SEO Tips for Beginners

If you are new to Internet Marketing, whether you are selling products on EBay, are involved with net work marketing, or are a content producer for Associated Content, you may or may not have heard of Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short. Simply defined, "search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines" (wikipedia.org). You may not want to get involved with it because you are not familiar with it and may think it is too confusing to use for your business. While you have doubts about SEO, it is not hard to learn. Not only that, by following the tips provided, links to your business may show up on the first page of Google when an individual searches for your product or service. In other words, when your links are easily found via a Google search, you will get more traffic to your site.

"A search engine results page (SERP), is the listing of web pages returned by a search engine in response to a keyword query" (wipipedia.org). Go to a search site such as Google or Yahoo and search for sites that advertise home businesses. You will notice that there will be thousands of sites listed. Chances are an individual will browse the first several pages and not bother with the rest. He most likely will find what he is looking for after looking at the top ten or twenty sites.

For you to get listed at the top of the list of the SERP, you must have relevant keywords and key phrases. For example, you are writing an article for AC on how to make home-made beer. You want to get a high amount of readers since you believe that many beer drinkers would love your recipe. You cannot just submit the article with a weak keyword and hope that you will get the traffic that you desire.

If you are currently a content producer for AC, you know that you can add up to five keywords or key phrases per article that you submit. Do not think that typing in five different word will give you traffic. The first thing is to type in phrases that are three or four words long. Rather that typing in "beer" as a keyword, type in "home made beer recipe". Also, read over your article. Do you notice any phrases that are repeating itself several times in the article? If so, use this as a key phrase. Also, have at least one keyword or phrase in your title.

Try to have a unique URL for your Internet business. For example, you may be involved with affiliate marketing through clickbank.com. You make commissions when somebody purchases a product through you URL. However, since there are thousands of people involved with this business, the chances are of an individual finding you site through the search engines are slim to none. If you had a unique URL, your chances of being discovered are increased ten-fold. What you have to do for this and any of the cookie cutter businesses, is to create a website through Tripod.com, for example. You create a URL that gives the searcher an idea of what your site offers. Then you can create a blog and write a review about the products or services the sites are offering. Then you would need to provide a direct link back to your clickbank web site.

Take advantage of back links. These are links on other website that direct you back to your site. Even if an individual does not find your website while doing a search, when you have back links on other sites, the chances of your site getting exposure are increased. There are many website owners that will include your link back to your site. Some site owners may offer this service for free while others may charge a small fee. Some owners may want you to include a back link back to their sites. To find the sites that offer back linking, go to a search engine, such as Google, and see which sites offer similar products or services.

Internal links will help get traffic directed back to your site. For example, you may write several articles for Associated Content that are related to each other. In each article, provide links to the other related ones.

There are many different search engines on the World Wide Web. While most people tend to use Google, Yahoo and Road Runner, the lesser known search engine submission sites can draw traffic also. They may be less complicated to use. Check out each one and get familiar with them. They are not all alike. Therefore, if you decide to go with a specific search engine, read through the tips that are provided.

The number one rule that you have to remember when you are using search engines is to be ethical as possible. If you are writing an article for Associated Content, do not overload it with keywords. A sentence or paragraph that constantly repeats a specific keyword will take away from the quality of the article. You readers will view the article and unprofessionally written and not read future ones. Overloading your articles with keywords (notice this paragraph mentions keywords several times) is known as Keyword Stuffing. While it is fine to have a certain phrase throughout the article, do not overdo it.

While Search Engine Optimization sounds like it can be a pain in the neck, it is important to learn it. This is the only way to increase the traffic to your site and get the exposure you need. It is not a one time thing to do. The marketplace is constantly changing. Consumers change their needs, want and desire more than they change the oil on their automobiles. Therefore, you must review your SEO techniques and see which ones are working and which ones need improvement.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_results_page