Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, can often be a complicated and contentious topic.  So let's just cover the basics here.  You can break SEO down into two area, Inside and Outside.

Inside SEO:  How search engines see your site is crucial.  Engines use spiders/robots/bots to crawl through your site, but a poorly designed site can cause them trouble, leaving your site in the wilderness. Good web designers know the importance of SEO and build sites with that in mind.  Here are a few areas that should be addressed:

• Meta Tags - An oldie and still a goodie.  Your site should take advantage of Meta tags 'Keywords' and 'Description' for each page. 
• ALT Text - Spiders can't read pictures, so always include an ALT tag to describe the picture and it's relevance to the page
• Title Tags - Each link and image should also include a Title tag to describe the content
• Keywords - Wow, keywords are a topic in itself, but for now just think of what someone would type in to find your website and make sure that phrase(s) is found throughout your site's content
• Images - Images and flash look cool, but remember that spiders can't read them.  Use them as needed, but be sure to provide text (content and links) as much as possible.

One final note.  You created your website for your audience, not for the search engines.  Good quality content and simple navigation will always win in the long run.  It doesn't do you any good to have a high search engine ranking if your site doesn't serve the needs of your audience.

If you have any questions about this article, drop us a note . 

Next time, we'll talk about Outside SEO. 

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