SEO Checklist - Step-by-step top 10 rankings

Check the list off in correct order to qualify for top 10 rankings guarantee

You must do the right things in the right order to get high search engine rankings. Follow the tips in this checklist to make sure that your website gets the highest possible rankings. Click the blue headline bar with the symbol to open the corresponding section.

Step 1: Find the best keywords

• The basics: Why is it important to invest some time to find the best keywords?

  Keywords are the words that web surfers enter in search engines to find websites. It's pointless to optimise your web pages for keywords that nobody uses in the search engines.

  For a successful online marketing campaign, you must target the right keywords. The keywords you use should be relevant for your website and web surfers should be searching for your keywords.

  If you target the wrong keywords, your website promotion efforts will be in vain and you will waste a lot of time and money.

• Tips: Which keywords are good keywords?

  There are three different keyword types: keywords for browsing, keywords for comparing and keywords for buying.

  Keywords for comparing are usually the keywords that work best for search engine optimization. People who use that keyword type are looking for a solution to their problem and they are ready to buy. To get best results with your search engine optimisation efforts, you should concentrate on that keyword type.

  Details about the different keyword types can be found in the IBP manual. Make sure you get the up to date version here.

  Most people use a two to four word phrase in a search, so phrases are very effective. Single words cannot be promoted effectively because they are not very targeted. Internet users who use four-word searches are more likely to purchase goods or services than those using fewer words (source: Oneupweb Research).

• Warning: What can happen if you target the wrong keywords?

  If you target the wrong keywords, you will lose time and money.

  You will invest a lot of time in optimizing your web pages for keywords for which your website cannot get high rankings at the moment. Or you will invest a lot of time in optimizing your web pages for keywords that don't convert to sales.

  It is very important that you choose the right keywords that lead to high search engine rankings and sales. Make sure that you choose the correct keyword type.

• Action plan: What you should do now

  Click the Keywords image above to open IBP's keyword tools. Use the keyword tools to find the right keywords and to see their popularity. Compile a keyword list of 10-40 keywords.

  Start with multiple word keywords and then extend your keyword list. Click the "Help" image in the Keywords window to get detailed information on how to use the keyword tools.

• Checklist: What you should have done ( of  checked)

  Make sure that you can tick all of the following boxes:

  Things you should have done:

  Have you focused on keywords that consist of two to four words?	yes
  Have you focused on keywords that will bring you targeted visitors instead of keywords with a high search volume?	yes
  Have you avoided keywords that consist of only one word?	yes
  Are your keywords so targeted that it is very likely that they'll attract visitors that are interested in your products?	yes
  Do you know which keywords potential customers use to find websites that are similar to yours?	yes
  Do you know the three different keyword types?	yes

  Things you should know:

  One word keywords are not very effective because they are not very targeted. In addition, the competition for these keywords is very high and it is very difficult to get good rankings for them.	I know that
  Web surfers might not use the keywords you expect. For example, people searching for "rhinoplasty" might actually enter "nose job" as the keyword. It is important to find the keywords that potential customers really use.	I know that
  Internet users who use four-word searches are more likely to purchase goods or services than those using fewer words (source: Oneupweb Research).	I know that

  Can you tick all boxes? Great! You can now proceed with the next search engine optimization step.

  Don't cheat yourself. If you want to get the best results for your website, you really should be able to tick all boxes before you proceed.

Step 2: Optimize your web pages

• The basics: Why is it important to optimise your web pages?

  By optimizing your web pages, you tell search engines for which keywords you want to be found.

  If you do not optimise your web pages, then search engines won't list your website or they will list it for the wrong keywords.

  Optimizing your web pages makes sure that your website can get high rankings for the keywords of your choice.

• Tips: How to optimise your web pages

  High rankings on Google and other search engines are the result of optimised web page content and good incoming links. Start with optimizing your web page content.

  By optimizing your web page content, you tell search engines for which keywords you want to be found. Search engines can only give your web page a high ranking for a certain keyword if your web page is relevant to that keyword. Make sure that your web pages don't have major HTML code errors that prevent search engines from indexing your site.

  You should optimise at least six different pages of your website for different but related keywords (the keywords that you found in step 1). Do not optimise the same page for more than one or two keyword phrases.

• Warning: What can happen if you do not optimise your web pages?

  If you do not optimise your web pages then search engines might not be able to index your pages. In addition, search engines might not be able to find out what your web pages are about.

  If you optimise only one web page of your site then it will be very difficult to get high search engine rankings. Search engines take your complete website into account. If you have many web pages that are optimised for different but related keywords than search engines will think that your web pages are relevant to a certain topic.

  Relevant web pages get better search engine rankings. For that reason, you should optimise as many pages as possible for different but related keywords.

  Some HTML errors can prevent search engines from indexing your web pages. If your web pages have such an HTML error, you won't get listed on search engines because search engines cannot index your pages. For that reason, it is also important to check the HTML code of your pages.

• Action plan: What you should do now

  Click the Optimization image above to open IBP's Top 10 Optimizer tool. Enter the URL of one of your web pages and the keyword for which you want to get high rankings.

  Then select the search engine on which you want to be listed in the top 10 results. Click the "Help" image in the Optimizer window to get detailed information on how to work with the optimization tool.

• Checklist: What you should have done ( of  checked)

  Make sure that you can tick all of the following boxes:

  Things you should have done:

  Does your website consist of at least six individual web pages?	yes
  Does each of these web pages contain at least 200 words of visible text?	yes
  Do your web pages contain so much text content that it is easy for web surfers and search engines to find out what your web site is all about?	yes
  Are your web pages linked so that search engines and web surfers can find all web pages of your website through the links on other pages of your site?	yes
  Does your website navigation use links that search engines can follow? Flash links and JavaScript links can cause problems.	yes
  Do you have optimised at least six of your web pages for your keywords? Each web page should not be optimised for more than one or two keywords or key phrases.	yes
  Have you made sure that the HTML code of your web pages is valid so that search engines don't have difficulty when they try to index your website?	yes
  Have you removed frames wherever possible on your website? It is very difficult to get high search engine rankings with a website that uses frames.	yes
  Have you made sure that you don't use a welcome page or intro page on your website? Many search engines won't be able to index your site if you use such a page.	yes
  Do you use as few Flash elements as possible? Search engines cannot index them properly.	yes
  Have you made sure that your website URLs don't use special characters or too many variables? Search engines have difficulty with web page URLs that contain many variables.	yes
  Do your web pages look attractive to human web surfers although they are optimised for search engines?	yes
  Would you prefer your website over a competitor website if you were a web surfer who is not affiliated with you?	yes
  Does your website have its own domain name and is it hosted on a fast and reliable web server?	yes
  Have you made sure that your web pages don't contain spam elements (hidden text, cloaking or other shady tricks)?	yes
  Do you have an "OK" for all factors in the Top 10 Optimizer report?	yes

  Can you tick all boxes? Great! You can now proceed with the next search engine optimization step.

  Don't cheat yourself. If you want to get the best results for your website, you really should be able to tick all boxes before you proceed.

Step 3: Optimize your inbound links

• The basics: Why are inbound links important?

  Links are one of the most important factors for high search engine rankings. It is not possible to get high search engine rankings without good incoming links!

  The idea behind this concept is that search engines think that your website must be important if many other websites link to your site. The more other websites link to your website, the higher your search engine rankings will be.

  If more than one website has been optimised for the same keyword (see step 2) then the page with the best incoming links will get the highest search engine rankings.

• Tips: How to optimise your inbound links

  High rankings on Google and other search engines are the result of optimised web page content and good incoming links. You need both to get high search engine rankings.

  The number of links alone is not enough to improve your search engine rankings. It is also important that the other websites are related to your website. If the links to your website include your important keywords in the link text, then it's easier to get high rankings for these keywords.

  If the links to your site include your keywords, then search engines will think that your website must be relevant for these keywords.

• Warning: What can happen if you do not build inbound links?

  It is impossible to get high rankings on Google or other major search engines without good inbound links. It is absolutely crucial to the success of your website that you work on the inbound links to your site.

  Inbound links are extremely important for modern search engines. You cannot get high search engine rankings without good inbound links.

• Action plan: What you should do now

  Click the Links image above to open IBP's link management tool. IBP offers many tools that help you to get links from other websites.

  In addition to IBP's link management tool, use IBP's semi-automatic submitter to submit your website to Internet directories. Links from Internet directories can also increase your search engine rankings.

  Details on how IBP's link management tool and IBP's semi-automatic submitter work in detail can be found in the IBP manual.

• Checklist: What you should have done ( of  checked)

  Make sure that you can tick all of the following boxes:

  Things you should have done:

  Do the links from other websites to your website contain your keywords in the link text?	yes
  Have you used IBP's semi-automatic submitter to submit your site to Internet directories?	yes
  Have use used IBP's link management tools to build inbound links to your site?	yes
  Do you get an "OK" for all aspects in IBP's Top 10 Optimizer report?	yes

  Things you should know:

  Good inbound links are very important if you want to get high search engine rankings.	I know that
  It is difficult to get high search engine rankings for a web page with optimised content that does not have good inbound links.	I know that
  It is difficult to get high search engine rankings for a web page with good inbound links that does not have optimised content.	I know that
  Links from related websites that contain your keywords will increase the ranking of your website on search engines.	I know that
  Links from automated linking schemes and FFA (free for all) link pages won't help your rankings because search engines can detect them.	I know that
  Links from your website to websites with a bad reputation (spam sites, linking schemes, etc.) can hurt your search engine rankings.	I know that
  The PageRank number that Google displays in the Google toolbar is often outdated. If you see a website that seems to have a high quality and that is related to your website then it's okay to exchange links, no matter what the displayed PageRank is.	I know that

  Can you tick all boxes? Great! You can now proceed with the next search engine optimization step.

  Don't cheat yourself. If you want to get the best results for your website, you really should be able to tick all boxes before you proceed.

Step 4: Submit your website

• The basics: Why should you submit your website?

  By submitting your website to search engines you invite search engines to visit your website. You ask search engines to take a look at your pages.

• Tips: How to submit your site correctly

  IBP allows you to submit your website to search engines, Internet directories and special interest sites (vortals or vertical portals). Only submit your website to the correct categories in Internet directories and only submit your website to a special interest site if the site matches the topic of your website.

  Do not submit your website if you don't have your own domain name or if your domain name is only a redirection to another domain. Do not submit multiple domains that lead to the same web space.

• Warning: What can happen if you do not submit your site correctly?

  When you submit your website to search engines, you invite search engine spiders to visit your web pages. That does not mean that your website will get high search engine rankings.

  If you did not optimise your web pages, it's pointless to submit your website to search engines. You won't get high rankings if your web pages are not search engine ready.

  If you don't use your own domain name or if your website is hosted by an unreliable web host then it is likely that your website will not be listed on search engines. If the submitted website URL is only a redirection or a welcome page then it's also likely that search engines won't index your website.

• Action plan: What you should do now

  Make sure that you have optimised web pages before you use the submission tool.

  Click the Submission image above to open IBP's search engine submission tool. IBP offers automatic and semi-automatic search engine submission.

  Details on how to use IBP's submission tools can be found in the IBP manual.

• Checklist: What you should have done ( of  checked)

  Make sure that you can tick all of the following boxes:

  Things you should have done:

  Does your website have its own domain name?	yes
  Have you made sure that your website URL is not just a redirection to another URL? Many search engines won't index redirections.	yes
  Is your website hosted on a fast and reliable web server? Search engines might not index your website if your server is too slow of if it is down when the search engine visits your pages.	yes
  Have you made sure that your website is not hosted on a free server? Many search engines don't index websites that are hosted on free hosting services because they often contain spam.	yes
  Have you made sure that your website URL doesn't contain special characters?	yes

  Things you should know:

  It is enough to submit only the index page of your web site because search engines will find all other pages of your website through the links on your site. Do not submit all pages of your website.	I know that
  The moment a search engine spider visits your website is not the moment your website is added to the search engine index. It's only the moment in which the search engine takes a look at your site.	I know that
  It takes some time until search engines show your new pages in the index. Search engine spiders have to visit your web pages, they have to scan the web pages, they have to evaluate your web pages and they have to add your web pages to the index. If your website has many inbound links, search engines will index your website faster.	I know that
  If you submit an unoptimised website then you won't get high rankings.	I know that
  Only submit your website to Internet directories and special interest sites that are related to your website. Anything else might be considered spamming.	I know that

  Can you tick all boxes? Great!

  Don't cheat yourself. If you want to get the best results for your website, you really should be able to tick all boxes before you proceed.

If you follow the steps described in this checklist then your website will get the best possible rankings on Google and other search engines.

If you have a new website then it will take some time until search engines permanently list your site. Most search engines have filters for newly created websites to avoid spam problems. Details can be found in the IBP manual.

Use IBP's ranking checker to check the position of your web pages over time and take a look at the other IBP tools to get the best results for your website.