Posted by: Sam Eidson, Partner

What should you focus on to improve your search engine visibility?  It’s a moving target and it should be customized to your competitive advantages, but here are some important factors:

• Onsite content – Make it keyword-rich, but keep it contextual for the audience.  Make sure your copy is text, not images. Use headings and bullets to your advantage.
• Navigation and folder structure – Ensure navigation is standard and keyword-rich, for both search engine spiders and users.  Create URLs with keyword strategy in mind.
• Backlinks – Think quality, not just quantity. Steer clear of link farms and don’t waste time building links from weak, irrelevant sites.
• Meta data – Focus your meta data efforts on creating strong, unique Title and Description on each page.
• Off-site content – In addition to backlinks, other off-site content can have a big impact.  Focus on optimization and online distribution of press releases; your blog; articles the staff authors for online trade publications; listings in internet yellow pages and vertical directories; and even social networking sites.
• Site performance – Load time, proper 404 and redirect formats all play a role.
• Keyword strategy – The tactics above don’t help if you haven’t focused on the right keyphrases.