Often, when we speak to new clients, we’re asked for Search Engine placement guarantees. We have to explain to them that Search Engine Optimization is about working smarter with the Search Engines and not by just adding keywords and submitting your site to every Search Engine and directory possible. This article is for website owners who want to separate the hype from the basics. This article is written from years of experience working with (against?)the Google PageRank algorithm †what I’ve found works and what just wastes a lot of time and effort. Rule 1: Relevant Inbound Links. If you’re going to rank highly with Google, you can’t have enough relevant, quality inbound links. I know, you’ve heard it before, but now it has a lot more to do with HOW you obtain inbound links. The links you acquire from other sites are the paths to your website for search engine crawlers and visitors alike. Links that are relevant to your website, and have a high Page Rank themselves, increase your website’s value with Google and links from weak sites detract from that value and credibility. Be selective in reciprocal linking. Both reciprocal and one way links can work, if you are prudent in selecting the links. Be sure to submit your website to the relevant sections in the major directories. The best approach is to build a â€link baiting’ website that attracts links due to the current, interesting information you provide. Active Blogs, Press Releases, and submitting articles to eZines †these all help to attract quality, inbound links to your website. Rule 2: Know Your Competition. "Rank" is the relative position of a website in the Search Engines’ natural results. How competitive is the keyword or search term you’re trying to rank highly for? If there’s little competition, anyone can get you 1st page search results. It’s the competitive search terms that draw large amounts of traffic that are difficult to rank for. How well you do in the search engine results is a function of how much hard work you’ve done in relation to your competition and the keywords and search terms that you’re most likely to rank highly for - AND that get enough traffic to satisfy your business model. Analyze your competition's keywords, links, keyword density, and design - but be sure to never plagiarize †don’t copy your competition, improve upon it! Rule 3: Ranking Highly with the Right Keywords. Ask yourself what keywords and search terms your â€most likely customers’ will use on the major Search Engines. Many businesses make the mistake of simply attempting to increase traffic to their site rather than making their primary goal to attract internet visitors that provide the highest â€clickthrough’ or purchase rates. You can have 10,000 visitors per day, but if they don’t buy or â€clickthrough’ they’re just a statistic. High ranking for the right keywords (keywords used by your target audience) is imperative. Make sure the keywords you choose are attracting the best audience possible †based on your business model, of course. Rule 4: Use a Search Engine Friendly Website Design. A search and visitor friendly design is a must for any successful website. Your website should be compelling enough to encourage repeat visits by potential customers and Search Engine crawlers as well. Use search engine friendly website addresses (URLs) and avoid long URLs with dynamic, query strings. Rule 5: Select Keywords Carefully. You must research your keywords before targeting. There are tools that give you a good idea of a keyword's search potential for example. It is important to know the number of searches for specific keywords in the last month, last 6 months and last year. You should also determine the number of web pages that are targeting the keyword or search term. Start slowly. To determine the keywords with the best ROI, begin with campaigns that focus on keywords with moderate competition, but a high number of searches. Also, make sure you have your best keywords embedded throughout your text on each web page. Don’t overdo it, but try to use them often throughout your text in a natural way. Rule 6: Write Compelling Content. This is pretty obvious †I mean as opposed to writing weak content. Even if your website site is technically sound for the search engine crawlers, it will not succeed unless you also fill your web pages with focused, relevant, and compelling content. Interesting content brings repeat visitors and increases the chance of conversion. Good, sound content holds the reader’s attention and appeals to your target audience. Your web pages should have your desired action embedded in the content that is the focus of the site. You should add new text or change content regularly. It’s important to keep the website fresh, with current information and news. Rule 7: Write Relevant and Original Content. Website content is like a business. Just as your business card markets your services, website content tells search engines the relevance and context of each web page. Resist the temptation to include everything in the Meta content, but make it detailed. Confused? The idea is to include only what is relevant to the page in the Meta Content but to include everything that is relevant. Rule 8: There are No Guarantees. Google alone control its indexing and ranking algorithm. Don’t try to trick Google using â€link farms’ or other useless services. The only way to improve your search engine rank with Google is to play by their rules. And their rules are pretty simple: establish relevant inbound links and focus your website content on the services you provide. Web content has to be written so that it’s compelling for website visitors and for Search Engine crawlers as well. Don’t fall for the â€1st Page Rankings on Google in 10 days’ offers. The just use Adwords, PPC, or SEO for obscure search terms no one uses. With Google, there really are no short cuts. Top ranking in natural listings with Google will take time †depending upon the competitiveness of the search term, of course. Hard work is imperative especially in developing the content of your website and the inbound links required to earn top rankings with Google. Rule 9: Consult the Experts. If you have the competence, there are two ways to learn - learning by trial and error or learning from others' experience. If you have the time and can wait for the online dollars, it’s possible to do it yourself. If you want to get started now, save time and money - consult the experts. by Scott Porter for MarketBuilders www.MarketBuilders.TV
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