Basic SEO Tips

More and more businesses are realizing the importance of an on-line campaign. The age of the phone book is over and customers are using Google and various social media channels to find products and services. Looking at Search Engine Optimization (SEO) reveals a seemingly endless array of topics ranging from on-page changes to links and Pay Per Click (PPC) options. On top of that misinformation is rampant making it even more difficult to decide on a course of action. Which are really necessary? Here are some great ideas for making the most of your SEO activities.

For one, SEO is a process and committing to it is necessary. You won't see dramatic change overnight or even in several weeks. Optimizing for a competitive term can take months to years. Identify a strategy that works and then set out a plan to implement it. If you're trying to optimize for a small market you may have good success more quickly and easily.

Do research for keywords and key-phrases. Building a site around poorly constructed or poorly researched phrases is a recipe for failure. The first component to a successful SEO campaign is proper research. There are free tools available like Google Keyword Tool or WordTracker that provide some analysis of keywords. The key is look at the volume of each word or phrase comparative to others. The more volume usually means the more difficult the phrase would be to obtain due to competition.

Organic SEO changes to actual copy on your webpage are also easy and can boost your ranks. The right phrases in the right places can mean Google will see you are relevant to the topic searched for. Page titles are probably the most important factor and should be unique to the page you are attempting to market. Meta descriptions on a page are also key and tell the users and the engines more about the content on your page. And finally, you should include your targeted phrases and words on the page itself where relevant.

In addition, properly constructed anchor text if useful to improve your on-line visibility. Try using your keywords as part of any anchored text. Using things like "Home" or "Read More" are meaningless from an SEO perspective. Also, including proper anchor text between your internal pages and to your home page works to help Google better analyze your site.

And, of course, your page content is crucial not only to the engines, but to any readers you attract to your site. Expect that well written, meaningful content creation is easily the best way to convert people shopping to people buying your goods and services. The concept of good content extends to any other marketing you pursue like back-links, etc... Poorly spun article submissions can often hurt your ranks instead of improve them. Concentrate on quality and you will find people will find your site naturally.