Web Site Checklist for Search Engine Optimization

Web Site Checklist

Print out this checklist and survey your web site. - How did you do?

__ Does your home page answer the four principle questions?

- What are you offering me? Are you trying to sell me something or is it a free information resource?

- Why should I believe you? Credibility

- What's in it for me? Benefit

- Who are you? Contact Information and About You

__ Is your home page greeting and message visible "above the fold", without scrolling down the page?

__ Can visitors find information easily?

__ Can Visitors get to important or common information in two clicks or less?

__ Do you have a clear and consistent method of navigation throughout the web site?

__ Can visitors bookmark individual pages?

__ Can visitors easily find contact information, phone numbers or email addresses on every page?

__ Does each page contain links to related topics, web sites, definitions, accessories, "buy now" or "contact now" (action option)?

__ Have you run a spell check on every page, and then checked to make sure you used the write words two?

__ Have you provided your visitors with a reason to remember you and come back later?

__ Can you visualize specific community members who will benefit from your web site?

Slightly Technical Stuff

__ Does every page have a unique Title?

__ Does your Title contain the Keywords for the page, and vice versa?

__ Are your Keywords also used in the test on the page?

__ Are your page titles more than one word, and more than 30 characters?

__ Do you have Alternate Text Tags for your images?

__ Are your Metatags current?

__ Do you use Text Links to other pages? (Spider Bots can not follow Buttons or Images)

__ Have you submitted your pages to the Search Engines?

__ Do you share reciprocal links?

__ Have you optimized your HTML, and do your pages have 25% text or more (higher ratio is better)?

Cool Tools

SEO Lite Toolbar - Install the Toolbar and check the link popularity on any web site
http://www.download.com/SEO-ToolBar-Lite/3000-2379_4-10337328.html

IBP (Internet Business Pages) FREE DEMO - "Optimize My Web Site" and compare to your competitors
http://www.axandra-web-site-promotion-software-tool.com/download.htm

XML Sitemap Generator - Automatically Generate a Sitemap and Metatags
http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/

Google Keyword Tool - See the Current most popular Keywords used to Search the Web
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

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Words of Wisdom

"I invented the Internet."
- Al Gore

"Words are of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind"
- Rudyard Kipling
http://www.rawpowerwriting.com

"When my father was a child, he played with other children in the neighborhood. When I was a child, we watched television shows about children around the world, interacting with other children and playing in their neighborhoods. Now I watch my son connect to the Internet and play with children around the world."
- John Mehrmann
http://www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com

John Mehrmann is an authority on emotional intelligence, talent management and organizational development. He is a consultant, coach, trainer and speaker with Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. http://www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com is an on-line resource with self-paced tutorials, tools, exercises, educational and inspirational articles contributed from experienced professionals.