Is your Web site optimized, or do you mostly just have random people dropping by?

I was on another very useful MarketingProfs Webinar yesterday, this time on the topic of SEO essentials. Janet Driscoll Miller of Search Mojo coupled a great primer on the topic with some terrific tips and free resources for monitoring and analyzing Web sites.

Here are her 5 SEO essentials:

1. Make sure your Web site is indexable.
2. Keywords are the foundation of SEO, so it is important to identify the right keywords for your target audience. (Google AdWords Keyword Tool is a search tool that lets you identify the volume of searches associated with a particular word or phrase.)
3. It’s not just about identifying keywords, but also where you place them. They should appear in a number of places on the page (i.e, filename, title tag, meta tag, meta description, link text, and so forth). The best sites aim for 2-4 percent keyword density.
4. Inbound links help search engines rank your site, and the best inbound links are one-way. (Yahoo’s Site Explorer can help you determine your site’s link popularity.)
5. Your social footprint is becoming more and more important. (For example, Google Caffeine is expected to incorporate more social media links; Google’s real time search already is.)

Finally, Miller stressed that it is not enough to incorporate SEO–you have to measure it. She advises regularly (i.e., monthly or quarterly) measuring your rankings in search engines, your competitors’ rankings, and your site traffic from organic search.

Photo by mecookie (Flickr).

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