Whatever your dream job, passion, or current work, chances are you work with a website . . . or should.

And, as you probably know, getting high placement within a search engine (Google and Yahoo are responsible for over 90 percent of all online searches) means more traffic to your site.

Unfortunately, there’s a whole lotta misinformation on the techniques to use to optimize your website for better search-engine traffic.  In fact, billions of dollars are spent every year, by small and big outfits alike, in their marketing departments to try to achieve high search engine results.

Tons of books written on the topic.

Hundreds of workshops and seminars you can attend.

A gazillion, or so, self-proclaimed experts.

So, after having perused, read, and attended a few of the above, I found it amazingly refreshing to come across a “here’s what it’s really all about” article in my local paper, The Orlando Sentinel, about search-engine optimization.

The story focuses on what one of our area’s search gurus (Jason Dowdell, the owner of Labitat)  recommends.

Hey, I don’t know Dowdell or Labitat, and don’t vouch for ‘em, BUT . . . the basics sure ring true, so check ‘em out.

1. For the main search terms your site is targeting, use the biggest headlines.
2. Make sure your content is relevant to the headline or section it appears in.  If your headline is about Writing Services, for example, the text explaining those writing services oughta be about, well, hmmm . . . writing services.
3. Every page of your website should have a link that takes you back to the homepage.  (A lot of people do that by having their logo clickable — to return to the homepage — on all pages.)
4. All hypertext links should describe where the link takes you.  Don’t use Click Here links.  For example, if you want the site to take you to Teachbits.com, make Teachbits.com itself a clickable link.
5. Each page on the site should have a title that represents what’s on that page, so don’t use things like untitled or home as your page names.
6. Your home page should prominently display the linkable sections of the site.
7. Google, Search Engine Numero Uno, by mucho, places a lot of emphasis on its own PageRank calculation.  Google determines PageRank, in large part, by the number of other websites that link to yours.
8. For images you load on your site, use descriptive names such as Teachbits Product List instead of labels such as file7 or image13.

Good stuff; check ‘em out.

Then, let me know if you’d add or subtract anything from the list.

Popularity: 9% [?]