Search Engine Optimization - Don't Fear The Search Engines!
by Dan Thies
Not everything that you have been told about search engines is true... If you would
like to increase the amount of traffic flowing to your website, without spending a dime,
I urge you to read this article with an open mind.
Many do-it-yourself webmasters and online entrepreneurs have been led to believe
that search engine optimization is a black art, and that no mere amateur can hope to
compete with the "experts." If you are among them, you're missing out on a great
opportunity to drive free, targeted traffic to your website.
There are only three steps you need to take, if you want to quickly increase your
site's visibility in the search engines. The three steps are: positioning, optimization, and
link building. In this short tutorial, I'll explain what's involved in each one, and show you
just how easy it can be.
Step 1: Positioning (a.k.a. search term selection)
Let's start with a quick definition: "Search terms" are the words and phrases that
people type into search engines. For example, if I go to Google.com and type in
"pokemon cards," that's a search term.
To get traffic from search engines, you need to know what people are searching
for, and who you're competing against. This sounds very basic, but it's important.
Search term selection really boils down to finding a balance between popularity,
targeting, and competition.
Realtors, for example, might be tempted when they discover how many people
search for "real estate," and believe that this is a perfect set of keywords... but they
would be mistaken. That's a very popular search term, but unless you sell real estate all
over the world, it's not specific enough to reach your target audience.
Some folks can come up with good, targeted search terms with nothing more than
common sense, but I prefer to do my homework. The best way to do this on your own
is with the Wordtracker
service, which allows you to find popular search terms, and investigate the competition.
If you aren't interested in doing it yourself, you can hire someone to do the
research for you, and get a report back that tells you which search terms are the most
popular, and which will be the easiest to compete for. I offer keyword reports through
one of my websites www.seoresearchlabs.com,
and you can find any number of competing services by looking up "keyword research" on your
favorite search engine.
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