There are few things about website creation more important and more intimidating than Search Engine Optimization - or “SEO” as it’s called in the business. If you want to make marketing hotshots cower, start talking SEO at them. Most will pale and try to change the subject. This is not without cause. Search engines are complex and their algorithms change with some regularity.

Take heart, though. There are about 20 core practices that haven’t changed significantly in a number of years. Moreover, chances are you’ve already done several of them. Of the remaining ones, there are a number of straightforward things you can do. It’s not a black art.

I have broken the core SEO practices out in a checklist. I don’t typically elaborate since that’s not really the nature of a checklist. Of course understanding more is going to enhance your skills, so if you are interested I’d encourage you to dig into the resources at the end of the checklist.