The process of optimizing your website has to be a carefully thought out process. Each space of your site has to be designed and structured to reach your objectives. Here are some search engine optimization (SEO) mistakes you must avoid.

1. Many pages include a beautiful but useless graphic as a header. The upper part is very valuable for SEO. Don’t turn important texts into images; less if you use keywords, because a search engine cannot read a graphic, so you will be losing opportunities to be indexed by search engines and to reach top positions.

2. Now, let’s talk about the menu. As we just read, using graphic elements can be attractive but not effective: the description, words and links you use in the menu and content must include keywords. It doesn’t mean that is necessary to avoid graphics or pictures; they can accompany the text or be used in sections of lower relevance to search engines. Even better, make your images into code, that way search engines would be able to index whatever text you include in them.

3. Graphics cannot be read by Search Engines but let me give you a trick: including ALT attributes on each images become legible. So, never let your graphics alone.

4. Experts suggest as a good strategy to include a register format for users. In this way, each time he or she visit your website there is an ID session which helps webmaster collect information, create statistics and discover his/her behavior while explore your page. All data can be used for optimization.

5. If you can avoid it, never redirect your site. If you do it, search engine robots will get confused and it will be difficult for them take your web page and index it.

6. Don’t forget to write a title tag and meta tag descriptions on each page of your site.

7. Flash allows huge possibilities of a dynamic page, full of color and animations, but too much is a big error. It might be attractive but not for search engines, they don’t like Flash pages because they can’t read the content. Never use a Flash website without HTML alternative.

Please give me a call today at 208.598.0084 or contact me at matt.shifley@yahoo.com for more information to discuss how I can help you or your company with its search engine optimization, online marketing, or copywriting needs.