How can you tell if your site adheres to SEO best practices?
There are many Search Engine Optimization tactics that can be used to ensure your site is successfully crawled, indexed, and positioned in the major search engines. Even though SEO is constantly evolving, with the technologies used to render Web sites, certain fundamentals remain constant. Let's take a look at some of them. * Are the keywords you're targeting relevant to site content? * Do you use CSS (define) image replacement in graphical navigation on the site? * Are targeted keywords popular phrases used in search engine queries? * Do page titles start with your targeted keywords? * Does your site employ H1 header tags for prominent content titles? * Is your permanent body copy contextually sufficient and keyword-rich? * Do graphics used in the site have descriptive, keyword-rich alternative attributes that are useful for visitors? * Does your Web site have a site map with text links? * Do the URLs of your dynamic, database-driven pages look simple and static? * Does your site have a flat directory structure? * Do your site's home page and other key category pages have PageRanks? * Is your site listed in Open Directory? * Do you routinely list your site in other trusted, human-reviewed online directories? * Do all the pages in your Web site have keyword-rich meta descriptions? * Does your site have a custom error page? * Do the site's filenames and directory names include targeted keywords? * Does your site avoid using pop-ups? * Do text links include targeted keywords that point users to pages within your site? * Is the exact same content visible to both users and search engine spiders? * Do you avoid free-for-all linking offers? patricia@netconcepts.com has been working in social media for y 20 years and is one of my favorite go to resources for web best practices. She helps me educate my clients and keep me abreast of whats what on the major search engines.