Search Engine Optimization - SEO Basics

In order to make use of SEO, you need to understand it better. And in order to do that, you need to know a few basic terms commonly used in SEO.

Search engines - a program designed to search for information on the World Wide Web

World Wide Web - an application running on the internet which consists of interconnected documents and other information resources

Internet - a series of interconnected computer networks that contains the World Wide Web

Confusing? To simplify, a group of computers connected to each other comprises a computer network. These computer networks when connected globally, becomes the internet. The World Wide Web on the other hand is the application running on these interconnected computer networks. Contained on this application is a vast resource of documents and information. Because of the huge amount of information contained in the web, search engines were created to make searching and retrieving for information easier.

But how do search engines actually work? How can it retrieve specific information from a resource as vast the World Wide Web, estimated to contain 21.28 billion pages as of this writing?

To understand better, we need to know the following:

Web Crawling - web crawling is done by a computer program called a web crawler which goes through the World Wide Web methodically and automatically. Other names given to web crawlers are: spiders, robots (bots), automatic indexers, ants, and worms. Think of web crawling as systematically reading through everything stored in the web.

Indexing - once a page in the web is crawled by spiders, it will be indexed and data collected and parsed from that page is stored in an index database.

Search Query - this is what users enter into search engines' search box to search for certain information

Search engines typically work in this manner. The World Wide Web is crawled, indexed, and the data collected stored in a database. Then, when users enter a query into the search engine, the engine would search its index for web pages that best matches the search criteria provided by the user. It then provides a listing of these matches, known as the search results. Search results provided contain a short summary of the page, the document's title, and some part of the document's text.

A search engine's reliability and authority depends on its ability to give the user results which is relevant to the user's search or query. A business' online visibility and profitability on the other hand depends on ranking high on search results. SEO works on both ends of the field. Making web pages appear on relevant searches, and making those web pages rank high in search engines. Search engines rank web pages differently, varying from one engine to another. While all search engines' algorithms are kept secret (to curb attempts to manipulate it), there are some standards all search engines stick to when ranking web pages according to its relevance on a given topic, keyword, or search query.

The role of SEO in increasing online profits

As mentioned in the first article, SEO does and is capable of increasing online profits. SEO, when used correctly, can and will bring more traffic to a website. As discussed earlier, SEO is just another form of advertising, albeit one that isn't intrusive, and works in reverse of most targeted advertising. Since SEO is just another form of advertising, it will of course net results that all advertising gives; which is to bring in more customers or potential customers.

While an increase in traffic means the consuming public is now aware of your site's existence, that doesn't automatically translate into immediate profit. Remember that hooking audiences in is just part of the sales process. You still need to convert those visitors into paying customers or consumers of your product or services. However, as a rule of thumb, attracting more visitors to your website will of course mean a larger number of possible customers. And this is exactly the role that SEO performs - to bring more traffic to your site.

Starting SEO from scratch

To start with your website's optimization, you first need to identify the most common keywords being used by searchers to look for products and services related to your business.

For example, as a furniture seller, you will need to identify what keywords searchers use to look for products and services related to furniture. A search in Google will turn up the following keywords most commonly used for searches with the word "furniture."

bedroom furniture, home furniture, modern furniture, office furniture, furniture design wood furniture, indian furniture, ikea.

A search in Yahoo on the other hand will turn up the following keywords:

ashley furniture, furniture stores, value city furniture, office furniture, ikea furniture, bedroom furniture, patio furniture, thomasville furniture, wickes furniture, bassett furniture.

Now, let's say your store's name is Furniture World and your website address: furnitureworld.com

In addition to conducting keyword research for the word "furniture," you will also have to conduct a separate keyword research for the words "furniture world" as well as the derivation furnitureworld. Also, in order to make your website copy rank higher in search engines and also be more readable for visitors, you will want to conduct keyword research on words related or similar to "furniture." A look into a thesaurus will net you these words as synonyms to the word "furniture."

appliance, bed, bookcase, cabinet, chair, chest, couch, counter, cupboard, desk, dresser, equipment, furnishing, sofa, stool, table, wardrobe

So, aside from your website copy containing keywords or key phrases with the word "furniture," you will also need to insert an occasional synonym for furniture. This is to avoid keyword stuffing, which as will be mentioned later on, is heavily frowned upon by most search engine algorithms, and will most likely result in your website getting banned or being stricken from a search engine's index.

Once you have determined which exact keywords and phrases are heavily used for "furniture" searches, you can start altering your website copy so that it contains those keywords or key phrases you have identified.



Ivan Franich is currently participating in a SEO contest MMA Pound for Pound [http://mmapound.org/mma-pound-for-pound/]




Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ivan_Franich

SEO Basics - 3 Fundamentals

In SEO, just as it is in everything else in this world, it's all about the fundamentals. Basketball has its passing, shooting, and dribbling. Dodgeball has its dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge. In search engine optimization, fundamentals form the foundation of every successful campaign.

In addition, being able to stick to the fundamentals is more important in SEO than everywhere else. That is because there can be a lot of distractions in the SEO world. It's hard to keep to SEO principles if there is a new product being launched every minute trying to convince you of a brand new "loophole" or super secret "technique" that can give you results with minimal effort.

Be warned though, techniques are many but principles are few. Whoever sticks to principles can create their own techniques but whoever works on techniques are sure to perish eventually.

Fundamental 1 - Long-Tail Keywords

Short, generic keywords might bring you volumes of traffic but it's the long-tail keywords that bring the sales. That is because searchers who use long-tail keywords are already done with researching and are already in buying mode.

Fundamental 2 - White Hat

Using black hat techniques always work only for the short term. Most of them only work for a few weeks before being discovered and taken down. It's just not worth it. Stick to white hat techniques and enjoy a long-lasting rank in the SERPs.

Fundamental 3 - Consistency

To achieve top rankings in your chosen keyword, you have to consistently build backlinks until you get there. It's better to build a few backlinks consistently over time than to load 1000s of backlinks in one session and never add anything afterwards.



Ace T has been writing articles for nearly 5 years now. Not only does he have a large portfolio of articles concerning a wide variety of topics, you can also check out his latest website on surround sound receivers as well as surround sound subwoofer topics to enhance your home theatre experience.




Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ace_T

SEO Basics For Website Owners - 5 Proven SEO Tips For Traffic Building

The most important SEO tip I can give you based on my experience, as a professional SEO article writer is that the rule for standard original writing applies to creating SEO content as well. This means, concentrate on creating good content.

What makes good content, you may ask?

Well, simply put, content that is useful, fresh, informative and gets you effective SEO results such as new and repeat website traffic that is relevant to your product or service, which helps you achieve your Internet Marketing goals for greater sales conversions and improves your search engine rankings is good content.

As a website owner, you must understand how search engines function in order to run an effective SEO campaign that drives high quality, relevant traffic to your website, improving its performance and building your online reputation.

1. Search engines and editors function in a similar way, in the sense that they appreciate unique and useful information that is accurate. Thus, it is vital for good SEO writers to present website owners with clear SEO content for all their web pages, limiting it to one topic per page and keeping graphics minimal (only for breaking the monotony of too much text) for capturing reader interest. Besides, too many graphics can slow down a web page loading time, leading to adverse SEO impact for website traffic building resulting in the viewer leaving the web page due to extended page load time.

2. Keyword optimization is vital for good SEO writing so website owners need to research their target audience, know the common search terms used to identify their service or products pitched in the website and use these for creating an effective SEO traffic building campaign. Identify your target market; finalize your website's end objective and combine effective SEO tips for achieving goals of more traffic that are relevant to your business. The best keywords for your website's traffic building that must be used in your SEO content are words your audience would typically use for searching information you want to send out, keeping each web page topic specific and optimized around 1 to 3 keywords or key phrases only. Avoid overuse and sprinkle these through the text naturally as you want to avoid 'stuffing.'

3. Use Hyperlinks wisely for an effective SEO campaign. You have to ensure cross link between different web pages on your website so that visitors find navigation easy on your website and can locate related content effortlessly. Remember not to over-use these links but pay attention to them for wherever you can make the most of them for enhancing your website's SEO content.

4. Pay proper attention to correct use of meta tags properly as the title of your web page should have a clear description containing the primary keyword the web page's text should highlight in the SEO content to follow under it. The meta tag can be defined as a keyword phrase which gives an accurate description of your entire web site if not just the web page in question (provided the site focuses on one niche, which is recommended for best SEO results). It provides a concise explanation of the web content. Limit the web page text to 400 words or less integrating top keyword phrases for effective on page SEO and don't forget to also give alternate text attribute for any graphics or photos used on your web page. Since search engine spiders don't read images, this text attribute helps your web page gain visibility for the relevant images described clearly as well.

5. Combine all the above SEO tips for traffic building that gives you long term results using SEO basics that will increase website prominence for you without much expense. To recap:

Web content should be unique.

Naturally integrate well-chosen keywords in website content and the meta tags.

Remember to cross link relevant and interesting web pages.

Research the major search engine guidelines for SEO techniques and follow them

Obtain registration with search engines to always updated on latest SEO trends and tools for traffic building



Hire Deepanjolie Figg, professional Article Writer at http://www.ewriterz.com for enhancing your business presence online.

This Ezine Platinum Article Writer will custom create high quality original articles in your chosen genre for increasing your website traffic!




Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deepanjolie_Figg

Understanding SEO Basics - Picking Keywords

Search engine optimization is the key to achieving high rankings with top search engines. Without good SEO skills, your site simply won't show up near the tops of those rankings and you won't be connected with a good supply of potential customers. Even if you understand what SEO is, you still need to understand a few more important points about how to do search engine optimization effectively.

Choosing Keyword Phrases

Any SEO activities must begin with you selecting specific keyword phrases with which to work. These phrases are important because they will be at the heart of your content. More importantly, these are the words you predict people will enter into search engines in order to find the types of products or services you offer. The good news is you don't have to be psychic to choose these keywords. You'll find several free tools on the Internet and many Internet marketing products come with keyword finding tools.

Here's how it works

Think of a phrase you might use if you were a potential customer for your site. Go to the tool and enter the phrase. Let's say you sell an ebook on dog training so you naturally choose the phrase "dog training" to enter into the keyword tool. Usually, the tool will give you the search engine volume for the phrase you've entered.

That lets you know how frequently people are using the term in their searches. For "dog training," you'll probably good average to high volume results. That means it's a good possibility but most keyword tools also show you how many of your competitors are also using that keyword for their optimization. If that number is very high, your chance of ranking well using that keyword phrase with your SEO is going to be reduced.

The good news is that the keyword tool should also show you a list of alternative keywords that you could use in addition to or instead of the one you initially entered. For example, "best dog training" may still have good search volume but it may not be used by as many competitors. If you optimize for that word, then you stand a better chance of achieving a solid ranking thanks to your SEO. You might also choose a phrase like "pet obedience school" which has almost no use by your competition but does have low search volume. That means some people are searching for the phrase but not many sites have utilized the term. It could be a good bet for decent rankings as well.

Next SEO Steps

You should choose more than one keyword for your efforts. Remember the more words you optimize for the more you increase your chances of scoring high in the rankings for at least one of the terms. Plus, showing up in search engine results for multiple terms means you'll have even greater exposure to potential customers and leads.

After you've chosen several words, you'll need to begin constructing your content around those words. Although a little tricky, SEO isn't as challenging as you might think.



Once you have picked the right keyword, that's half the job done. To continue with SEO click on this link: http://www.goodinternetmoney.com/SEOElite to get a free eBook to learn more.




Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Lim

Web Development Basics Understanding SEO and Its Importance

You can help to improve the ranking of your website in the search engines by using SEO, which stands for search engine optimization. The benefit of having a higher ranking with the top search engines is attracting a lot more targeted traffic to your website. SEO is an essential ingredient in building the popularity, traffic and overall sales of your website. There are two main types of search engine optimization, including on-page SEO and off-page SEO.

* Understanding On-page SEO

Relevant optimization of keywords in your website title, tags and content as well as other aspects of your website is what is known as on-page SEO. One of the most important tasks that must be done in on-page SEO is to optimize the website for relevant keywords. You should try to have a keyword density of at least 3%, yet no more than 6%, as anything under 3% probably will not get picked up by the search engines and more than 6% density will likely be seen as spam, getting your site penalized or blocked by the top engines. Keywords should also be included in your website title as well, placing keywords near the beginning of the title for best results, particularly if your website has a very long title. If possible, have your keywords or company name in your domain name as a way to increase traffic by optimizing the value of your website.

* Understanding Off-page SEO

Your options and opportunities for optimizing your website through the use of off-page SEO techniques are limitless. On-page SEO techniques are fairly limited to just a couple of specific tasks, however off-page SEO, which can help you to build relevant, quality backlinks to your website, has absolutely no limits.

* Blogging

* Niche Forums

* Online Ads

* PPC or Pay Per Click Advertising

* Social Networking

* Article Marketing

While it is in your best interest to utilize each and every one of these methods to build up the amount of quality backlinks to your website, you also need to be ready to commit to being consistent, which can be a lot to handle if you try to do too much, too soon. Consistency and variety of resources is key, particularly for the big engines like Google, which give better results to sites that submit one or two articles, blogs, posts or pages each day, rather than dumping them all in at once. Your start-up goal should be to submit at least one article to a top article directory each day and make one blog post each day. Once it becomes easy for you to meet your daily goal, start laying in a single forum post each day and then brush up on your various campaigns for PPC.

You need to set yourself a goal for how many backlinks you want to create in a day and stick with it - that's the best way to consistently increase the number of off-page SEO campaigns you can successfully master. Your best bet is to commit to a daily, steady stream of quality, relevant content and if you can stick with it, you will be rewarded. Find a pace you can stick with and commit to either daily or weekly submissions for at least 3-6 months before trying something new. You will see a big difference not only in the quantity of traffic that visits your website, but the quality of it as well, if you work to improve and increase both your off-page and on-page SEO.



For more information, check out What is SEO?




Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Staz_Johnson