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Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Everybody's talking about it, at least out here on the Internet. Along with the buzz, a lot of myths and bad information are being passed around as well. It gets confusing, doesn't it?
Let's start with a definition: SEO is fine-tuning your Web site for high search engine performance. It's doing everything you can to rank #1 in the search engines - legitimately.
Before your site gets ranked, it needs to be indexed in the search engines' databases. Getting indexed is the very first step. The good news is that this is an automatic, computerized process - you don't have to do a thing. The search engines send out robots, or "spiders," that crawl the Web, read your site's code, process that code, and then deposit the crawl's data into the search engine's database, or index.
MYTH: You can submit your site to thousands of search engines- instantly- using special software.
This is a really bad idea. Automatic submissions may actually get you banned from the search engines.
TIP: If you don't want to wait 1-3 months for the search engines to find you, buy your way in. Use a paid submission service to get indexed within a few days. Here's a list of submission services:
http://www.inktomi.com/products/web_search/resellers.html
Getting into the indexes is a snap. It's getting a high SERP (Search Engine Results Pages, and placement therein) that keeps us up at night.
There are a number of elements that determine a site's SERP: Site title, Meta Tags, text content, file names, navigational structure, inbound links, outbound links, a site's popularity, HTML purity, and coding all contribute to a site's ranking. Each element counts. Some elements count more, and some are given more weight than others.
Complicating matters a bit is the fact that each search engine has its own proprietary algorithm - the mathematical formula that it uses to rank Web sites for particular terms. The good news is that these days, the major engines' algorithms tend to be similar, so that if you're #1 in MSN, for example, it's unlikely that you'd be #2,000 in Google.
MYTH: SEO experts can guarantee high SERPs.
The search engines don't publish their algorithms - we learn from trial and error.
MYTH: You can trick the search engines into giving your site a high ranking.
Tricks may work for a while - but only until the engines adjust their algorithms to catch spammers. Once you're caught, you may be penalized or banned entirely.
TIP: Don't break the rules! Read Google's Webmaster tips:
http://www.google.com/webmasters
or inktomi's
http://support.inktomi.com/Search_Engine/Product_Info/FAQ/searchfaq.html
This all sounds complicated, but it doesn't have to be. Search engines want to return results that are relevant to users' searches. Make your site relevant to searchers. Give them the information that they're looking for, and make it easy to find that information. If you offer well-organized, relevant content, you'll attain high rankings.
Start your optimization efforts by thinking about the phrases people would use to find your product or service. These are your keyword phrases. Use them. A lot. Use those keyword phrases in your pages' titles, in your meta tags, sprinkled throughout your content, and in the names of your internal links.
TIP: Keyword density is overlooked by many in the SEO game. Good keyword density is a legitimate, easy, and powerful SEO technique.
Use Wordtracker to find your best keywords: http://www.wordtracker.com
Another key element in the search game is your site's coding. Make sure that it's clean. Make sure it can be read by any browser out there. Make sure all your links work. Bad HTML and bad coding will confuse both searchers and the spiders.
TIP: Run your site through an HTML validator. This one's free:
http://validator.w3.org
Remember, search engine optimization is a process. It takes time to get indexed and ranked by the search engines, and more time still to make your way to the top of the rankings. Be patient. Study. Learn. You'll be rewarded with free, high-quality traffic.
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