Best Web Design Practices For Your Business - Search Engine Optimization

We've all heard the age old axiom of "if you build it, they will come." Sadly, what most people don't understand is that this concept doesn't apply to the internet. It doesn't matter if you have the best website in the universe, a beautiful flowing design brimming with well organized and easily accessible content. Unless you properly optimize your site for search engines, the likelihood of receiving traffic is slim.

Unfortunately, there is no one real tried and true method for Search Engine Optimization (or SEO for short) that will always remain the same. The technologies behind sifting through hundreds of millions of web sites and retrieving relevant information are constantly evolving.

Here are some tips to help your ranking with search engines.

• Relevant Content – Text is one of the most important factors in determining whether or not a search engine deems your site relevant to a query. Try and write the content of your site to provide as many possible search phrases as possible. If your company is ABC Hardware, try and put words that you think someone looking for the type of products or services you provide would search for. Instead of having "Our company has a large selection of tools", try using "Our company has a large selection of tools including drills, saws, hammers and other hardware.".
• Text vs. Images – Much like having Relevant Content, putting information about your business in text is better than just having it in an image format. Instead of just having your company name and contact information on an image with your logo, try adding it in text format somewhere else. Search engines cannot read images.
• Don't Overdo It – When considering what sort of keywords to add to the content of your website, the instinct might be to load it with as many specific words and phrases as possible. Be careful, however. If you have the phrase "ABC Hardware" thirty different times over the course of three paragraphs, the search engine may see this as keyword stuffing. This will raise a red flag and will be detrimental to your standing.
• Clean and Proper Code – Too much HTML and JavaScript on a page can cause a search engine to choke when it's indexing your site, causing it to just skip ahead. The less code you have, the better off you will be. Having improperly formed HTML code can also confuse a search engines. The easier you make it for search engines to index your page, the better off you'll be.
• Sites Linking To You – A major factor in determining the ranking of your site is the number of other web sites that link to you. These days, however, just a simple link isn't enough. Search engines often check to see if the site that is linking to you has content relevant to your site. Try finding other sites that relate to your business where you can post in forums or blogs.

These are just a few tips to help you out with standard, generic marketing. Remember that even if you follow all of these rules, it can still take a month or three for your site to work it's way up in a search engines ranking. Many of the large search engines such as Google offer what's called "Pay Per Click" advertising. These are programs that allow you to pay a certain amount of money to have your site come up first in the search results. Many Web design firms are well versed in the intricacies of PPC and can help you set up a program that's right for you.