Everyone knows the standard practices for starting an SEO campaign: you conduct extensive keyword research, change META information on the site, and work on the content (this is a very abridged list). However, there are a few things that may go overlooked when starting a new campaign for a new website.
1. W3C Validation
W3C represents standard practices in website design that, when followed, make life easier for search engines and ensure that your site has easily readable code. The last thing you want to do is anger the almighty search engines, so making sure your site is W3C validated is a great way to get your relationship off on the right foot. I use this W3C validation tool.
2. Maps Listings
For local businesses especially, a local maps listing is a great way to bring in local customers, and most business owners scramble to get their sites listed with Google Places for business. However, the other search engines such as Yahoo and Bing, which account for the 20-40% of the market not gobbled up by Google, can be overlooked and listing with them can give you an edge on Google-focused competitors. Try Bing Places for Business.
3. Non-WWW to WWW Redirect
Although I’ve previously discussed a proper 301 redirect, I haven’t discussed redirecting a non-www to a www. The danger of having both non-www and www pages is that some of the content may be considered duplicate. While I think search engines are probably smart enough to figure out what’s going on, it never hurts to ensure that this is never an issue. A rel=canonical could do the trick or you can just take care of it all in one fell swoop with a non-www to www redirect. The code, which should be placed in your .htaccess file, looks like this:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example.com
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
(Read more: How to 301 Redirect Non-WWW to WWW URLs | StepForth Web Marketing Inc.)
4. Unique 404 Page
A 404 page is the thing you see when the page you look for cannot be found. Most hosts have their own 404 pages that are automatically set up when you create a hosting account, but these aren’t designed specifically for your site. Although you want to avoid any visitor landing on a 404 page, it does happen, and it’s best to be prepared with a page that has unique copy and utilizes links to redirect visitors (and spiders) to other pages on your website.
5. ALT img Tags
This seems like common sense (maybe it is) but I have in the past overlooked rewriting ALT img tags on a website. These are the tags that offer descriptions–which spiders can read– of images–which spiders cannot read. Without ALT img tags your picture is unknown to spiders, merely a shadowy silhouette on your web page. If they don’t know what your pictures are about, search engines will have a tough time figuring out what your site is about. Go through your site and make sure your images are tagged!
Used in accordance with standard SEO practices for a new site, these strategies will help you get your campaign, whether old or new, off on the right foot.
Geoffrey Hoesch is the owner of Dragonfly Digital Marketing, a Baltimore-based internet marketing firm.
