Search Engine Optimization is on everyone’s lips in the IT world today, as more and more companies are looking for ways to increase their search engine rankings. While GT isn’t an SEO shop, we try to ensure that the sites and pages we build are created using sound SEO principles. If you’re looking at optimizing your own site, here are a few basic tips and resources to help get you started.

Poor Practices

Avoid these techniques, which could end up damaging your search rankings while you’re trying to improve them.

1) Trying to game Google and other search engines

Don’t employ link farms. In addition to being misleading, this practice can wreak havoc on your page rankings once Google gets wind of it.

From the top result, to the seventh page. JC Penney’s search results after Google found that they had employed an unscrupulous consulting firm that gamed the retailer’s page rankings through link farming.
Read More on JC Penney’s SEO blunder »

Be sure to do some research on any SEO consulting firm you’re thinking of working with. Link exchanges can also be risky.

2) Displaying different content to search bots than to your visitors

Showing a search engine bot different content is a sure way to damage your search rankings.

3) Going overboard with too many tags or keywords

In trying to give the impression that your site specializes in everything under the sun, your site’s actual strengths can be underplayed.

Good Practices

Adhering to these basic rules can give you a solid foundation for improving your search rankings.

1) Create a clear, readable URL structure and text links.

Do be descriptive of the content of your website.
Don’t hide the content of the content of your site with vague words like “page” or “product.”

2) Use clear and descriptive <title> and heading elements and alt attributes.

When used in moderation, headers and titles are a good way of summarizing your content: they’re where lists of relevant keywords should appear. alt attributes on img elements can tell search engines what they are in text, and help your site’s visibility in image searches.

3) Create a sitemap for search engines.

Creating a sitemap.xml file can help search engines to quickly locate all of your site’s content without having to completely spider your site, and avoid difficulty in finding pages which aren’t yet internally linked. Additionally, having an HTML page with a sitemap for your users can give your users a good overview of your site.

4) Remember that content is king

No matter what specifics of your SEO tactics, remember that your site’s content should come before any SEO considerations. Original, information-rich pages will satisfy both your users and SEO concerns.

For more SEO tips, check out these resources:

Google’s Webmaster Central Blog and Webmaster Tools have plenty of great tutorials on topics like microformats and video sitemaps, as well as general guidelines.

Google engineer Matt Cutts offers his insight on trends in both Google and the world of SEO as a whole at his blog and on his YouTube channel.