- Keep Good Records

Where is your site listed/not listed? When is last time you submitted to Yahoo? Where is majority of your search engine traffic coming from? These are questions you really should know answer to. Refer logs help here, if you don't have access to them get your hosting provider to set them up for you. If they won't - change providers, they're that important. - Check Out Competition

Now, I'm not abdicating stealing another site's title, tags, etc. but you do need to check out sites at top of search engines for your chosen keyword phrases. This can show you not only what they are doing right, but can also give you insight into how search engine works. Make sure you check out top 2 or 3, as examining only first result can sometimes be misleading.

- Make a "SiteMap" Page

One very simple idea is to include a page on your web site that has links to every page on your site. This way you can submit this page to search engines with good spiders to get all of your pages listed without having to submit them all individually. As an added benefit some search engines like Excite seem to favor lists of html links with descriptive titles.

- Use those Alt Tags

At least half of large search engines index Alt tags, if you are not effectively using them you're loosing ground to competition. This does not mean keyword stuffing though - give it a little thought and come up with alt tags that are descriptive as well as effective. One new thing we've been fooling around with is alt tags not only for pictures but also for hyperlinks.

- Make use of Heading Tags

A few of large search engines rank words inside of

Now let's look at pro's and con's of doing it yourself.

Pro's

- You will be saving yourself cash outlay involved in hiring an outside firm (obviously one of biggest benefits). - Everything you do to promote your site is yours. It does not belong to someone else. You have complete control. - Once you learn how search engine optimization works, you can create as many online businesses as you wish and be able to promote all of them without relying on, or paying, a third party. Con's

- An initial learning curve. It will take a while to get a good grasp of what you are doing and to begin to understand game we call search engine optimization. - If your in a competitive market, a good deal of your time could be spent promoting and optimizing your site.

- Your results may never be as good as if you hired a top-notch firm. Well, there you have it. A good number of pro's and con's involved in both avenues. When you get down to it, deciding whether to outsource your optimization needs, or keep it in house, really boils down to what you have more of...time, or money. If you have lots of money but little time, then hire a good firm. If you have lots of time but little funds, then you will be better off doing work yourself.

If you decide to hire an optimization firm, be cautious with who you choose. Ask for testimonials from past clients. Find out if they offer any type of a guarantee. Do some research. Whatever you do, DON'T go on who is cheapest. This is your success we're talking about.

If you decide to do it yourself, there are also some things you should do. The best thing you can do for yourself is to do some research on search engine optimization. Find someone who has been doing it a while and see if you can learn anything from them. Read books on subject (electronic or printed). Visit newsgroups and forums on search engines. If you spend some time learning about how search engines work and what they look for when ranking pages, you will quickly begin to understand what it takes to make a top ranking page.