Helpful Rules For All SEO Campaigns

Michael Martinez has an absolutely helpful post called “SEO Checklist: Fundamental steps for every SEO campaign,” which i feel is a must read for all SEO professionals, advertisers and anyone seeking to leverage their Search Engine ranking.

A basic introduction to the post goes as:

1. Keyword Analysis: Keyword analysis is the starting point for all search engine optimization. Use your keyword research to determine where your content should be visible AND to analyze the market you’ll be approaching. Keyword analysis works best if you consider query trends over the past 1-2 years.
2. Web site design: Web site design falls into two categories: concept and architecture. Web site concept determines what the site will be (directory, retail site, affiliate link farm, informational site, community site, etc.). Web site architecture focuses on the layout (page design), navigation, and site structures (directories, sub-directories, etc.).
3. XML sitemap: XML sitemaps make free web site search engine submission insanely easy and efficient. Anyone can use them, and there are plenty of tools out there to help you create valid XML sitemaps. If someone approaches you offering to do Web site search engine submission for you, ask them which XML sitemap tools they use. If they say they “submit by hand” or that they offer professional search engine submission you know they’re just taking money from people.
4. Linking: What most people in the industry don’t realize, however, is that most of your truly effective linking has already been done by the time you reach this stage. That is, your internal links work nearly as well and in some cases better than external links. But you still want some external links. Search engine optimization aside, there is that nagging doubt that will haunt you if no one else chooses to link to your Web site. So be a good Web site marketer and go get some links.
5. Evaluate: This is the evaluate part of the SEO method (Experiment. Evaluate. Adjust.). Evaluation begins with checking your work. Evaluation begins with checking your work. Add content. Adjust your links. Ask yourself, “Have I done all I can do in a reasonable amount of time?” Be sure you frame that question exactly as I did: use the word “reasonable”. If you don’t force yourself to put a limit on the amount of time you spend on each phase of the process, you’ll spend the rest of your life tweaking pages and building links.
6. Adjust: After the first month you can begin changing page titles, adding content, replacing content, etc. And if you want, add some more links but remember that what you do on your site has a much broader impact on your search engine optimization than links you chase around the Web. You won’t even know which links pass value or when they start to pass value.
7. Report: If you’re directly responsible for search engine optimization then checking your rankings once a week is sufficient. If you report to a client or someone else in your company try to limit the reporting to no more than twice a month. Once a month is better. Monthly reporting gives you time to work on problems that occur. Remember there are four reasons why your search referrals change:
   • You do something with your site
   • Other people do something with their sites
   • Search engines do something with their data
   • People change the way they search

This is not a formula for guaranteed success. After all, search engine optimization seeks equilibrium points where content and links cancel each other out. Content will work better on one side of that point and links will work better on the other side of that point.

For the complete article, read SEO Checklist: Fundamental steps for every SEO campaign.

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