SEO is basically optimizing your web site by using certain tactics to make the search engines like your site, which result in your site ranking higher and you getting more traffic to your site.   To help get you started on the right path, we have compiled 10 tips that will get you up and running quickly. After you have implemented these tips, you may want to dig further into SEO to make your site a strong search engine contender.

 1. Use The Correct Keywords – The first thing you should turn your attention to is the keywords and keyword phrase which best identifies your site. Be sure to use only the correct keywords associated with your site.

2. Make Proper Use of the Description META Tag – The META Tags are broken down into two sections, the Description and Keywords Tags. To properly use the Description Tag, you should accurately describe your business, or your web page’s purpose.

3. Use the Keyword META Tag Wisely – You should make full use of the Keyword Tag by putting all the keywords and key phrases which are relevant to your site. Be sure not to use keywords that do not pertain to your site, or you could get penalized.  

4. Use H1 and H2 Tags – Some of the search engines love to find the heading tags used, and will reward the site with a higher ranking. The header tags can be used in your site without them seeming too large and out of place by using CSS files to control their size.  

5.  Use Bold Tags on Important Keywords – You can add emphasis to some of your keywords by using the bold tags. You should not over do it however, and only use it on your strongest key phrases within the content body of the page. Remember, use sparingly.

6. Put Target Keywords Within The Body Content – I know it sounds redundant, but some people never use the keywords they want to target within the content of the page.

7. Use Different Title Tags on Each Page of Your Site – All of your website’s pages aren’t going to be the same, so why should the titles? It’s best to give each page it’s own title so the search engines don’t think you have eight or ten pages of the exact same content.

8. Get Good Quality Links Back to Your Site – Hit the search engines and ferret out sites which are complimentary to yours and allow you to post back links.

9. Use Your Keyword Phrases When Creating Back Links – Always use your strongest keyword phrases to make links back to your site. 

10. Submit Your Site to Search Engines – Manually submit your site to the search engines. Currently Google, Yahoo and MSN are the top three search engines, and are the minimum to which you should submit your site.

Search engines are forever changing what they like and what they dislike, so you have to stay up to date on what is working at the present. You can do this by subscribing to several SEO newsletters and frequent sites which are dedicated to SEO.

Websites need traffic – No doubt about that. Whether you share info or sell products, you need visitors to read or buy yours. No traffic equals no visitor No visitor equals no goals reached.

Your visitors can come from many origins – From online and/or off line advertising, buzz or word of mouth, or the search engine. While the first two involve extraordinary content and a certain amount of investment, the last one need extra special care to optimize it – Hence the name, search engine optimization (SEO.)

What is SEO?

According to the knol written by Aaron Wall (which I think the better way to describe what SEO is), SEO is the art and science of publishing and marketing information that ranks well for valuable keywords in search engines, such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing.

Rank well means your website is positioned among the top results in the keyword you are targeting. For example, if you own a website about beagle dogs, your keywords could be beagle, pet, and puppy.

Positioned among the top results mean you reach high, as near as possible to the #1 result – if possible, be the #1 yourself – in the search engine result pages (SERPs). SERPs are also listing only 10 results per page, by default. Here is the fact about SERPs:

If you rank at the top business is good, but if you are on the second or third page you might only get 1% of the search traffic that the top ranked site gets.

If you succeed placing your website on the first page – well-known as the most important (and expensive) real estate in the Internet – You will receive organic traffic (continuous stream of traffic without any of your direct involvement.)

If you would like to learn more about SEO basics, I suggest you to visit Aaron’s knol that contains comprehensive intro to the world of SEO.

You always want to put keywords on the right place for the search engine, but this could turn-off your readers due to the weird wording structure. In the other hand, you want to entice your reader with excellent wording and structures, but this could turn-off search engines due to the excessive wording that lack keywords.

Finding the balance is the key to successful SEO copywriting. A knol written by Glenn Murray offers you tips for a better SEO copywriting. Here is the excerpt:

1. Categorise your pages: Before writing, think about the structure of your site.
2. Find out what keywords your customers are searching for: These are the words you’ll want to use to describe your product or service.
3. Use phrases, not single words: Why? Firstly, there’s too much competition for single keywords. Secondly, research shows that customers are becoming more search-savvy – they’re searching for more and more specific strings.
4. Pick the important keyword phrases: Don’t include every keyword phrase on every page.
5. Be specific: Don’t just say “our computers”. Wherever you would normally say “our computers”, ask yourself if you can get away with saying “our cheap second hand Macs” or “our cheap second hand PCs”.
6. Use keyword phrases in links: Although you shouldn’t focus on every keyword phrase on every page, it’s a good idea to link your pages together with text links.
7. Use keyword phrases in headings: Just as customers rely on headings to scan your site, so to do search engines. This means headings play a big part in how the search engines will categorise your site.
8. Test keyword phrase density: Generally speaking, a density measurement of around 3% is what you’re looking for. Any less, and you’ll probably need to take another pass.

One word of advice: Don’t overdo the SEO in copywriting – you could end up turn-off readers and search engines! Seek professional help that can offer you the balance.