The Random Me !

This list covers the top 30 things you should consider when it comes to getting a new site live and into the search index. It has been updated for 2013. It uses a simple script to tally everything you check off. Once you’ve completed it, it will give you a score out of 30 possible points at the bottom of the page. There’s one thing I want to reiterate before you embark on your SEO checklist journey: On-page optimization is best thought about as  incrementally beneficial . The big mistake people tend to make is that they find a checklist, they go through every thing on it, they read every single one line-by-line and say “Oh no! I’m missing one thing – now I can’t rank and everything is ruined!”. Meh – that’s not really the way to think about it. If you can get everything on this list, that’s great! If you can only get most, that’s okay too. You want to make your site as SEO-friendly as possible, but in general, it’s very unlikely that you’ll be able to do all these things. Th...

So you want to start a business – congratulations!  Once you get over the initial excitement, it’s time to break down the process of launching your startup into manageable chunks. You might get overwhelmed with the sheer number of items on your to-do list. But not to worry; I’ve broken down this startup checklist into the primary tasks you need to do now, and those that you can defer until later. What You Need to Do Now Do the following tasks either before launch or during the early days of your startup. 1. Determine viability Be brutally honest.  Your startup needs to be something you can make a profit doing or delivering.  Ask yourself: would you buy it? Run the numbers: will customers pay enough so that you can cover costs and make a profit?   Here is a list of 29 more questions to ask , attributed to noted investor Paul Graham. 2.   Create a business plan It’s easy to convince yourself that you don’t need a business plan, but c...

Your homepage is arguably the most important page of your site. Contributor Chris Silver Smith provides tips to ensure it's in top shape!  Wonder what an advanced local SEO consultant might check on your local business site’s homepage? Here’s a list of some of the top health-check items that should be performed in analyzing your homepage to get recommendations for improving your Local SEO game. 1. Shall We Redirect Dance? Sometimes when you go to a site’s base domain name (i.e. “www.example.com”) the site will redirect, sending your browser to another URL (such as “www.example.com/wp/home/index.php”). This can happen depending upon how your system administrator, ISP or site designer configured your website. A redirecting homepage is generally not ideal for SEO, particularly depending upon how it’s accomplished — even major brand websites can get this wrong, as I outlined years ago in Coke vs. Pepsi, the Redirection Challenge . If your homepage must redirec...

I’ve often thought about what it is that makes people happy—what one has to do in order to achieve happiness. I have been changed a lot after reading these lines. First and foremost is good health. If you do not enjoy good health, you can never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will deduct something from your happiness.   Second, a healthy bank balance. It need not run into crores, but it should be enough to provide for comforts, and there should be something to spare for recreation—eating out, going to the movies, travel and holidays in the hills or by the sea. Shortage of money can be demoralising. Living on credit or borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one’s own eyes.   Third, your own home. Rented places can never give you the comfort or security of a home that is yours for keeps. If it has garden space, all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow and blossom, and cultivate a sense of kinship with them. Fourth, an underst...