It is a gift when you can change the content of a website and make it SEO friendly. Most times you have to work within the original confines and design of a website. Often older websites are not set up with SEO in mind.
SEO is short for search engine optimization. This is the process of increasing the amount of visitors to a Web site by ranking high in the search results of a search engine. The higher a Web site ranks in the results of a search, the greater the chance that that site will be visited by a user. Often Internet users do not click through pages and pages of search results. It is very important that site ranks high in a search so that it directs more traffic toward the site.
If you are lucky you may get the opportunity to redesign and redevelop a Web site> This is your opportunity to use you SEO skills and help fully integrate SEO best practices within the foundation of a Web site.
It can be a difficult choice about how far to take your SEO practices. Do you sacrifice aesthetic for and SEO site? How can you strike a balance between what the users and the search engines see?
If you are fortunate enough to develop a Web site from the ground floor, you can apply multiple SEO best practices. You will have to make choice as you create and design the site. You can not put every SEO trick into practice without losing some aesthetic value to the site. You will need to make compromises in order to make sure it ranks high on search engines as well as being pleasing to the reader once they reach your destination.
Below are some ideas that you should consider when creating a SEO friendly site. You can pick and choose what will work for each site you may be working on.
· Make sure you include keywords in the URL. You should make sure your file naming uses the keywords that you want search engines to find.
· Make sure that each page has the appropriate amount of content. Each page should contain keyword rich content.
· Make sure that you place keywords closer to the beginning of the file code. This allows search engines to more easily find the keys words in the code of your files. This pushes your site higher on search engine lists.
· Try to use header tags instead oftags or images. A page heading should contain keywords as text. Try to use the important keyword in an
tag, a secondary keyword in the
tag, and so forth.
· Think about limiting your HTML file size. Consider how much memory is contained in the number and size of images and unnecessary code. Pair this done and make it leaner.
· Utilize alt text for images. You can use these descriptions as another way to add key words for SEO. Make sure that all of your images have alt tags This includes logos, headings, and so forth.
· Remember to use internal text links instead of image links. When search engines search your site they use the content contained within a link in order to determine what that page being linked to is all about. You need to make sure that there is text contained there so that the search engine can read it.
· emember to make sure you deploy search-friendly DHTML. Dynamic Html refers to Web content that changes each time it is viewed. When capitalized, Dynamic HTML refers to new HTML extensions that will enable a Web page to react to user input without sending requests to the Web server. Microsoft and Netscape have submitted competing Dynamic HTML proposals to W3C, which is producing the final specification. You should try to avoid  JavaScript DHTML.
· You should avoid frames-based Web design. These type of sites make it difficult for search engines to access and navigate them.
· Make sure you are using proper site redirect architecture. You should using 302 (temporary) redirects and make sure you include 301(permanent) redirects. This ensures the search engines index your content correctly.
· Don’t try to beat the system Avoid any tactics that are considered black hat SEO. This can get you penalized. At some point you will get caught. It is not worth it.
· Try to steer clear of splash pages. Since this are graphic heavy and do not contain much text these are not optimum for search engines.
· Do not use  query strings in URLs. You should place your keywords in the URL instead of query strings. Remember that URL aliasing can be used for ugly URLs.
· Always strive to create clean, valid code. These easier and leaner the code, the easier it is for search engines to connect to and use.
· Make that you use tables appropriately on your site. The use of tables can distort the flow of the HTML code. This may push more important elements further down in the code and make your site less SEO.
· Do not duplicate content. Resist the temptation to use the same content on multiple domains or within the same site. Chose one version of your URL and have other sites and pages directed to that page.
· Think about limiting your HTML file size. Consider how much memory is contained in the number and size of images and unnecessary code. Pair this done and make it leaner.
· Utilize alt text for images. You can use these descriptions as another way to add key words for SEO. Make sure that all of your images have alt tags This includes logos, headings, and so forth.
· Remember to use internal text links instead of image links. When search engines search your site they use the content contained within a link in order to determine what that page being linked to is all about. You need to make sure that there is text contained there so that the search engine can read it.
· emember to make sure you deploy search-friendly DHTML. Dynamic Html refers to Web content that changes each time it is viewed. When capitalized, Dynamic HTML refers to new HTML extensions that will enable a Web page to react to user input without sending requests to the Web server. Microsoft and Netscape have submitted competing Dynamic HTML proposals to W3C, which is producing the final specification. You should try to avoid  JavaScript DHTML.
· You should avoid frames-based Web design. These type of sites make it difficult for search engines to access and navigate them.
· Make sure you are using proper site redirect architecture. You should using 302 (temporary) redirects and make sure you include 301(permanent) redirects. This ensures the search engines index your content correctly.
· Don’t try to beat the system Avoid any tactics that are considered black hat SEO. This can get you penalized. At some point you will get caught. It is not worth it.
· Try to steer clear of splash pages. Since this are graphic heavy and do not contain much text these are not optimum for search engines.
· Do not use  query strings in URLs. You should place your keywords in the URL instead of query strings. Remember that URL aliasing can be used for ugly URLs.
· Always strive to create clean, valid code. These easier and leaner the code, the easier it is for search engines to connect to and use.
· Make that you use tables appropriately on your site. The use of tables can distort the flow of the HTML code. This may push more important elements further down in the code and make your site less SEO.
· Do not duplicate content. Resist the temptation to use the same content on multiple domains or within the same site. Chose one version of your URL and have other sites and pages directed to that page.
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