DISQUS

SEO Hosting Blog: 50 Simple Tips for Improving Your Website

  • Rich Hill · 1 year ago
    Print this list out. Hang it on a Clip Board and DO these 49 things!
  • Gezonde Voeding · 4 weeks ago
    Yeah,,that's what I'm going to do right now.
  • Chetan · 1 year ago
    Many good things can be done without flash.. so try to reduce it and make the site more user-friendly.

    Try to reduce or limit the number of ads on your website.
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    Nice tip Rich!
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    Chetan:

    Both great tips! Even though Google is getting better at handling Flash, I still don't think it provides that great of a user experience (for example, I can't view Flash content on my iPhone).

    And in regards to ads, I couldn't agree more. People want to plaster ads all over their blogs and websites, but they don't realize that if they're using a program like AdSense, they could actually be more profitable by using less ad units.
  • Sandeep Bali · 1 year ago
    Sweeet

    50th tip : Check source code for any unused script and remove it
  • JONxBLAZE · 1 year ago
    50. Invest time on creating a one of a kind layout.
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Sandeep: Very true; doing this periodically can also help you ensure the security of your site.

    @JONxBLAZE: That's a great way to set yourself apart from your competitors!
  • kellex · 1 year ago
    Pretty nice list. I ran 100 tips like this a few months ago.

    http://www.thesportsdollar.com/2008/03/100-fluf...
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @kellex: Nice list, you've got a lot of great tips on it!
  • Carl Grint · 1 year ago
    Great suggestions, although with Point 1, htaccess is Apache only, so for Windows hosted sites, it would not apply, although you can use similar set ups in IIS, for those with shared hosting this is usually not available.

    On the point about small text, I am afraid I had to increase Firefox's font size to see the Titles next to each field in the form, as well as the comments being left. ;o)
  • Alisha · 1 year ago
    I think #4 should be done on this site. ;)
  • Vadim P. · 1 year ago
    Forgive the newbness, but why is "www." so important?
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Carl Grint and Alisha: Thanks for the suggestion, I'll forward it to the person who is in charge of the SEOHosting design.
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Vadim: Great question. The reason that it's important is because not redirecting the non-www version of your site to the www can cause duplicate content issues. I think the link below will explain everything for you, but if you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to leave another comment!

    http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/an...
  • gWallet · 1 year ago
    Nice tips here. I've found that a bunch of them can be coverd via various wordpress plugins, thereby taking the stress out of 'am I doing this right'? A quick search turned up a number of plugins that address many of these issues.
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @gWallet: This is exactly why I like WordPress so much! In addition to the plugins you found, you should also start using these (I've found them to all be invaluable):

    http://www.seohosting.com/blog/articles/wordpre...
  • Cid Vegas · 1 year ago
    Concerning item 19 you should insert the following pictures
    - One picture of the office building
    - One picture of the office itself
    - One picture of the team
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Cid Vegas: Agreed, that would be the perfect combination of pictures to give your customers a complete look at your company.
  • Tamal Anwar · 1 year ago
    50. Encourage comments and try to reply all of them...
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Tamal Anwar: As you may have noticed from this comment thread, this is definitely a strategy I like to use! I think getting the chance to have discussions with your readers is one of the best parts of writing a blog.
  • yasin · 1 year ago
    Thanks a lot! I am on the way of these tips :)
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Yasin: You're welcome, I'm glad these tips are helping you out!
  • shameer · 1 year ago
    simply fabulous tips
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Shameer: Glad you think so, I hope they help you improve your website!
  • Ryan G · 1 year ago
    This gets a Stumble up from me.
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Ryan G: Thanks for that, I really appreciate your support!
  • Sunny kapoor · 1 year ago
    Hi Nice post. Keep it up.

    Just to let your readers know they are having difficulty in find a good hosting company then I guess the belwo mentioned post can help you out
    http://webcritics.peepsreview.com/?p=27
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Sunny Kapoor: Glad to see that you use Host Gator (in case you didn't know, we're a specialized division of Host Gator)!
  • Vadim P. · 1 year ago
    @Tyler Banfield: I see. In my case though it seems the www version already redirects to the non-www version (mudlet.org is the site in question), so I guess that's why I was confused. But I'll keep the tip for the future to stick to either www or no-www, thanks :)
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Vadim P: Yup, you're fine redirecting to the non-www, the key is picking one or the other ;) I can't find an example right now, but I've seen sites that haven't implemented this, and when you do a site:theurl.com search in Google, you will see the exact same pages indexed twice (for example, once as www .theurl.com/services and once as theurl.com/services)
  • Aidan · 1 year ago
    51. Don't use ugly unprofessional looking clipart. It's up there with animated gifs.

    Other than that pretty good list.
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Aidan: Ouch, point taken ;)
  • Art · 1 year ago
    Create great copy for your website, even if it is just a little blurb on each page. Good schtuff in this article, thanks. Art
  • Terri Carey · 1 year ago
    was curious if you would mind me republishing this list in an ebook about websites - with acknowledgement and link of course!
    Please feel free to email me. Terri@tlcservicesonline.com
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Terri: Sounds great, I'll get in touch with you via email.
  • Sketchfirm · 1 year ago
    Nice list. Printed it for easy reminder. Thanks
  • Gerald Weber · 1 year ago
    I have one to add to the list. If you website doesn't have a blog add one. ;-)
  • grl · 1 year ago
    use the stumble is cool
  • Zeeshan Ahmad · 1 year ago
    dont knwo if its the right place to ask but, the main thing in every seo remains to be back links. but i wonder what this new feature of google search reults ranking does. any idea any one?
  • Tyler Banfield · 1 year ago
    @Zeeshan: Actually, one of our authors just made a post about this topic last week: http://www.seohosting.com/blog/search-engine-ne...
  • rash1981 · 1 year ago
    Tip number 50:

    If you use rich media like flash or silverlight, offer the content contained within in an low tech form for devices (like mobile phones or just pc's without the specified plugin)

    For instance: if you use the quicktime vr plugin for a view of your store, also offer a 360 view jpg for those who don't have quicktime installed.
  • Nick Jones · 11 months ago
    In what way will the .org and .net registration and pointing help me please?

    Worth the additional cost really?

    Nick
  • Susan RoAne · 10 months ago
    Great check list.

    50th. Be sure to have contact info at the bottom of each page. (Don't make visitors waste time having to click around to find a phone number or mailing address.
    That may seem oh -so -20th century but make it easy for people to actually talk to you or mail you a note).

    BONUS Tip: Don't just spell check.. it's flawed. Make sure your content is triplechecked for grammar and punctuation.
  • Aum · 10 months ago
    Tip 50: When using flash Always embed alternate content beneath the so that users who don't have flash can view a static version or be prompted to download the flash plug-in.
  • evakent86 · 10 months ago
    Thanks for sharing!! nice tips!
    and I think a simple and use-friendly interface will gain more recognitions.
  • Beijinger · 10 months ago
    Really nice tips, simple but includes most important tips, I wish I knew these when I first started.
  • emma · 10 months ago
    Verry nice work. Keep it going.
  • ival · 9 months ago
    With all the additional tips from the comments i would say that this should not just be a "50 simple tips" article. ;-)
  • Leanne · 8 months ago
    2. Extend the registration of your domain for at least five years.

    We've never found that an extended renewal adds any value to the site itself and generally encourage our clients to renew two years at a time, mostly for their own convenience and comfort-level. But I'm curious why you believe a 5 year renewal is so beneficial?
  • Chad Bean · 8 months ago
    @Leanne ; the idea is that spammers don't usually buy domains for longer than one year at a time. So it's been perceived that domains with longer registrations tend to appear more "legit" to search engines.
  • Julie Roberts · 8 months ago
    This was an excellent refresher course in an easy to read list form. I have gone away with my own list now of things to work on. thankyou so much!
  • Brandon Buttars · 7 months ago
    #50 is a modification of some mentioned.

    Don't use flash for navigation. Or keep the mobile users in mind.

    My buddy's site uses it and every time I check it out on my mobile device I have to scroll to the bottom of the site to navigate.
  • afewtips.com · 7 months ago
    Very important tips. Funny how many sites don't follow these things.
  • Victoria Scott · 7 months ago
    Printable version please :)
  • Bradley Gauthier · 7 months ago
    @ Nick Jones - the .net and the .org registration keeps others from using them which could dilute your rankings.
  • Titan · 7 months ago
    Thanks

    Didnt know about 47. Label each box of any forms on your website.
  • zsa zsa · 7 months ago
    Great tips! We will go over your list as we review our own website. Thanks!
  • Russ Page · 6 months ago
    Great list. I'm a huge fan of htaccess/robots.txt usage.
  • Craig · 6 months ago
    Great Tips! Can you expand on #30? How can I eliminate Link Exchange page without sacrificing the benefit of the inbound links it generates?
  • Accounting Homework Help · 6 months ago
    i just found out that the .org and .net registration are of utmost use & they catch up with rankings pretty faster than comparative dotcoms?

    Worth the additional cost really? i must say
  • I83 Design · 5 months ago
    Good simple list of tips. Espeically for all websites, there are things you can do with WordPress but that's a more specific list.
  • Vic of BusinessAccent · 5 months ago
    These 50 tips are simple yet they are the major things to do to improve a certain website. Thanks for sharing them.

    Vic
  • John Murphy · 4 months ago
    Why is the .net and .org version of the website important?
  • Tyler Banfield · 4 months ago
    @John Murphy,

    In the event that someone types your domain name and .net or .org, you can ensure that they get to your website instead of losing them to a competitor.
  • Darcy · 4 months ago
    hi Chetan,

    I agree that with what you have commented that many good things can be done without flash, as far as I know based of my little experience, A website that is more on flash effects, cannot be easily detect by wwww.google.com. Make your site a simple one but unique.
  • Patrice Albertus · 4 months ago
    Thanks for the list. This one looks really usefull and the order to prioritize could be followed (that's sometine hardest thing with top20 list!).

    50 . Using microformats for better snippets on search results
    51 . Submit on local listing
  • Rogier van der Veen · 3 months ago
    great tips here. But a MUST use test: 'the grandmother test'. Can your grandmother use your website, does she know how to navigate it and what's it about... If so, congrats, you're doing a good job ;-)
  • Furniture Decoration · 3 months ago
    My god, i can't read it right now..there is too long list..
    allow me to bookmark this page please :-)
    thanks Tyler..
  • Stephen Q · 2 months ago
    Check out Seth Godin's 10 website tips on his blog. Also good stuff and for the most part not represented here!
  • Susan P Joyce · 2 months ago
    If you don't have a Contact Us page, create one. Put REAL, concrete, verifiable information on it (names, address, phone numbers), not just an anonymous form.

    Do NOT have an anonymous-looking site - looks too much like a scammer. Do NOT have a "private" domain name.

    Do a Website you are proud of, and claim it!
  • salwarkameez · 1 month ago
    Make your website content rich and only relevant content to your theme/model.
    Give out quality information to readers and visitor rather than only focusing on commercial aspects.
    Last but not the least ............ 'do aggressive and targeted marketing'
  • ujwalajadhav · 1 month ago
    Very good and important document. Hope this will help lots of people.

    Ayushi Travel
  • ideaswiz · 1 month ago
    How many of the above tips affect display speed of your WP/ or other blog? I have read recently that if your blog is slow, then the Google Bot skips your site. Any thoughts on this issue? Also, is there a plugin or site that can measure how long does it take for your blog to display its home page?
    MikeR
  • Free Domain Names · 1 month ago
    You can also improve reachability by having your own top level domain from our website fdomains.net :)