There. You have just finished pouring hundreds of man-hours into an incredible website, culminating in the creation of an aesthetically pleasing website that utilizes all the latest features. Flash, CSS, dynamicfeeds, you just built the Rome of websites. Excited, you eagerly submit your site to a popular search engine and patiently wait for the flood of web traffic. 

But no one comes. What’s going on? 

Unfortunately, the age old colloquialism, “build it and they will come” does not apply to webpages. Your site may be a glorious masterpiece of modern web technology, but without traffic, who cares? This is where Search Engine Optimization comes in, or as it is more commonly referred to: SEO. Many companies (such as yours truly) provide detailed SEO plans to help secure your rankings on popular engines like Google, or Yahoo! If your budget allows for it, this should be every bit as important as making your site in the first place. 

The trick is that each search engine has its own algorithms and guidelines for how they classify pages. For the most part, the specifics of these processes are shrouded in mystery, but there are some basic guidelines even casual web developers can follow to ensure higher rankings on search engine returns. I would like to take some time to discuss these: 

1. Pick two or three key phrases to focus on.
   1. This might be, “new homes Houston” or “underwater basket weaving champion,” you know, whatever your thing is. You are painting with broad strokes here: What do you do? Where? I find it helpful to think of my own surfing habits, and ask, “what would I type into Google to find my page?”
2. Find a way to put those key phrases at the beginning of your page.
   1. For instance, “We offer new homes in Houston….” Should go right at the beginning of your introduction text on your site if ‘new homes Houston’ is your keyword selection. This is because search engines read pages top down, start to finish. The closer to the top and start, the more relevant.
3. Update regularly.
   1. Many search engines, notably Google, makes cache files of websites. The more often you update your site, the more often Google’s search engine is going to check that site out. Updates = Relevance. Relevance = Good returns on searches.
4. Link exchange!
   1. The more people you can find to link to your site, the more relevance search engines will apply to your site. Approach sites with your link, offer to link their site on yours in exchange for a link on their site. This is very much a ‘you scratch my back, I’ll get yours” type of thing and is quite an acceptable web-practice. 

So there you have it, four simple tips to help keep your page relevant to search engines. Even if your budget doesn’t allow for professional SEO, taking these measures now will improve your web traffic and create a solid framework to build upon later if you do go the route of professional SEO. 

Justin Kiehl