General And SEO Checklist Before Launching a Website

Couple of days back I came across this article on some important and necessary checks before the official launch of a website on This website. Just for quick reference I decided to summarize the important points mentioned in the article.

The webpage elements that should be doulbe checked before launch of the website are:

1. Titles And Meta Data

Page title is the most important element for SEO and is also important so that users know what’s on the page. Make sure it changes on every page and relates to that page’s content.

Meta description and keyword tags are somewhat important for SEO, so it is a good idea to include them. Change the description on each page to make it relate to that page’s content, because this is often what Google displays in its search result description.

2. Links on the Webpage

Make sure all the links on the website work. Add “http://” to links to external websites. Make sure the logo links to the home page.

The links should be distinguishable from the plain text of the webpage. Also, use a different color for the links that user has already visited.

It is a good practice to use W3C Link Checker to check for any broken links.

3. Sitemap

Add a sitemap.xml file to your root directory this allows the major search engines to easily index your website.

It can be easily generated using http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/

Also, add your website and sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools. This tells Google that you have a sitemap, and the service provides useful statistics on how and when your website was last indexed.

4. Custom 404 Page

It’s a good practice to use a custom 404 page. If a user requests a page that doesn’t exist, a 404 page is displayed. You can read more about this topic on http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/08/make-your-404-pages-more-useful.html


5. Form validation

Test all the form fields to make sure that if there is an error, the user is provided with enough feedback to be able to fix it.

6. Analytics

Use some sort of analytics such as Google Analytics to see how the website performs and how successful the conversion rates are. Track daily unique hits, monthly page views, browser statistics and more.

7. Back Up

Back as frequently as possible cause a day will come when you regret not having one. If you search, you will find plugins for auto backup. USE THEM.


8. Cross-Browser Checks

It is important that the website works across browsers. It doesn’t have to be pixel perfect, but everything should work, and the user shouldn’t see any problems. The most popular browsers to check are Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, Firefox 3, Safari 3, Chrome, Opera and the iPhone.

9. Functionality Check

Test everything thoroughly. If you have a contact form, test it and copy yourself so that you can see what comes through. Get others to test the website, and not just family and friends but the website’s target market. Sit back and watch how a user uses the website. It’s amazing what you’ll pick up on when others use the website differently than how you assume they’d use it. Common things to check for are contact forms, search functions, shopping baskets and log-in areas.

10. Proofread

Read everything. Even if you’ve already read it, read it again. Get someone else to read it. There’s always something you’ll pick up on and have to change. See if you can reduce the amount of text by keeping it specific. Break up large text blocks into shorter paragraphs. Add clear headings throughout, and use lists so that users can scan easily. Don’t forget about dynamic text too, such as alert boxes.

Hope these points prove to be useful to you in some way. Please don't forget to read the SEO Guideline, these guidelines are extreamly important.

SEO Expert Summarizes Google's Guidelines for Better Search Engine Rankings.

It has been more than a year that have been optimizing sites (worked on more than 50 websites including some fortune 500 companies) for better user experience and search engine performance. There have been countless experiments and tweaks that I have tried and all of them have worked, as I always took care that under any circumstances my site is neither fooling the user or the search engine.

For the past few days I was trying to document all the points that a SEO expert should be aware of, before he starts optimizing a site. Below I have mentioned points important from Google’s perspective. I personally believe, you get it right on Google and things will fall in place for other search engines.

There are many sites that give tips and tricks for improving rankings on Google. However, I have found the following resources exceptionally important and they happen to be from Google itself.

Most of the other sites were just trying to re-invent, the same points described in the documents below.

The content on following three URL must be read and memorized by every SEO expert.

URL 1: Webmaster guidelines- http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769&topic=15260

URL 2: Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide - http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

URL 3: Creating a Google-friendly sites - http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/topic.py?topic=8522

1. Summarizing the Webmaster Guidelines:

The Webmaster Guidelines consist of guideline for Design and content, Technical aspect and Quality of the website.

The Design and content guidelines suggest the following:

1. A site should have a clear hierarchy and text links.


2. Create a Sitemap.


3. Make sure that <title> elements and alt attributes are descriptive and accurate.


4. Avoid dynamic URLs, Broken links and excessive links on a single page (fewer than 100)
   
   

The Technical guidelines suggest:

1. Use a text browser such as Lynx to examine your site, because most search engine spiders see your site much as Lynx would. A helpful add-on on Mozilla Firefox would be: Yellowpipe Lynx Viewer Tool URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1944


2. Allow search bots to crawl your sites without session IDs or arguments that track their path through the site.
   

The Quality Guidelines suggest:

1. Webmasters who spend their energies upholding the spirit of the basic principles will provide a much better user experience and subsequently enjoy better ranking than those who spend their time looking for loopholes they can exploit.


2. Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.


3. Avoid all the Black Hat SEO techniques, such as hidden text or hidden links, cloaking or sneaky redirects, automated queries to Google, load pages with irrelevant keywords, etc.
   
   

2. Summarizing the search engine Optimization Starter Guide:

This document informs us about the best practices to be followed while optimizing the SEO elements of a website.

Some basic and important SEO Guidelines from the document are:

• For Page Titles: make them unique, accurate and descriptive for all the pages of the website.


• For Meta Description tag: Accurately summarize the page's content and also make them unique for each page.


• For URL’s structure: Use words (keywords) in URL’s, Create a simple directory structure and provide one version of a URL to reach a document to avoid duplicate content.


• For Easier Site Navigation: Use text for linking, breadcrumb navigation, use an HTML sitemap page and a custom 404 page.


• For search engine friendly content: Create fresh and unique content, stay organized around the topic and write easy-to-read text.


• For anchor text: Write short but descriptive text and use it for internal links.


• For heading tags: Use headings carefully across the page. Use the main points and sub-points (usually our keywords) of the content on the page as the heading tags.


• For image optimization: Use descriptive filenames and alt text, store images in a single directory and Use commonly supported filet types.


• For Robots.txt: Use methods other that robots.txt to hide your confidential information.
  
  

3. Summarizing the guidelines on creating Google friendly website:

This section of the Google Webmaster’s Help gives links to all the documentation covering all the factors important from search engine as well as user perspective.

Few of the very important topics on http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/topic.py?topic=8522 are as follows:

• General guidelines


• Site Management


• Site Design and Content


• Potential Problems

With this I have tried to summarize the aspect important for Google. I will continue this study and keep everyone posted on any new updates that I come across.

I would also like to thank Namrata Yadav for all her help in compiling this information.

SEO Add-ons - Firefox Addons for SEO purpose.

Hi All,

As my days affiliated to a SEO company are numbered. I wish to spread the tools that helped me with the SEO process till date.

Below is the list of Mozilla Firefox Add-ons that I have running on my copy of the browser.

If not all you have to try the ones marked (Must Have)

1. FEBE (Must Have)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2109
Description: FEBE backs up your extensions, themes, and (optionally) your bookmarks, preferences, passwords, cookies and just about everything else Firefox offers (it can even backup/restore your entire profile).

2. FireBug (Must Have)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843
Description: You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page.

3. Firefox Universal Uploader (fireuploader)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4724
Description: This extension allows to upload/download files from your favorite websites using a simple interface.

4. FireFTP
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/684
Description: FireFTP is a free, secure, cross-platform FTP client for Mozilla Firefox which provides easy and intuitive access to FTP servers

5. FoxyTunes (Must Have)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/219
Description: FoxyTunes lets you control almost any media player and find lyrics, covers, videos, bios and much more with a click right from your browser.

6. GA? Is Google Analytics Installed
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5631
Description: Checks to see if Google Analytics is installed on any given page.

7. IE Tab (Must Have)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419
Description: Embedding Internet Explorer in tabs of Mozilla/Firefox

8. InFormEnter
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/673
Description: InFormEnter adds a small, clickable icon next to every input field in a web form, from where you can select the item to be inserted - no typing required.

9. Interclue
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4999
Description: Interclue tells you everything you need to know before you open yet another tab.

10. Mouse Gestures Redox (Must Have) (Must Have) (Must Have)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/39
Description: Allows you to execute common commands (like page forward/backward, close tab, new tab) by mouse gestures drawn over the current webpage, without reaching for the toolbar or the keyboard.

11. Popup ALT Attribute (Must Have)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1933
Description: Popups alternate texts of images.

12. RankChecker (Must Have) (Must Have) (Must Have) (Must Have)
URL 1: http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/rank-checker/
URL2: http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/RankChecker.xpi (Direct Download)
Description: Allows you to easily check your website rankings in Google (US and international), Yahoo, and Microsoft Live search.
Video Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X__ngJcrOYU

13. RSVP Reader
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2149
Description: A rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) tool that some research suggests may allow people to read text on the web up to 3.5 times faster.

14. SearchStatus (Must Have)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/321
Description: Display the Google PageRank, Alexa rank, Compete ranking and SEOmoz Linkscape mozRank anywhere in your browser, along with fast keyword density analyser, keyword/nofollow highlighting, backward/related links, Alexa info and more.

15. SeoQuake SEO extension
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3036
Description: Seoquake allows obtaining and investigating many important SEO parameters of the internet project under study on the fly, save them for future work, comparing them with the results, obtained for other, competitive, projects.

16. ShowIP
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/590
Description: Show the IP address(es) of the current page in the status bar. It also allows querying custom services by IP (right mouse button) and hostname (left mouse button), like whois, netcraft. Additionally you can copy the IP address to the clipboard.

17. Tab Mix Plus (Must Have)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1122
Description: Tab Mix Plus enhances Firefox's tab browsing capabilities. It includes such features as duplicating tabs, controlling tab focus, tab clicking options, undo closed tabs and windows, plus much more. It also includes a full-featured session manager.

18. Web Developer
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/60
Description: Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools.

19. Yellowpipe Lynx Viewer Tool (Must Have)
URL: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1944
Description: You can see what what a page will look like when viewed with Lynx, a text-mode web browser. It is also presumably, how search engines see your site. In addition, it can help determine if web pages are accessible to the vision impaired.

20. SEO for Firefox (Must Have) (Must Have) (Must Have)
URL1: http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html
URL2: http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo4firefox.xpi
Description: SEO for Firefox pulls in many useful marketing data points to make it easy get a holistic view of the competitive landscape of a market directly in the search results.
Video Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kc4NiQDkjQ

I hope some of these add-ons make your SEO process more effective.

Please leave any more SEO tools that you may have in the comments. :-)

About the New Blog....!!!

Creating a more Personal Blog at http://hrishikeshs.wordpress.com ; I' Will be blogging in this Space too ... however, this blog is usually used up for more professional Stuff... !!

Things I tried on Ubuntu 7.04 :: Feisty Fawn

It was my final Yr. project "Gnowser 0.3" that got me hooked onto Ubuntu.
Now my Laptop runs solely on Ubuntu got rid of Windows.

Here is a List of things installed on My Ubuntu.

1. Deluge BitTorrent Client
   http://www.getdeb.net/app.php?name=deluge
   
   
2. Pidgin internet Messenger (Latest Version of GAIM)
   http://www.getdeb.net/app.php?name=Pidgin
   
   
3. Komposer aka NVU (Alternative of FrontPage or DreamWeaver)
   http://www.getdeb.net/app.php?name=Kompozer
   
   
4. XML copy editor
   http://www.getdeb.net/app.php?name=XML+Copy+Editor
   
   
5. GNOME MPlayer (Video Player)
   http://www.getdeb.net/app.php?name=GNOME+MPlayer
   
   
6. RhythmBox (Alternative For iTunes)
   rhythmbox_0.11.1-1~getdeb1_i386.deb
   
   
7. VLC Player (a must)
   

   Graphical way

   Open Synaptic (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager). In Settings -> Repositories, make sure you have a "universe" repository activated.

   Search for vlc and install it. You should also install vlc-plugin-esd, mozilla-plugin-vlc (and libdvdcss2).

   Command line way

   You need to check that you have a "universe" mirror in your /etc/apt/sources.list.

      % sudo apt-get update
     % sudo apt-get install vlc vlc-plugin-esd mozilla-plugin-vlc
   
   

8. WINE
   Wine for Ubuntu, Debian, and Debian-based distributions

   Debian and Debian-based distributions, such as Ubuntu, utilize a special tool for managing packages known as APT. APT is able to automagically install all of the needed dependencies for a software package, as well as keep the package up to date, by scanning what are known as APT repositories. Debian-based distributions have their own repositories of software, many of which include Wine, however we keep our own repository of the latest available packages here for download.

   There used to be graphical instructions here, however we have found that the terminal commands are actually simpler to describe and quicker for the user to input. Because the commands below use sudo, you may have to enter your user password after hitting enter.

   Adding the WineHQ APT Repository:

   First, open a terminal window. Then add the repository's key to your system's list of trusted APT keys by copy and pasting the following:

   wget -q http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/387EE263.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

   Next, add the repository to your system's list of APT sources:

   For Ubuntu Feisty (7.04):
   sudo wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/feisty.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list

   For Ubuntu Edgy (6.10): *64-bit packages not available*
   sudo wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/edgy.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list

   For Ubuntu Dapper (6.06): *64-bit packages not available*
   sudo wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/dapper.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list

   For Debian Etch (4.0): *64-bit packages not available*
   sudo wget http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/sources.list.d/etch.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/winehq.list

   Then, you can install Wine from WineHQ like it were any other package, such as by using the Synaptic Package Manager under System->Administration. Alternatively, you can install from the terminal by running 'sudo apt-get update' to update APT's package information and then 'sudo apt-get install wine'.

   
   
   
9. Picasa (Windows Version Running on WINE)
   After Gettin WINE as Described Above.
   Go to the terminal and use
   wine picasaweb-current-setup.exe
   
   
10. Also installed are many support libraries and Codecs for Various Music and Video format

My First Post

Finally I have enough free time to start blogging.

was so caught up in graduating form engineering that i was probably the only future IT professional with no blog.

well here I am done with my final exams, waiting for my results and with loads of free time.


Keep visiting this space, and don't be shy to post a comment.

Regards,
Hrishikesh Sarvankar