If you want to build a building there are many things that may not be required but are highly recommended.
* Blueprints
* Correct Tools
* Informed Experts
Perhaps the most important tool would be the blueprints as they paint the picture of where you want to end up. The key to understanding search engine optimization is not much different from creating a construction blueprint. You are after all building a domain, it just happens to be a virtual one as it relates to the World Wide Web.
*** Find Your Niche ***
When people visit your website they want to know that you know what you are talking about in a given subject. One of the best ways to convey this is by creating your content around their needs.
Therefore, if you are building a website related to basket weaving it makes no sense to speak of auto mechanics. The converse is equally true.
Bottom Line: FIND YOUR NICHE
*** Long Tail Keywords ***
After choosing your target market or niche it's time to start building content. It's sad to see people going to all the trouble of building their websites without first doing the research. My favorite way of finding the right keywords is a concept called bum marketing. Done right this technique has a direct impact on…
* Your domain name
* Titles of your articles
* Content of your web pages
And that's just the start.
A free service I use which identifies what long tail keyword I should focus on is available at no initial cost from HitTail.com.
*** Bad Bad SEO ***
With the above information in hand many people set out to try to "trick" the search engines. I guess they figure that they need to "out-smart" those cute little search engine spiders in order to succeed on the web.
My thought on the matter is simply that if you want results you can be proud of, then doing proper SEO is not that difficult. Here are some key points.
* 1 or 2 long tail keyword focuses per page
* 300 – 500 words per page
* Use your selected keyword phrase in the title
* Use your selected keyword phrase no more than 2 times within your article
* Include the meta tag information no matter what you hear other people saying
*** Wrap Up ***
Building a high quality house doesn't happen over night. Neither does a high quality website where people are eager to return. However, if done right your success can be phenomenal. Which is why understanding search engine optimization fundamentals is indeed important to your success on the web.
