatically be filled with | | | | |