Tuesday, July 15, 2008

SEO is the new Black: Part 2, DIY SEO

Google Webmaster Tools is probably the first stop in any SEO DIY project. We're sure there are many different services from all the other major search engines, but we're most familiar with Google, so it may sound a bit biased.

1. Submitting your site for indexing is pretty simple.
Google Submit URL

2. Verifying ownership of your site will require you to add a meta tag to a page on your site, or you can FTP a specifically named HTML page to your site that Google checks.

3. Submit a site map. Creating a site map for a non-dynamic site is fairly simple with XML-Sitemaps.

4. Set up Google Analytics. You'll need your webmaster to add a javascript to all the pages that you want to monitor.

5. Set up Google Adwords or Yahoo based on your keywords. Make sure to narrow your geographic search regions so you're not paying for clicks from Timbuktu. This is a fairly simple method of

6. Set up Google Maps for your location(s). Search for your business name after Google has acquired your information, or click on the link that says "Put your business on Google maps" and go in there and customize your business listing. Post coupons, hours of operations, etc. They'll actually call your business phone listing or send you a postcard to verify your business.

7. Set up a blog with Blogger. Why not post your news and press releases on Google's own servers? You can have Blogger host your blog or you can host it on your own FTP server, regardless, Google knows about it. This very page you're reading is a customized template that is driven by Blogger. You can also set one up on WordPress, Tumblr or any other blogging tool.

That should about handle it for search engine based tools. Again, if I've missed anything, let me know!

Part 3: Social Media - Silly rabbit, it's not just for kids!

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