Search engine optimisation or SEO is fast becoming a value added extension of web designing services. A traditional approach to web design was a three step affair - preparation, modelling and implementation. In the current web scenario, there are endless numbers of new web pages added to the search engines' indexes each day. Getting ranked high translates to viewership by a wider audience, more footfalls, and more conversions. SEO, thus forms a new part of the web design process, an underlying layer to be implemented with each step.

Here are four important on-site SEO tips that web designers can use to optimise their web pages.

Tip 1 - The Tags

The TITLE tag remains the most important aspect of onsite SEO and must be used on every page. The META tag, along with its description and robot attributes, can be used in a number of ways to control search engine indexing, provide a little information about the page and add keywords to the page. The IMG ALT tag provides a description of your images and can be optimised as well.

Tip 2 - Linking

Your web pages must be linked internally with text that is keyword driven. Use alternate versions of the keyword for different pages but do not underestimate the importance of a properly internally linked website. Every page must serve as a starting point to traverse the entire website through a set of page links. In addition, each link must have a URL that is a permutation of the keyword description or title of the content on the page.

Tip 3 - Keyword Density

A good thumb rule is to have 8% of the words on a web page as some variation of the keywords that are being targeted. Getting the keyword density right is tricky business, since too much makes the page spam and too little makes it search-engine irrelevant. A content-oriented approach can help dramatically with balancing the density on a web page.

Tip 4 - Text areas

The H1 and H2 text areas are important as they display the page layout - that is, they represent a table of contents to the search engine. They must be keyword terms since they are indicative of the main subject or content. Use keywords in comments if possible. Although this is not proven, SEO experts believe that the HTML comments too contribute to better search engine rankings.