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Google’s Search Engine Optimization

Starter Guide

search-engine-optimization-starter-guide

Version 1.1, published 13 November 2008

Welcome to Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide. This document first began as an

effort to help teams within Google, but we thought it’d be just as useful to webmasters that are new to

the topic of search engine optimization and wish to improve their sites’ interaction with both users and

search engines. Although this guide won’t tell you any secrets that’ll automatically rank your site first

for queries in Google (sorry!), following the best practices outlined below will make it easier for search

engines to both crawl and index your content.

Search engine optimization is often about making small modifications to parts of your website. When

viewed individually, these changes might seem like incremental improvements, but when combined

with other optimizations, they could have a noticeable impact on your site’s user experience and

performance in organic search results. You’re likely already familiar with many of the topics in this

guide, because they’re essential ingredients for any webpage, but you may not be making the most

out of them.

Usually I start every year with a very large list of goals broken down into categories like: spiritual, family, business, physical, etc. This year, with premature triplets born 12/3/09 at home, it seems almost crazy to think in longer terms than one day at a time. I find my goals much more basic and down to earth this year. For instance – things like: work hard and do the best with each day I have, daily enjoy and love my family as much as I can, make as many good healthy choices as I can each day. The only time I worry over a scale is when we are putting one of the newborns on it to ensure they are gaining weight and healthy. I guess, in some ways, this year is going to be much more about living in the now versus working towards what will be or could be.

The change in my family life is also having an impact on how I feel about business this year as well. My goal for this year is to keep things much more simple, to simply focus on providing high quality products and services. I feel less pressure to be swamped with upcoming projects and have more of a desire to take a handful of projects at a time, producing a quality final products for our clients much like a custom boat maker carefully crafts the vessels commissioned by his customers. I also want to focus this year on providing the highest quality of support and service as possible to everyone we work with. I really feel our business was and is being built on this type of old fashioned quality service.

So, to everyone that we have had the honor to work for over the years, I want to wish you a wonderful new year and encourage you to take one day at a time and enjoy enjoy each to the fullest.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present. ~Babatunde Olatunji

Joe, Cathy, Caleb, Joshua, Daniel, Gabriel and Josiah Law

About: Take Wing, Alaska provides a structured and supportive framework to assist Alaska Native students from partner school districts to transition successfully into a post-secondary institution (partnering with UAA and Alaska Job Corps). The project recruits students in their sophomore year of high school and will facilitate communication between students, family, and post-secondary institutions. The transition experience includes a campus residence experience in the summer; the selection of a home-community (home base) sponsor to assist the student in completing high school and to build relationships within and between the family and community and institution of choice; a student/mentor campus and class shadowing experience; and a final faculty sponsorship as the student enrolls into the institution.

About: KIYU 97.1 FM/910 AM’s mission is to bind the Western Koyukon Region together through informative, entertaining, cultural and educational programming; uniquely tailored to the region’s present and future needs.

> Launch Site

About: EHS-Alaska, Inc. leads the State of Alaska in the field of hazardous building materials identification and abatement design. Their core services consist of asbestos and hazardous materials surveys and abatement and remediation designs, environmental consulting, and industrial hygiene practices. They provide building owners and their design professionals with identification of hazards, abatement design, management of regulated hazardous materials, and occupational health and safety services. They also provide a complete range of Industrial Hygiene services, including SPCC Plan development and maintenance, Environmental Site Assessments, indoor air quality assessments, mold investigations, ergonomic assessments and workplace training.

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About: The ARC has a full array of services available to people experiencing developmental disability or mental illness across the lifespan from birth through old age. The ARC recognizes each person they serve has specific dreams, ambitions and interests, as well as aptitudes and abilities apart from the disability he/she experiences. Their services are individually tailored to meet the needs and goals of each person they serve.

Founded in 1957 by a group of parents who knew community-based services were better than institutions, The ARC’s goal is to ensure the people they serve have the opportunity to lead rich, full, satisfying lives as valued members of their community.

> Launch Site

About: Zirlott Seafood is a family owned and operated seafood business located on Fowl River in southwest Alabama. Established as Zirlotts Gulf Products in 1987, the company has expanded its focus from solely fresh, head-on shrimp to include frozen/packaged shrimp, fresh picked crabmeat, oysters, and gourmet seafood entrees. From boat captains to deckhands and from “cookers” to “pickers”, everyone at Zirlott Seafood strives to provide quality seafood products.

Zirlott ships wild Gulf Coast shrimp and other delicious seafood coast to coast at affordable prices, direct from the boats that caught it.

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About: Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis, Inc. (AWAIC, Inc.) is dedicated to domestic violence safe shelter and intervention. AWAIC, Inc. values education, advocacy, partnership, sustainability and credibility. Their long range goals include ensuring 100% of the people in the municipality of Anchorage, including children, know about domestic violence and how to get help; a zero turn down of victims in danger who come to the shelter; providing comprehensive emergency response to every occurrence; and providing a comprehensive transition services program including support services, childcare, and vocational education.

ItsNotCool.me focuses on educating young adult and teen women about domestic violence.

> Launch Site