Time to Grade Your Website

School is back in session and it’s time for your first report card!

Been awhile, eh?

I don’t promise a good grade, but I do promise a great learning experience on the crucial importance of search engine optimization (SEO). We chatted briefly about SEO here but I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a tough area to navigate for the average communications pro. One thing is for certain – your website has to be up to par and fully optimized to compete online in today’s world.

But, what does that really mean?

SEO can be a big scary thing for a lot of people and a tough “formula” to figure out. Am I linking too much? Providing too many meta tags or images? Not listing my site in key locations?

Don’t worry! I recently discovered www.websitegrader.com. What a great site and it’s free! You simply type in your website along with any competing websites and within minutes it generates a SEO scorecard that identifies problem areas and recommends easy solutions. 

The site even reports back on del.icio.us and Digg to let you know how submissions are effecting your website’s searchability.  

My homework challenge to you (I know, I know, it’s a Monday) - be the kid in the back of the room that raises his or her hand and takes the Challenge. Go grade your website (or pick a random website to practice on if you’re concerned with confidentiality) and report back in the comments below with:

A) Your score

B) What first step you plan to take to improve your site’s SEO status

Again, don’t worry, if need be, there are pros like Kevin out there to help guide your SEO needs.

Good luck!

-Scott