Improve your site for Search Engine Optimization

Below are a couple rules that you should use when building your site. These will make it easier for Google and other search engines to index your site. The full file can be downloaded here.

Create unique, accurate page titles
Accurately describe the page's content
Create unique title tags for each
Use brief, but descriptive titles

Make use of the "description" meta tag
Accurately summarize the page's content
Use unique descriptions for each page

Improve the structure of your URLs
Use words in URLs
Create a simple directory structure
Provide one version of a URL to reach a document

Make your site easier to navigate
Create a naturally flowing hierarchy
Use mostly text for navigation
Use "breadcrumb" navigation
Put an HTML sitemap page on your site, and use an XML Sitemap
Consider what happens when a user removes part of your URL
Have a useful 404 page

Offer quality content and services
Write easy-to-read text
Stay organized around the topic
Use relevant language/text
Create fresh, unique content
Offer exclusive content or services
Create content primarily for your users, not search engines

Write better anchor text
Choose descriptive text
Write concise text
Format links so they're easy to spot
Think about anchor text for internal links too

Use heading tags appropriately
Imagine you're writing an outline
Use headings sparingly across the page

Optimize your use of images
Use brief, but descriptive filenames and alt text
Supply alt text when using images as links
Store images in a directory of their own
Use commonly supported filetypes

Make effective use of robots.txt
Use more secure methods for sensitive content

Promote your website in the right ways
Blog about new content or services
Don't forget about offline promotion
Know about social media sites
Add your business to Google's Local Business Centre
Reach out to those in your site's related community