Off-Page Optimization Tips

Are you working toward getting links to your interior pages?
If any of your interior pages are of particular importance to you, work on building some link popularity to those pages individually. Remember: link popularity is "page specific," NOT "site specific."
Do not ever give the search engines just one way to find your pages.
Put links to new pages on your site map. If there's a corresponding page on your site that you can use to link to the new page, do so. Mention the new page on your blog. Do you have a directory associated with the particular topic dealing with the content of this new page? Add a link on that page. Just make sure that you give the search engines several ways to find the new pages.
All links should follow to the same page.
http://site.com, http://www.site.com and http://www.site.com/index are three different pages for search engines. So be sure that all your links are pointing to the same page (better if it includes www)
Do NOT change your current links anchor text.
Links with permanent anchor text which is not changed have much more value for search engines unlike links which changed text.
Content freshness.
Remember that you can get much more relevancy for "content freshness" than you may expect: don't just dump a bunch of new content on your website, but consistently add new articles or content on a regular basis. Watch how the search engine robots behave when you start doing this consistently.
You don't have to use your keyword phrase in your domain name.
That may be a revelation to some folks, but the keyword phrase in your domain name is just one "piece of the SEO pie", and an insignificant piece at that. There are over 100 pieces of the pie that go into what makes up the ranking of a page.

Adobe is #1 out of 3 billion result for the keyword phrase "click here." Why? Because of off-page factors, not because "click here" is in their domain name.
Read all of your content, including titles and descriptions, out loud.
If you stumble over words, so will your audience. Rewrite until everything reads smoothly.
Include your most important keyword phrase in both your title and description tags ONE time.
Your title tag should be around 8-10 words long, or shorter (maximum of 75 characters, including spaces). Your description tag should be around maximum of 150 characters, including spaces.
Avoid using a lot of the same keyword on the same page.
One quick and easy way to see how you are using your keyword phrase "visually" at a glance, is to enter your keyword phrase into Google's tool bar and turn on the "highlighter" option. This highlights every instance of your phrase as it is being used on the page. You can glance at it briefly and visually spot where ever you may be over-using any keyword. (The same could be done using Mozilla Firefox and its "highlighter" option for “all found phrases on the page”)
Remember to use supporting words, synonyms, and surrounding text when linking between pages.
Allow for at least a 20% topic drift and avoid use the exact same link text (anchor text) to link between all of your pages and websites. ...Avoid building up link reputation that looks unnatural or contrived. If you're a writer, swap up your bio as well. After all, don't you want to be found under a variety of different keyword phrases that are all important to your business?
Do not ever give the search engines just one way to find your pages.
Put links to new pages on your site map. If there's a corresponding page on your site that you can use to link to the new page, do so. Mention the new page on your blog. Do you have a directory associated with the particular topic dealing with the content of this new page? Add a link on that page. Just make sure that you give the search engines several ways to find the new pages.
Who is your "target audience"?
When you write your website content, who are you focusing it on?

Have the search engines ever purchased anything from you? Forget the search engines! Focus on your customers! When you write content, write valuable content focused on your customers. Focus on one topic (keyword phrase) only. Your keyword-containing tags should include that one topic (keyword phrase) only. Everything on the page should be focused on that one topic. Prove to the search engine that your page is about that topic. The page will then be very relevant for the topic. But it will be valuable for the customers.

Don't ever create a page just for the search engines. The search engines aren't and won't ever be your customers. Keep your true customers in mind, and give THEM true value throughout your site and in your content.
Place a robots.txt file on every domain.
The first thing a spider looks for when it hits your website is a robots.txt file. If it's looking for that file, put it on your site! Robot Manager Pro is an excellent tool for creating robots.txt files as well as monitoring spider traffic. Download a free copy at http://www.websitemanagementtools.com/robot.html.
Include a link to your site map on every page of your website.
Many search engine robots look for your sitemap in order to crawl the entire website. If you include a link to your sitemap on each page, you are giving the robots easy access to crawl your entire site, regardless of which page they come in on.
All links should follow to the same page.
http://site.com, http://www.site.com and http://www.site.com/index are three different pages for search engines. So be sure that all your links are pointing to the same page (better if it includes www)
Make your title attractive.
Choose your most important keyword phrase. Search it in Google and carefully study the top 10 results. Which is the best written title? Which is the most captivating? Which grabs the reader by the throat and makes him or her want to click on the link? Is it the #1 ranked result? Not necessarily, is it? Is it your listing?

If it's not your listing, and especially if you're having problems with click throughs with this keyword phrase, how can you change your title to make it more intriguing and designed to pull in traffic? We're talking about click throughs here. You can often beat the top ranked sites if you have a more appealing and captivating title.

Make a list of title changes, being sure to include your keyword phrase in the title. Set it aside and don't look at it for two days. Then, bring it out again and study the list again. Begin culling down the list. Get others' opinions. Try a new title, and see if your click through rate will improve.
Are your links visible to a search engine spider?
A lot of Content and Links displayed on a webpage may not actually be visible to the Search Engines, eg. flash based content, content generated through javascript, content displayed as images etc.

Try this tool which Simulates a Search Engine by displaying the contents of a webpage exactly how a Search Engine would see it:
http://www.webconfs.com/search-engine-spider-simulator.php
Did you know that you can get some small relevancy benefit by using your keyword in BOLD instead of using it in STRONG?
Do NOT change your current links anchor text.
Links with permanent anchor text which is not changed have much more value for search engines unlike links which changed text.
Building genuine SEO skills that will impact your online sales.
A beautiful website with no traffic or visibility can't survive in the business world. But a high ranking website that gets tons of traffic, but where no-one is compelled to make a purchase or take action, won't work for you either. Think "visibility PLUS a solid call to action."

It is important to think about what search engine marketing means. It is a fascinating topic, but it takes in much more than just the process of "optimization" alone. Search engine marketing is actually the process of optimization plus effective marketing. You need both of these elements for your website to be successful and to effectively make sales and convert that new traffic.

Here's the thing to understand. Highly relevant pages that are easily found in top search results also need to be absolutely engaging and have a legitimate value to the visitor. They need to compel a response from the visitor - and this is where you can truly begin making money and increasing your sales. Visibility for "quality content" combined with the skill to compel your visitor to "take action" is what will make a nice pay check and make you happy.

Remember to include strong calls to action to compel a response from the reader into each page and leave nothing to guess work.