DIY SEO
Do it Yourself Search Engine Optimization

I work with many clients setting up their websites and everyone wants their site to show up near the top of the page on search engines such as Google and Yahoo!. But just putting up a website does not mean you will be listed, especially when the site is brand new. Below are some things you can do that will save you a lot of money by not having to hire a search engine expert to do for you. Keep in mind there are a myriad of techniques that can help your site rank better in search engines, but here a few that the novice computer user can do on their own.

The number one criteria search engines look for is content. If you site does not have much written information on it, search engines don’t have much to "grab onto" your site with. You should be able to write quite a bit of content on your business since you know it so well, but I think that is part of the problem when coming up with content. You have to write it in terms that everyone visiting your site will understand. What makes sense to you might not make sense to them. A technique that I like to use is to think about what you would want people to search for in order to find you on a search engine. Make a list of five keywords or phrases to start. Then take each phrase or keyword and create a paragraph or two about each, explaining what they are, and how your business or site uses them. Before you know it, you have several pages of content that you can distribute to different sections of your site. If you make a practice of adding new text like this every few weeks or each month, you will see that the search engines will start to find you a lot easier.

As important as quantity of content on your site is, it is also important to keep the content fresh. Periodically go in and rewrite the text on some pages and the next time a search engine indexes your site, it will grab all of those new words and phrases and increase your relevancy for those terms.

Generating links from other sites to your site helps search engines find you as well. Do a search on Google for a keyword or phrase that you want your site to rank high with. More than likely, there will be a site that has a directory of related businesses that you can add your link to. For example, if you search "web design Winchester Virginia” there are several sites that are not actual web design businesses, but rather a listing of the design businesses in the Winchester area. They charge a fee to add your link, but that link to your site really helps because that site already ranks high and if people find your site through theirs, it increases the relevancy of your keywords. You may be able to find free directories as well. Just do some searching on your own.

The next step, which actually could be the first step you take, is research. Find out what sites are ranking high for terms you want your site to rank high with. Then see if you can figure out what they are doing to get there. Also research Search Engine Optimization. You will see these same points I made being reiterated over and over. SEO is not an extremely difficult task, but it is time consuming and sometimes confusing. If you have time, go for it! If not, hire a professional.