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If you are developing a new website and are looking for an easy way to manage your files then I would recommend for you to stay far far away from Content Management Systems (CMS).

CMS systems come in 2 flavors that you can buy like Mambo, Drupal, Typo3 etc. and the ones that are custom in-house packages of web development companies. While these may sound tempting to use I recommend you stay away from these solutions.

Most web development companies that do not offer SEO services boast about how their custom CMS system is a better return on investment because (insert reason here)… The reason these companies push their CMS systems are because a CMS system transfers the burden of website management over to the customer and off of the web development company. The faster the burden is pushed off the quicker they can move onto another project. Websites built with these types of companies tend to be more cookie cutter and are a terrible return on investment due to their restrictive nature. If you desire service after the sale a web development company with a CMS package is usually a bad bet.

Most of the companies who use CMS claim that they provide SEO, but all it takes is one look at their system to realize that they are clueless. The nature of a CMS makes it difficult to apply the on-page changes that are essential to search engine visibility. These systems are typically designed to mass produce websites (dynamic pages) and they are usually a sales gimmick.

I have yet to encounter a CMS that was SEO friendly. Many clients have requested for me to optimize their site but I tend to stay away from these types of systems due to our lack of control of many on-page factors and the level of difficulty in learning a new CMS package.

So what is the answer?
How about Macromedia Dreamweaver or Contribute. Why spend so much time and money developing your very own CMS when one already exists that is easy to use and search engine friendly? If your client absolutely has to have a CMS, just give them a Dreamweaver crash course. I have taught many people how to use Dreamweaver in under an hour.

I am not saying that CMS is a bad idea it’s just that one has yet to be designed by an SEO. Don’t turn away a client because of their CMS just be aware that they will restrict your optimization efforts.

Link building is considered the most important element to the success of your website. All links are NOT created equal, therefore you’ve got to choose the best links to focus your efforts on. Creativity is the key. The following tips are just some of the many ways that I like to use to build backlinks.

1. Interesting or humorous content is the most obvious way to get backlinks. Humor spreads like wild fire and is a great way to build backlinks to your site.
2. Create content (articles, etc.) for other sites in your neighborhood. Links from relevant websites are the most desirable.
3. Tools are a great way to get others to link to your site. If you know of or can create a useful tool for others to use, you should make them available on your website.
4. Adding blogs, forums, and reviews (on your site) can create communities that will link to your site. Many people are addicted to forums and blogs, and they can be used for more than just generating links.
5. Create online contests that will benefit others, and put them on your website. These will improve your reputation and increase your traffic!
6. Post industry related news. This can also make your site appear more authoritative and trust worthy.
7. Identify other sites that would benefit from your success and ask (it never hurts to ask) them for a link. For instance, an e-commerce site should always try to get their suppliers to link to them because an increase in sales will benefit both parties.
8. Look for industry specific directories that will link to you without requiring a reciprocal link.
9. Local directories are often overlooked when building links. These links are usually easier to get listed on.

Be aware that some backlinks are either undesirable or just not worth the effort. Avoid links from pages that link to you from frames or contain the “nofollow” tag because they will not provide any benefit, and also avoid the easy to get links from spammy websites. And absolutely do not use link farms because they will get you banned from the search engines.

Link building, while time consuming, will deliver the most reward for your optimizing efforts. Use these tips along with a little common sense and creativity, and you may eventually develop your own system for getting those good links.

Dynamic websites are typically more difficult to optimize for search engines, but there are ways that they can be optimized. Real SEO’s article on this subject is very good.

The following are four techniques that every SEO should apply to their dynamic websites.

1. Use plug-in software that will change your existing dynamic URLs to static ones.
2. Re-configure your servers to convert your URLs that contain query strings into ones that the search engines can index. For Apache servers, use the mod rewrite and for cold fusion servers replace “?” with “/” and pass the value to the URL.
3. Write CGI/Perl scripts that will take all the information prior to the query string and put the rest equal to a variable.
4. Create a search engine friendly, static webpage to link to your dynamic pages. Use appropriate alt and title tags on your static page, and be sure to follow all of the search engine guide lines before submitting your static pages along with the dynamic pages.

As these tips point out, creating SEO friendly URLs is critical to optimizing dynamic websites, and using them will undoubtedly improve the search rankings of your dynamic site.

For the most part optimizing your e-commerce website isn’t too different from optimizing any other site. There are however a few areas to focus on that will help drive visitors to your site. The following tips are guidelines for building an SEO friendly e-commerce site.

1) Always use alt tags in your header images because your header is one of the first things the spiders encounter. You may also consider adapting the alternative text on the logo to match the title tag of each page.

2) Always include your stores phone number on every page. This is a common sense tip that sometimes gets overlooked. Adding you phone number will also help your credibility.

3) Use leftside navigation. Most people are familiar with this standard form of navigation and it also acts as a site map for search engines to crawl through. Make sure to use either text links or images with alt tags otherwise they will be invisible to the search engine.

4) Give each product at least a short description (the longer the better) other than just a name and price. Search engines depend on text to determine what products you are selling.

5) Keep your layout consistent from page to page.

6) Use breadcrumb trails on the product pages to aid navigation and SE spiders.

7) Take time to create title and meta tags. Use them to differentiate your self from your competition (make them catchy) and provide effective descriptions in searches.

Each site should be optimized according to its industry. Depending on the level of competition, more steps may be needed to improve your rankings in the search engines. These tips are only a few of the many techniques used to optimize e-commerce websites at Comit Technologies.

Good Luck
Paul

Writing great titles and headlines is, in my mind, one of the most important skills that an SEO should possess. They are used on everything from web page design to advertisements and link building (articles, blogs, etc.). Once you achieve that high ranking, you need to have a solid headline to draw traffic to your site.

Your headlines should interrupt and compel readers to focus on you material through all of the surrounding clutter. Creating an effective headline, however, can be a particularly daunting task when you consider the fact that most of the obvious/catchy headlines are already used by your competitors.

After giving it some thought, I have come up with a list of what I consider good qualities that every headline or title should have.

1. Headlines should interrupt the reader. Using powerful words such as: free, bonus, extra, automatic, and easy can effectively bring scanning eyes to a halt and interrupt reader’s train of thought.
2. Headlines should be concise. Get to your point as efficiently as possible. Everyone is in a hurry and they will not take the time to read long, wordy headlines.
3. Headlines should tempt and tease the reader. Regardless of the scope of your writing, use an idea that a specific group of individuals will react to positively or negatively. Your article may be unbiased, but a biased/narrow minded title will provoke individuals to read the rest of your message.
4. Headlines should cause a buyer to desire more. Arouse their curiosity and they will continue to read through your material.
5. Headlines should offer benefits as opposed to features. Create titles and headlines that offer solutions or rewards. Whether it is an answer to a question or a discount, it does not matter as long as the reader feels like they are gaining something extra. Try to suggest that they are getting some kind of a payoff.

The quality of your headlines and titles will directly affect the amount of traffic that your website receives. So spend some time creating them because they are the invitations to your websites.