What are the basics to make my Web site search engine friendly?

Search engines want the results they present to be highly relevant to the keywords entered by the users. Search engines explore or "crawl" Web sites looking for this relevancy and "index" the Web sites accordingly. You can help the search engines to find and index your Web site by making it "search engine friendly", also known as "search engine optimization" or SEO. There are professional SEO experts who can help you achieve higher search engine rankings, but here are a few basic things you can do on your own.

These small search engine optimization steps will certainly help your search engine ranking. However, if you are in a competitive market or still finding that your site isn’t ranking well, you might want to consult with a professional web site optimization company.

1. Make use of keywords that people can use to search for your site by adding them to image names, page names etc. Try include your keywords in the "alt text" for your images. If you are using Network Solutions Image Café web site builder, you will be given the option to add this when selecting an image to add to your page.
2. Put relevant keywords in the title, description and body text of all your pages. Developing very precise keywords will help improve the position of your Web site in search engine results. For example, if you are a real estate agent, using keywords such as "Real Estate" is too broad and will reduce the likelihood of your Web site appearing early in search results. Instead, use a more precise phrase, like "Northern Virginia Commercial Real Estate". Also, make sure your most important keywords are in the title of your Web site. For example, use Northern Virginia Commercial Real Estate as your title to help increase your ranking.
3. Link all your pages from the home page and try to link between pages when relevant. Search engines will find it easier to crawl your site.
4. Have a header for every page that summarizes the contents of the page. If you own a brick and mortar business that services walk-in customers, we recommend you use the footer to display your location, phone, etc. on all your pages. The inclusion of your address on your Web site will also help you with local search engine results when a customer is looking for a product or service in your local area.
5. Spread your content over several pages. Each page should not have more than 250 to 300 words. If you have more content, add it to another page.