Ten Steps To A Well Optimized Website - Step 6: Human Testing

Welcome to part six in this search engine positioning series. Last week we discussed the importance of internal linking. In part six we will cover the obvious and yet often overlooked importance of its appeal to a real-live human being. While not directly related to SEO it is so often overlooked in the quest for higher search engine positioning that it has become a fundamental step in our ten step series. Over this series we will cover the ten key aspects to a solid search engine positioning campaign. The Ten Steps We Will Go Through Are: Keyword Selection (http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/content.htm) Site Structure (http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/optimization.htm) Internal Linking (http://www.clicktracks.com/ananlyzer/. This tool will show you all the very specific details of how visitors are navigating your site. This tool is many steps above your typical web stats, it will show you details so specific that you can not only see the search term a visitor used to find you but what search engine they came from and the path they followed through your site right down to which search term is selling the most on your site. This highly detailed information can be an incredibly valuable tool for you. With access to such info you can, over time, adjust your content, navigation, and SEO based on these reports - watching the changes happen and see the effects not just make good guesses. The value of having an average visitor test your site and get real feedback is huge. You have no choice but to be a little biased when viewing your own site and this outsider information can give you tips that you may have only wished you had. Don't put your site out there and wonder what all the visitors are thinking and doing, just ask! You may even go as far as having a poll included on your website, so long as it's not popping up every time they click a link. A simple "we welcome your feedback" email form on your contact or profile page would be a professional simple way to keep up with what the visitors are liking or disliking on a continuous basis. Next Week Now that your site has been designed, had SEO elements added, tested and edited, you are ready to submit it to the search engines and get those visitors coming. Stay tuned for the next article in this 10 part series "Submissions". Mary Davies is the search engine friendly design expert for