Domaining SEO Sunday: Morgan’s 2011 SEO Cheat Sheet

As my first Domaining SEO Sunday of the year I thought now would be a great time to review the SEO Basics. I’ve probably written about ten SEO basics posts on my blog over the last three years but think it’s important to keep the concepts fresh. I’ll keep this short and sweet so it can make a nice concise reference for anyone looking to bookmark an SEO cheat-sheet.

Morgan’s 2011 SEO Cheat Sheet
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  1. Title Tag – Don’t make your title just one word, I see so many people do this and it makes me pull my hair out, for them! Use your keyword and the common phrase your keyword would be used in within your title tag. This has always been one of the most important pieces of on-page SEO – don’t neglect it!
  2. Unique Content – Anyone can build a site and fill it with other people’s content, Google and Bing like to adorn their first page with sites offering content of their own. Target your top keywords within your content and post regularly – you will be handsomely rewarded over time.
  3. Backlinks – Ranking well in Bing is great and with an exact-match domain, a good title tag, and some unique content you can. Google is all about backlinks and if you want to rank well in saturated niches you’ll need backlinks. This is the most overlooked part of most Domainer’s SEO strategy.
  4. Social Media – In 2011 social media should absolutely be a part of your overall SEO strategy. Every domain that you want to rank well and become an online brand should have a corresponding Twitter and Facebook account. By posting your articles on your Facebook Fan page and Twitter account you can get incredible exposure and major SEO benefits.
  5. Video – Let’s face it – video has become a very popular way to share information and learn online. It takes a few minutes to add a You Tube video to your site but it could go a long way towards engaging customers. Google and Bing know that their visitors are favoring interactive media-rich content more and more so having video on your site can give you a nice edge.
  6. Exact-Match Domain – I put this at the bottom of the list because while I know that an exact-match domain is important, the five items above are more important. The exact match domain is the icing on the cake and can give you a small boost in the end but without the five pieces above you’ll have a long road ahead.

I think many of the SEO Cheat Sheets sitting-around the Internet are starting to get stale. Many of them don’t mention social media, video, or domain names. With search engines changing every day it is absolutely essential to re-evaluate the fundamentals and make sure your SEO strategy is relevant. While I could easily write a list of 100 SEO tips I wanted a nice concise reference for 2011 and this is it! Enjoy and feel free to bookmark or share with friends, as Bob Dylan said, “the times they are a changin” – make sure your SEO strategy changes with them!

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton