Check for mistakes. Misspellings, unlabeled images, pages without “breadcrumbs” (see above), pages with images but no “alt” text — all these can throw a search engine off base.
Search for Search. Find out what search terms people are using to find your site to give you clues about how to optimize (you can do this using Web analytics software like Google Analytics. Also, tools such as WordTracker (not free, but not terribly expensive for the value it offers) can help you craft more search-friendly language on your site.
Fix missing pages. Does your web analytics software show a high number of what are called “404s” – blank pages with no useful content? Check those URLs and and fix those links. Also make sure your any 404 pages you do have, such as for outdated content, provides a clear-cut link back to a main page on the site, such as a home page or search page.
Use a link tracker. This is a tool to make sure links to and from your site are valid. Here’s one you can try. And to see how a search engine spider sees your site, check out what’s referred to as an “emulator.”
