ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST
1
META TAGS
2
Unique page title for each page
3
Title no more than 5-10 words, or 60 - 120 characters
4
Meta description tags are compelling and include keywords and phrases for that page
5
Meta description tags are 20 to 30 words, start with several strategic keywords and apply to the specific page
6
To prevent Google from displaying descriptions pulled from other directories where you have limited control over what is said (Yahoo directory of DMOZ.org), use tag: <meta name="robots"content="noodp,noydir"/>
7
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
8
Text that is near the top of each page, beginning paragraphs, or headings contains the keywords used for that page.
9
Site balanced heavier to text than graphics and text as graphics (rather than HTML) are limited or not used. Note: BING likes content-rich pages, at least 300 words of text per page.
10
Add ALT = tag for each graphical image on site. Also helps visitors who turn off graphics when viewing websites. See example in row discussions.
11
No frames or intros and/or limited use of Flash. If this is a must, have a “skip intro” or “view this site in HTML” option
12
No redirect pages or cloaking (pages, text or links that can be viewed by search engines but not visitors). Redirects, if needed, should be 301 redirects. This tells the SE’s that this page has changed URLs. It is meant to be temporary.
13
If built as ASP, PERL, or COLD FUSION, “?” in URL has been addressed.
14
Create an XML sitemap file for Google, BING, and Yahoo (Use AutoMapit’s free sitemap generator.)
15
No “Under Construction” pages. If needed, use 301 redirect (after 15 or 30 seconds)
16
No multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content. Or duplicated from other sites.
17
Use Robots Meta Tag file to guide the engines. Use <meta name="robots" content="index,follow"> tag within the header code to tell the robot to index that page and follow the links on that page.
18
Use Robots.txt file to exclude pages from search as appropriate. Robots.txt file is more widely used by SE's than Robots meta tag, and indicates areas of your site you do not want included in search -- directs SE’s on what pages you don't want indexed or spidered.
19
Text links contain relevant keywords for that page whenever possible.
20
Page content addresses one to two keywords per page. If you have many keywords, you may need to build more pages to cover each one effectively to avoid “keyword stuffing” your pages.
21
LINK STRATEGY
22
A minimum of 3 links to your site from other RELEVANT websites (links from web pages that are read by your target audience and have title and description tags that reflect their relevance). There is no limit to the number of outbound links you provide, if they are relevant, meaningful and not broken.
23
Text links are included, in addition to logo links.
24
Only one URL is used for links.
25
Includes cross-links within site. Further notes in row discussions.
26
MAINTENANCE: SUBMISSIONS, UPDATED CONTENT, ACCURACY
27
No Broken Links. Example: 401 not found etc.
28
Clean, Validated HTML. Use: http://validator.w3.org/ or http://htmlhelp.com/tools/validator/ to test your code
29
All content updated regularly with fresh, original content. New and relevant content is critical in SEO success from Google to BING.
30
Post new press releases immediately upon issue, provide an excerpt on home page.
31
Refresh schedule for adding new content (minimum weekly). Includes blogs, home pages, and e-newsletters.
32
Submission to search engines or until indexed. Check if indexed by typing your URL into search box. See row discussion for further notes.
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100