1. Don’t use Flash or Silverlight

Search engines have a difficult time reading these technologies, and thus any valuable content included in them will likely remain invisible.

2. Write for People, not Search Engines

Focus on creating valuable, useful content that your readers will love and share. Don’t “cloak” content that’s hidden to people butreadable by search engines (Google will penalize you). Make sure that your <title> elements and ALT attributes are descriptive and accurate.

3. ‘No Brainer’ Navigation

Simplify your site with a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link.  Ensure this is the case by creating a sitemap that links to all pages on your site with text link.

4. Keyword Placement is Key

Use keywords to create descriptive, human friendly URLs. Fit keywords in title tags of pages at least once (preferably near the beginning), and at least 2-3 times, including variations, in the body copy on the page.  Don’t forget to use keywords in image tags for when people search the web for images.

5. It’s Nice to Entice!

Use descriptive titles that people will want to share. When a user sees your title they should be excited and want to click on it because it sounds interesting, not because they notice it has the same keyword that they typed in Google. Promote sharing with social sharing widgets and icons – and by asking!

6. CTA! CTA!

Use a call-to-action in your meta description with close to no focus on keywords. Just as with the title, the meta description should be exciting and compel the reader to click through and find out more.

7. Faster is Better

Lower you’re website’s page loading time, as search engines will penalize slow sites. Choose a web host with a professional configuration, use clean html and css code, and leverage browser caching for faster load times for returning visitors.

8. Fresh Content is Fruitful

Update your website with content that is fresh, useful, and unique. Visitors should love to share with others. You should focus on producing content that is naturally shared and linked to.  In other words, link earning in addition to link building.

9. Show Symbols of Trust

Search engines love signs of engagement with websites such as low bounce rates, high pageviews, and longer time on site.  Keep visitors on your site with trust symbols such as industry accreditations, awards, customer logos and testimonials. Even a valid phone number and address will help.

10. Don’t “Get” Links, Earn Links

Get links from sites that are relevant to your own. When building links, vary keywords as anchor text – lots of links with the exact same text is simply unnatural, even in your own marketing efforts.

Focus on text that gets a click-through, not that uses a particular keyword.