• Title Tag
The search engines consider the page title to decide the page category. The title should contain keywords. Each page should have a separate title. This will enable the users to bookmark the page.
• Meta Tags
There are two bifurcations of Meta tags, namely, description and keywords. As the keywords are being used over and over, some of the search engines do not consider keywords. Yet is it better to have keywords in the Meta tag. Although, the search engines do not use description, its importance cannot be undermined, as it would show in the searches by the visitors. You should introduce your site in just a single sentence.
• Heading Tags
Heading tags introduces your site to users and search engines. The most important title should have largest heading. You can place subtitles in smaller headings.
• Alt tags
Using alt tags on images is almost mandatory now. By doing so, you are providing the search engines with more information. The tags will enable the visually impaired know the details of your site.
• Attributes of title
Place the title correctly in the link, so that the users know what to expect from the link.
• Content
Always have relevant content on your page. The content should be rich in keywords. Instead of filling the content with too many keywords, and making the content appear senseless, use few keywords in the content to make it look meaningful.
• Link Building
Having relevant links can greatly improve your page rank. Therefore, get as many links as possible. However, irrelevant links and links bought from link farms take your rankings in the reverse.
• Social Media
Though social media cannot be classified under SEO, this media is immensely popular and used by millions. Some of the popular social media sites are MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. These are free sites and therefore, it is advisable to take advantage of the same.
• Sitemap
Sitemap facilitates search engines to locate your site and also helps users in browsing the site. If you do not have one in place, use Webmaster tools by Google to built one at no cost.
• What to avoid?
Using flash and splash should be strictly avoided. The reason for this is that the search engines cannot read flash sites and will not index your site; as a result your site will not show up when some one is searching your site.
Using splash pages generates an additional click for the users and is quite annoying.