Website Analysis
Take a thorough look at your existing website, from the information architecture and page copy to the source code. Is your design search-engine-friendly? Are you using keywords? Is there copy to inform spiders and users, not just jazzy Flash animations?
Content Optimization
Make sure your Web pages have appropriately placed keywords throughout your text. Header tags, inline text links and alt attributes are just a few of the items you’ll need. Do you have truly great content that your audience wants needs to have? Is your stuff share-able? Can it be easily distributed on social networks or embedded on blogs, forums, and other user communities?
Getting Tech-y: Sitemaps and Submission
To make it easier for search engines to index your website, you need an XML sitemap. Have a lot of videos or news? You’ll want separate video and news sitemaps, too. After uploading, verify that search engines are navigating through your website properly. For newer domains, register your website with all major search engines, including Google, Bing and Yahoo!.
Reporting and Monitoring
Stay up-to-date with keyword rankings and watch for significant trends in your analytics. What are your website traffic statistics saying about you’re doing well (or not)? How about your conversion rates? This is the beginning of measuring ROI.
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