Make a List
I know that if you are working to optimize a website you probably have a number of lists that include things that you have done or things you want to do. However, you might not have created the most important list your website and your SEO plan needs, your website’s profile. Even more basically, this is not your plan rather a rudimentary owner’s manual.
Contained in your owner’s manual should be everything from where you registered your domain name to your host and hosting environment, external IP address(es) of your website, what type of database and content management system (CMS) you use… all the way down to what content you have and keywords you have targeted.
Oh well, not something I need to be concerned with because I know all of this like the back of my hand…
Really?
Just like anything that is important, there needs to be organization. I know if you are like me, I pride myself in how I organize and have access to almost any piece of important information that I might need, maybe because I tend to be a pack rat and rarely throw anything away. But it is extremely important to be able to pass this type of information off in your absence or in a circumstance of emergency. So, even if you have this covered, it won’t hurt to go through the motions, at least, to ensure you are in front of any problem that may arise.
I have arranged these items (and I know that they are probably not all of the things that you might need on your list) based on the core fundamentals of SEO:
Technical Environment
- Registrar
- Renewal Date
- Host
- Hosting Environment
- Hosting Type
- External IP Address
- Database Type
- Application Development Platform(s)
- SSL
- Content Management System
Code Environment
- Programing and Scripting
- Sitemap
- Template Wireframes
- Template Code
- URL/Directory Structure
- Sitemap Hierarchy
- Control Files
- Core Navigation
- Concatenation Schema
- Redirects
- Retired/Removed Pages
Content
- Page List
- Master Keyword List
- Keyword/Page Assignment
- Keyword Ranking
- RSS Feeds
- XML Sitemap
- HTML Sitemap
- Writing Guidelines
Promotion
- Directory Submissions
- External Links
- Press Releases
- Social Accounts
- Syndication Platforms
Now this “list” is getting pretty large, when you think of all of the items that are included, as well as the fact that many of these items are continually changing, but just like almost anything that is important, proper stewardship of pertinent information is very valuable to manage and support growth.
As well as these items, it is also valuable to complete an assessment of your site’s performance to benchmark it’s performance and revisit it on a reoccurring basis. Now, in our next installment, we will look into the competitive landscape and look at things that are important to understand regarding the other websites that you will have to overcome as you plot your way to the top of the SERPs.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I am trying to do some SEO for my site, and I know that backlinks are key. And I’ve heard alot about forum profile backlinks, like angela or pauls backlinks, but I can’t do all these by hand. So what’s the best automated backlink software? As close to automated as possible.Thanks
Automated is not recommended. Earned is ideal.
“If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right!”