| a professional search engine optimization service can | | | | your website |
| sometimes be expensive. However, if your budget is | | | | From the standpoint of search engine optimization, the |
| tight and you have a basic understanding of web page | | | | single most important sentence on any web page is |
| construction it is possible to optimize your own website | | | | the title tag. The title tag gives the search engine a |
| without hiring an SEO specialist. For those who would | | | | good indication as to what your page is all about. |
| like to give it a try, here are ten "Do it yourself" search | | | | Incorporate your main keywords or search phrases |
| engine optimization tips: | | | | into your title tag, and keep them at the very front of |
| 1. Think about SEO right from the start | | | | the sentence. These keywords are more important |
| Many people plan, design and build their websites | | | | than your company name (unless it is Coca Cola!). So |
| without giving any thought as to whether their site is | | | | our XYZ Bicycle Company might have a title tag that |
| search engine friendly or whether it will be capable of | | | | looks like this Bicycles: Racing Bikes, Mountain Bikes, |
| attracting traffic in organic search engine results. At the | | | | Road Bikes, Bicycle Accessories from XYZ Bicycles. |
| last minute, after most of the site has been built, they | | | | The title tags of each of the sub-pages of the site |
| try to optimize their site, not realizing that this work | | | | should reflect the main content of those pages. Never |
| should have done throughout the planning and building | | | | use the same title tag for all the pages of the site. |
| process. | | | | 4. Write a concise description tag for each of your |
| It is far better to think about search engine optimization | | | | web pages |
| at the very beginning of the process. For example, if it | | | | Just as the title tag is the most important sentence or |
| is at all possible, choose a domain name that will allow | | | | phrase on any page, the description tag is the most |
| you to include your most important keyword or search | | | | important paragraph on any page. Summarize the gist |
| term in your URL. If you are selling bicycles then you | | | | of your page in two or three pages, again incorporating |
| would do well have to a domain name like . And | | | | the keywords and search phrases for which you think |
| don’t stop with the domain name; include your | | | | people will use when searching for your site. A |
| keywords in your file names as well. For example, a | | | | description tag for the home page of the XYZ Bicycle |
| sub-page of this hypothetical site might be | | | | Company could look like this: “The EXZ Bicycle |
| 2. Design your site with both search engines and users | | | | Company manufactures mountain bikes, racing |
| in mind | | | | bicycles, road bikes and bicycle accessories. Our |
| Your site should be easy for your human readers to | | | | bicycles are distributed and sold around the world. |
| understand, but it should also be easy for search | | | | “ |
| engine robots as well. If you want to see what a | | | | 5. Put your keywords into headers and headlines on |
| search engine robot will “see” then view | | | | your page |
| your site in a notepad document or use the html view | | | | Your human readers and search engines alike need |
| of the popular web editing programs. | | | | prominent headlines in order to understand what your |
| If you have used gif images to render your headlines | | | | page is all about. While a human reader only needs to |
| or other important text, then this text will not be picked | | | | see the headline in a large bold text, search engines |
| up by the search engine robots. In addition, if you have | | | | distinguish the headlines, which they regard as |
| designed a site that is entirely in a flash format, you will | | | | important indicators of the page, by noting which |
| not be providing the search engine spiders with much | | | | phrases are encased in header tags such as , , , etc. |
| “food,” or searchable text. | | | | H1 is considered most important and your first headline |
| Furthermore, if you have long strings of java script and | | | | should be labeled with this tag. If the header tags make |
| complex style instructions in the head section of your | | | | your copy look too big, then you can change the size |
| html page it is better to put the java script in an | | | | of the headers by creating style instructions that will |
| external file and the style instructions in a separate | | | | render the headlines into sizes that are consistent with |
| CSS (cascading style sheet) file, in order to give | | | | the look and feel of your site. |
| prominence to the actual text of your web page. | | | | In part two of this series I will give the remaining five |
| 3. Write individual title tags for each and every page of | | | | tips for do-it-yourself search engine optimization. |