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Search high and low for tips, tricks and secrets for SEO and you will be bombarded with information load. Do this, don’t do that, only do this when … it can be overwhelming.

In today’s article we have compiled a number of “SEO Best Practices” as related to Website Design, Content and Linking. Can you go through each section and give yourself a passing grade on each tip?

Website Design and Setup Best Practices

1. Use a Sitemap.xml to help direct Search Engine crawlers to every page of your website. When a sitemap is used, you do not have to worry about Search Engines missing some of your pages. Sitemaps also helps Search Engines prioritize the importance of the pages and helps users navigate your site.
2. Avoid AJAX and Flash even though it may look good on your site. The problem with Flash and AJAX is that identical URLs show different content which confuses Search Engines that do not know how to access the content.
3. Optimize URLs with keywords so that the classification of the website is understandable and the URL describes what the content on the page is about. Avoid using dynamic URLs that can change and URLs that use in-house classification systems or product numbers, as they are meaningless to customers and Search Engines.
4. Ensure your page load times are quick. It has been noted that page load time is incorporated into Search Engine’s algorithms in determining ranking positions – faster loading sites rank higher. This is because Search Engines want to deliver the fastest sites in order to generate the best user experience. And you should want to deliver the best experience to your customers with fast page load times.
5. Avoid any duplicate content as Search Engines only give credit to one source. Because of this, it is important to monitor if others are using your original content and potentially stealing your credit.
6. Write page content for your users and not for Search Engines. By writing relevant content for your users you help keep bounce rates low, which reflects positively among the Search Engines.
7. Naturally insert keywords into the text where they fit. Keyword dumping is a practice of the past – SEO Professionals recommends a keyword density of 2-3%, or about one keyword per 50 words.
8. Use Title Tags to help Search Engines identify the main theme of your web page. These titles are extremely important as they are shown at the top of the web page and as the headline for results in Search Engines. The best Title Tags will feature keywords front and center to rank in Search Engines and also have a marketing appeal to attract searchers to click on the link.
9. Use Meta Description Tags to help Search Engines understand the topic of the page and to aid in proper indexing. This text appears under the Title tag in the Search Engines and gives searchers an idea of what your page is about. Make sure meta descriptions are unique for each page so Search Engines can see that the page is unique and not duplicate content of another page on your site.
10. Link only to sites with high credibility and related content to obtain higher popularity ratings among Search Engines.
11. Aim to provide something of value on your website that other websites will naturally want to link to you, either because it is useful, entertaining or informative.
12. Focus on internal linking within your website in order to support primary pages and help them rank better in the Search Engines. Good internal linking also helps to increase page views across your whole site as it makes it easier for users to navigate between topics.

SEO Content Writing Best Practices Plus Keyword Optimization Tips

1. Avoid any duplicate content as Search Engines only give credit to one source. Because of this, it is important to monitor if others are using your original content and potentially stealing your credit.
2. Write page content for your users and not for Search Engines. By writing relevant content for your users you help keep bounce rates low, which reflects positively among the Search Engines.
3. Naturally insert keywords into the text where they fit. Keyword dumping is a practice of the past – SEO Professionals recommends a keyword density of 2-3%, or about one keyword per 50 words.
4. Use Title Tags to help Search Engines identify the main theme of your web page. These titles are extremely important as they are shown at the top of the web page and as the headline for results in Search Engines. The best Title Tags will feature keywords front and center to rank in Search Engines and also have a marketing appeal to attract searchers to click on the link.
5. Use Meta Description Tags to help Search Engines understand the topic of the page and to aid in proper indexing. This text appears under the Title tag in the Search Engines and gives searchers an idea of what your page is about. Make sure meta descriptions are unique for each page so Search Engines can see that the page is unique and not duplicate content of another page on your site.

Internal and Inbound Linking Best Practices

1. Link only to sites with high credibility and related content to obtain higher popularity ratings among Search Engines.
2. Aim to provide something of value on your website that other websites will naturally want to link to you, either because it is useful, entertaining or informative.
3. Focus on internal linking within your website in order to support primary pages and help them rank better in the Search Engines. Good internal linking also helps to increase page views across your whole site as it makes it easier for users to navigate between topics.

How did you do? Are you barely getting by with a passing grade? Are you enjoying an A+?