4 Basic Steps of SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a technique of enhancing a website in order to achieve higher search engine placement. SEO works by using widely searched keywords to make your website visible and relevant for both search engines and search engine users. This may sound complicated but actually SEO works in a simple process that involves common sense. There are 4 simple steps that can be followed to improve your search engine rankings and help you gain an initial foothold in the major search engines search results.

Compile a keyword list:

What’s the most frequently search word or topic on your web? That’s the keyword you must targeted as a keyword. Begin with around 10 keywords. Also use combinations of keywords, for example: if your site sells video games and game systems, a good keyword phrase would be: video games and game systems or video game systems. Most searches made by internet users contain keyword phrases instead of just one keyword.

Edit your title, meta description tag & meta keyword tag:

Using keywords that you have just compiled, edit the title, meta description tag and meta keyword tag. The title should contain no more than 10 or 12 words, the description meta tag should contain no more than 150 characters, and the keyword meta tag should contain no more than 200 characters. Insert the keywords into the title starting with your three main keywords, keep in mind the number of words used, try to stay under 10 or 12. Next, edit your meta description tag using the same keywords, location of each word is crucial. Try to keep the title and meta description as similar as possible, not completely duplicated but as close as possible. It might sound a little strange but it works. This will greatly improve your search engine rankings. Stop words are also a factor than can affect rankings. Words such as: the, and, is, in, are, etc. are words that should not be used if at all possible. Removal of stop words is a guarantee of higher search engine placement. The location of your keywords in the title and meta tags will also affect your placement. Also insert all keywords into your webpage moderately.

Use 4 to 6 anchor text links for each keyword:

This step depends on the size of your webpage. Referring back to video games as an example, when editing your page use anchor text such as video games, game systems and so on as links as close to the beginning and end of the page as possible. Keep in mind search engines read a page header first, then starting on the top left reading down the left side, after reaching the bottom of the page the content is read from the center of the page to the bottom. Then the right side of the page is read ending with the footer.

Keyword placement:

It is essential that all of your keywords are at the beginning and the end of your webpage. Keywords need to be placed in the first 50 words of a webpage. Keywords also need to be placed into the last 50 words on the page. Start with the header of your webpage, use keywords there first. Then place keywords on the left side of your page. Try not to repeat keywords, do not stuff images with keywords. One keyword per image. Whenever possible use anchor text instead of images.To place keywords at the end of the page, use keywords in the footer and on the right side of the page. Remember how search engines read a page, header first, then top left reading down, center text reading down, top right reading down and footer last. If these 4 steps are followed exactly you can guarantee yourself excellent search engine placement even #1 on Google.

There are other factors which can improve your search engine rankings such as backlinks. When it comes to linking, reciprocal or one way links both are excellent ways to increase your link popularity. One way links however seem to be the way to go because there is no backlinks required by you. Meaning no link pages to set up. Directory and article submissions are an excellent way to build quality one way links. You do not need thousands of useless links to gain high rankings on the search engines. Only a hand full of high quality, relevant links are needed to give you excellent search engine rankings.