What should a SEO program include? – part 3
Technical Website Analysis
Don’t mistake a Technical Website Analysis as being the same thing as professional Website design/development. Your website is the foundation, for not only SEO, but for all of your internet marketing efforts. This makes taking an in-depth look at your website from a technical perspective is an absolute necessity and is the first element of three to ensure that a proper Search Engine Optimization project will actually work.
Although no portion of Search Engine Optimization is simple, IF done properly, having the technical aspect of a website done right is the least time consuming element of the three primary SEO elements, from my experience. This may be the exact reason why many of those who claim to do SEO, take the quick way out and do a couple ‘technical’ things to the homepage (whether they be up to date techniques or not) and then ignore the rest.
I can’t even count how many websites I’ve been on of our so-called competitors that don’t even do Search Engine Optimization themselves! No title tags, no ‘H’ headers at all, minimal content, Flash design, improperly placed text, no sitemap, no description, duplicate title tags/descriptions, no alt info, improperly titled graphics and the list goes on and on and on.
None of these things have anything to do with how ‘pretty’ a website’s design is. Remember, no matter how attractive a website is, if it doesn’t work (can’t be properly ‘catalogued’ by search engines) properly, it simply doesn’t matter.
In order to get maximum benefit when doing the elements that are noted above, a professional SEO service provider should not only get your input and SEO goals, but also do their own research and present you with solutions that will ensure that you achieve those goals.
I would respectfully suggest that if you have already done some technical website elements yourself, that if the SEO service provider wants to make changes, do not take offense, or try to justify why you did what you did – even if they did help your Google rankings. A quality ‘SEOr’ will be able to tweak those elements in order to get maximum benefit. You hired a professional for a reason. Let them prove their worth.
What website technical elements have you attempted to correct on your own?
What should be involved in a SEO program/project? – part 1
SEO Program: Set Your Online Goals – part 2
SEO Program: Technical Website Analysis – part 3
SEO Program: Proper Keyword Research – part 4
SEO Program: Content Development – part 5
SEO Program: Website Links/Backlinks – part 6
