Robots.txt [robotstxt.org...]
Also a forum discussing it [webmasterworld.com...]

For the rest I suggest reading through some of the forums as it is too big a topic to cover. If you have specific questions then you are more likely to get a response.

First off, welcome to the forums stacks. There's a lot of info on this site to get you started off. Try visiting some of the SEO orientated forums [webmasterworld.com] and view the 'library' links on each of them.

>Are there any basic seo tips I should apply to my website?

- Have descriptive and unique titles (and descriptions where possible)
- Make your site as user friendly as you can
- Make your site as robot friendly as you can
- Look to acquire quality links and mentions of your company in the social networks. Learn how others are promoting their sites and also be wary of people offering holy grail solutions.

These are just very general rules, but ones worth sticking with.

@stacks, welcome to Webmasterworld! You've landed amongst the smartest and best-behaved web-loonies on the planet. :)

Though SEO might be the intent, don't forget about Content along the way. Robots.txt is both friend and enemy, you need it, but you don't need to invest oddles of time in it either. Check out incrediBILL's posts on whitelisting... [webmasterworld.com...]

From there you'll soon find yourself involved with .htaccess (if on Apache powered servers)

I'm an avid developer. However I've never owned my own website. Right now I'm launching my first website which I own the rights to.

Does that mean you've made websites for other people, but this is the first one that's yours, all yours?

:: rubbing hands gleefully ::

Think about all the instructions you've received over the years that seemed misguided, or suicidal, or mutually exclusive with some previous instruction. Think about which ones turned out to be a good idea after all, and which ones were even worse than you expected.

Now that you can do things the way you think they should be done, have fun but don't let yourself go wild :)

Thanks for the replies everyone. Tonight when I have a chance I will get reading.

Yes I have developed desktop apps as well as web sites/apps for people in the past. I've never been in charge of "deployment" so this is all pretty new to me.

I've setup my own VPS and am using Apache as my webserver. Everything works fine. I just feel that I'm missing something, as I've never done this before. Things like adding keywords and such. Or having it set up friendly to play with google. I notice when you search for some websites in google, their whole content menu comes up in search results. It's little things like this I need to get done now.

Think about all the instructions you've received over the years that seemed misguided, or suicidal, or mutually exclusive with some previous instruction. Think about which ones turned out to be a good idea after all, and which ones were even worse than you expected.

Oh yes lol. These are the reasons I quit my job and decided to put some of my own ideas in motion =D

Thanks for the warm welcoming!

my advice for a newbie will be:

have something really valuable on your website and then go out and promote it everywhere you can on the internet - that's the natural way of ranking in Google.

a few more details to add:

use the keywords you wish to rank for in:
1) page title;
2) h1;
3) page text;
4) anchors of incoming links.

this should get you started

Hi stacks, and welcome to WebmasterWorld.

There's a classic post on the forum that's almost ten years old, a little dated in spots, but remarkably prescient overall, that you definitely must read. It's...

Successful Site in 12 Months with Google Alone
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum10003/2010.htm [webmasterworld.com]

Among other things, though, it doesn't discuss how to select your subject matter or decide on target keywords. It also doesn't discuss business model.

Things like adding keywords and such...

You might say that the "and such" is what the forums on WebmasterWorld are all about. ;)

About keywords, since you've asked... you don't really add keywords afterwards. They should be implicit in what you write about and conceptually be part of the page from the start, and that includes the title of the page that targets them. The meta keywords element (aka the meta keywords "tag"), if that's what you were wondering about, hasn't really been used by any of the major engines in quite a few years.

While the essential unit of optimization is the page, with Google's Panda update there are now user satisfaction and quality factors that apply to the entire site... beyond simply page relevance or linking. Internal linking and relationship among pages in a site overall has been important for quite some time.

You should be using a keyword suggestion tool to give you an idea what search phrases to target. I recommend the Google AdWords Suggestion Tool [adwords.google.com...] over other tools available. It's free, and it's got the best data. IMO, it doesn't have the best interface, but the data is what's important here.

On the Google Tool, for SEO, make sure you set your Match Type preferences to "Exact" match, not to "Broad" or "Phrase", when you look for keywords (actually phrases). Ultimately, you'll need to search a lot and literally dissect a great many successful sites to get a sense what works and what doesn't, and why. Note that Google is looking for variety and innovation, so simply reproducing what you see ranking in your field isn't the best approach.

These are the reasons I quit my job....

I'm sorry to say that now is a probably a bad time to be quitting one's job and jumping into this cold. Search has been changing rapidly over the past several years, and it's never been a short term strategy, so success is likely to come slowly. Additionally, the economy is difficult.

It's very important to learn how to use WebmasterWorld site search, and to use it often. Use it before you post a question, both to see what's already available and to help you sharpen up your questions.

Also, in the Google SEO News forum [webmasterworld.com...] ...pinned to the top of the forum's home page... we've got a Hot Topics area that I recommend you read...

Google Hot Topics - FAQs
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/3269983.htm [webmasterworld.com]

My basic tip, particularly in the current climate, is to do what Steve Jobs used to tell the filmmakers at Pixar when they started a new project...

"Make it great."

A site has got to be good enough to bookmark and to share with friends. In the long run, anything less isn't going to cut it.

Hi Stacks,

You should have your website Which represents your theme with home page link. No need to create /index.html page. it creates duplicate content issue. Give proper Meta tag details for everypage. give alt text for images & Anchor text for hyperlinks. Put some fresh and unique content. You should have active links pointing to majore pages of website.