The Basics of SEO
If you have been working online for a long time are still quite unsure about about the much talked about SEO (search engine optimization) this this article is perfect for you. This article will explore SEO how you can apply it correctly, and what you must do to be sure you don’t get penalized by the search engines.
(First, you may want to take a look here:, Goole Conquest Authority is an online learning course that trains you on SEO in absolute detail, but first, you should start right here.)
As I said above, SEO means search engine optimization. The biggest question new internet marketers wonder is what is a search engine? I know this is extremely basic, but this is where you need to start. Once you learn the very basics, when you start to find out more on the SEO topic, you will have a comprehensive understanding of exactly what it is.
Search engines are the pages you type in when you are trying to find something on the internet. In example, Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask, etc. These are all search engines. When you are looking for an answer on the internet, you go to a search engine, enter in the keywords you are searching for, and there ya go! The search engine “searches” the internet for you and brings up a page of all the sites online that are relevant to your search.
You know what a search engine is and you know what SEO is. Now let me describe to you how you can optimize your site for it.
The most important thing you must do before any optimization, is you must determine the targeted keywords you will use for your site. What I mean by this is finding the terms you want your site ranked for with the search engines. An example of this would be:
You have a website targeted around repairing computers. People who are trying to find information on repairing their computers may search for these keywords: how to fix my computer, what does a blue screen on a computer mean, or fix my computer. These keywords would all be considered long tail keywords, and these are what you would want to target, because they are the actual keyphrases that people search the search engines for.
Make sure when finding your keywords or key phrases, they are real terms that get searched for, otherwise you will get no traffic. (Another tip is to make sure you pick keywords that don’t have a lot websites targeting them. You might not still get visitors if there is too many sites competing.) I highly recommend using a keyword research tool to help you find some excellent ones. You can use Google’s free keyword tool, or Wordtracker’s free tool if money is short. They are great starter tools, and they do the job just fine. Once you start making some money, I highly recommend you get a paid tool because they are so much more effective, and you can really find some good keywords.
Here you can read more about finding good keywords here.
Okay, now you know what keywords you will use, the next step is to make sure your website is optimized for those keywords. How can you do this? It’s really simple, actually.
The number one rule is always title your page or post with your keywords. This is known as your title tag. Title tags have a significant influence on the search engines when they crawl your site, so whatever your title is, the search engines will assume it is a keyword and you want to rank for it. This holds true for your domain name as well. Your page/post title and your website title (domain name) are extremely large factors in the SEO world.
aAfter you have bought your domain (known as the URL), and you have picked your targeted key phrases or words, the next part is to add content to your website or blog. Your article should be between 400-500 words at least, and make sure you include your targeted keywords or phrases at least 2-3 times in the body. Do NOT go overboard with this, or you may get penalized. Make sure the keyword density is not over 7% (amount of keywords vs. actual words on page). Staying below 6-7% is much better. If you go over this recommended safety net, the search engines may see you as “keyword stuffing”. Keyword stuffing means using your keywords over and over again, and your site will pay for it if you do that, I promise.
The more content you have on your page, the better chance you will have of being able to get all your keywords in and not make it look like you are keyword stuffing. In other words, keep your posts and pages long, and you can get all your keywords in. Search engines like long text articles and unique content.
Do not fret about getting every keyword phrase in your article multiple times, because the search engines are smart, and if you have a quality site, Google will rank you for keywords you never even tried to rank for. The highest goal is getting your main phrase in 2-3 times, and the others at least once.
There ya go! That’s SEO in a very brief overview. Find out as much information as you can about the subject, because it really will benefit you in the end. Learning SEO takes some dedication, but you will be a pro in no time.
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Tags: free traffic, learn seo, search engine optimization, search engines, SEO