---

Proper ways to perform SEO has become a popular topic of conversation. The difference between having a successful website and a flop usually depends on how you incorporated your SEO.

Learning proper SEO techniques can seem like a
daunting task, especially to those who are not
familiar with the concept. The biggest problem is
SEO changes as the search engines change their
algorithms, so it is something that you have to
stay on top of.
The following list offers 10 simple SEO techniques
you should keep in mind when developing and
marketing your website.

1. Make sure your website is initially designed
   with your SEO needs in mind. Search engines
   look for text, not flashy graphics and cool layouts.
   The trendiest web designs will mean nothing if no
   one is able to find your site.
   
2. Every page of your website should have a title
   tag with text describing either your site or what is
   on the page. Be sure the text includes SEO-type
   keywords instead of the name of your website.
   Unless you’re incredibly popular, no one is going
   to be looking for you by searching for your
   name. They’ll most likely search for a product or
   service and the keywords you use will lead them
   to your site.
   
3. Consider canonicalization, or whether or not
   your website address includes or excludes the
   www prefix. If you choose to use the www
   version of your website, make sure the non-
   www version directs users back to the one you
   use. Make sure you use your preferred version
   (http://www.mydomain.com or http://
   mydomain.com) every time you place a link to
   your site on the web. Don’t use both!
   
4. When designing your website, be sure to
   avoid too many drop-down menus, confusing
   image maps, and excessive images. If you must
   use any of these methods, be sure to include
   plenty of text links for the search engine spiders
   to find and identify. Without links, the search
   engines will not pick up your site information.
   
5. It does not matter what type of website
   extension you use (ie. .html, .htm. .asp, .php).
   Search engines do not look at the web extension
   and it will not have any impact at all on search
   results or ranking.
   
6. Every page on your website should include a
   link to your home page and your sitemap. Make
   sure every link is the same. Home page links
   should go directly to your domain (http://
   www.mydomain.com). Make sure your internal
   links do not include the additional /index.html
   or .php text as it is not needed (ie. http://
   www.mydomain.com/index.html).
   
7. You’ll hear the same phrase over and over
   again: “Content is king”. It is imperative that your
   website have fresh, unique, and quality content
   that is updated on a regular basis. Be sure to
   include your favorite keyword phrase within the
   body of the content!
   
8. People are more likely to input a phrase instead
   of a single word when conducting internet
   searches. If your business has a physical location,
   incorporate thename of your city into the text as
   well. For example, you might use “our
   Philadelphia location” instead of “our location”.
   Including your city name will improve the
   chances of your site being seen in location
   searches.
   
9. If the information on your company website
   doesn’t change regularly, or remains static, you
   might want to consider starting a blog. Search
   engine spiders are always looking for fresh
   content. Use your blog as an advertising tool and
   link back to your website within each and every
   post.
   
10. Write naturally. The worst thing you can do is
    try to cram a zillion keywords into your article or
    blog entry, making it messy and difficult to read.
    Search engines are able to determine whether or
    not your text is logical and they will ignore
    content with ridiculously high keyword density.
    
11. Building links to your website is essential to its
    success. As a matter of fact, links are like the
    queen to complement your king’s fresh content.
    Choose a keyword phrase and network with
    other websites, asking them to place links on their
    pages.Don’t hurt your ranking by having non-
    related websites place haphazard links. While it
    may seem great to gather 100s of backlinks,
    you’re better off limiting your links to related
    websites. Ten relevant links stand a better chance
    than 100 irrelevant links.
    
12. Links within your website should be built with
    keyword phrases as well. Try to avoid using
    generic anchor text such as, “click here”. Also, do
    not use the same anchor text over and over
    when building any links, you will get penalized by
    the search engines.
    
13. Don’t place a list of links on your website.
    Always place a link within at least two to three
    lines of related content. The better your
    description, the more likely it is someone will click
    on the link.
    
14. Don’t limit your keyword or phrase to text
    links. You should also incorporate your keywords
    intoyour image alt tag and domain name,
    whether it is part of the name itself or contained
    within the description.
    
15. Try to avoid using frames, Ajax, and Flash as
    much as possible. None of these functions are
    keyword or search engine friendly and will hurt
    your SEO results.
    
16. Before your website can be found by the
    search engine spiders, it must be indexed. Search
    engines such as Google have regular submission
    forms, but it can take days or weeks for your
    form to be processed. Having a highly ranked
    website place a link to your site is a sure-fire way
    to have your site indexed quickly.
    
17. No matter what you hear, don’t be overly
    concerned with the Google PageRank of your
    website. A website that is properly developed and
    contains good content can outrank a website with
    higher PageRank.
    

Source: http://www.seopledge.com
h