SEO Guidelines for 2011

In the game of optimization and ranking, content is still the best and most entertaining way to get customers and clients to your website. This year promises to be among the strongest in terms of SEO and search engines locating your site within the vast indexes held by Google and other search giants.

While content can help your pages climb to the top with the right keyword weight, relying upon it soley would place you at a disadvantage, as search engine optimization plays a vital role in making sure that your great keyword content is seen by as many eyes as possible.

To that end, several experts suggest a few pointers for making sure you stand out, without appearing too overeager in the process.

Links Matter

Excessive linking is a flare for search engines, but you still need to have a few per post to establish the legitimacy of your information, and to create inbound links for yourself within your site.

People Love Pictures

And so do search engines. Properly tagged images can generate incoming search traffic for people looking for pictures online. Remember to include the word picture, and tag your photos with keywords appropriate to the content they both portray and enhance in your post.

Be Bold

Header text and bolding can be very useful when used sparingly throughout your website. Placing your keyword in the title of your post, and highlighting with phrases you feel are most important in describing your content will give them greater search relevance as well. Proper use of this technique will bring your posts to the attention of search engines, as long as you do so sparingly.

Map Out Your Site

Providing a sitemap is not only helpful to visitors, but search engines love them because it gives them a roadmap to what is on your site and where to find it. Relevant links pop out, and links that might get passed over are easier to locate as well.

Great content and inbound links are the mainstays for any great ranked site. These tips will not help at all, unless you have the content to back them up. If you are on top of keeping your site interesting and up to date however, these tips can help mean the difference between getting noticed on page one, and not getting noticed until, and if, anyone moves beyond it.

Levin, L. (2010). 5 SEO Tips Every Website Owner Should Know.