Some of the things I think are crucial to do well during this economy are:

• Paying close attention to your analytics and make sure your optimization strategies are aimed in the right directions. Revamp and update.

• Make sure you have a solid foundation for your site. I  consider a solid foundation having a compliant Web site and having an optimized site that includes copy, meta-tags, anchor text, alt-tags and many more things that are just too long to list. Make sure your site meets the search engine Webmaster guidelines. Create the foundation and work up from there.

• Make sure that your site is user-friendly because people do not want to work hard. They can just back right out of your site and find another one that offers them what they were looking for. I live on the net, but if something is too confusing I am gone.

• Have copy that sells! I have discussed before you have to sell your products and services through a computer screen. There are no sales people; there is only graphics and copy that shouldn’t overwhelm and shouldn’t look cheap. Copy needs to effectively create trust and sell what you have to offer. Lastly, please leave off the “git’r done” comments. They don’t scream professionalism.

• Take advantage of social media marketing strategies. They are typically free or very cheap advertising methods that can work if handled the right way. SEM and SMM works, Google it!

• Pay close attention to your competition and see what is and what is not working for them. It is not hard to monitor these things. You can just tell yourself to do a quick evaluation each week and keep the info in a spreadsheet. You can see what works and what times of the year certain things work. Observe and replicate.

• Work on Backlinks, but try and make those backlinks work for you as well. We all want and need good backlinks, but if you are going to put the work into them see if they can bring your some clients/customers as well. Don’t just focus on the backlink itself.

• Engage your visitors and current clients; offer them something! What do your current and potential clients want? Well, we all know everyone wants a discount of some sort right now. Coupons for services, free shipping and free items often work. What I think is more important is providing quality information to your visitors. Give them something of value, something they can use at home or at work. Be a resource and don’t write for those in your field; write for those that don’t know a lot about what you do. Give them tips. Those searching for information are often doing so because they do not know a lot about what your company offers. Educate them, create trust and see a return on your time and investment.

Please feel Free to add your ideas…

Melissa Fach – SEO Aware, Sarasota, Florida