There’s a lot of information out there on the Internet about search engine optimization. Some of it is really good but unfortunately much of the information is either totally inaccurate or just plain wrong. I’ve taken the time to sort through much of this information and provide you with the strategies that get actual results.
Having worked directly with hundreds of web sites I have discovered techniques for optimizing web sites that actually work. I often get question about SEO such as, “what is the one technique that works better than all others?” A difficult question to answer because I have found a number of techniques that are truly effective.
The first search engine ranking factor has to do with inbound links. We all know the importance of generating inbound links to your web site or blog. However, these links are only effective if they include your keywords in their anchor text. Links should always include keywords which help search engines identify your website with these links. Make sure to ask link partners to structure their links to your web site properly.
The second most important aspect of search engine factors is to include your keyword or keyword phrase in your title tag. This is important not only for search engines to identify your page but it becomes what is displayed in search engine results lists. In addition to the title tag, make sure to include your keyword and keyword phrases in both the description tag and keywords meta tag.
The third factor of search engine importance is link popularity. How many websites are linking to yours? More importantly, what is the value of those links? This answer is usually a function of Google Page Rank. Page rank is comprised of a large number of factors but essentially provides a weight to the value of each inbound link. The more links you have a greater value pointing to your web site, the higher your link popularity.
The fourth ranking factor to consider is the variety of domains linking to your web site. If you have hundreds of inbound links from a single web site, they carry less weight than only a few inbound links from separate and distinct sites. The key here is that different sites are essentially placing their vote. Focus on diverse link building strategies among many different web sites.
The fifth ranking factor is placing your keywords in your root domain. If you are unable to acquire a domain that has www.yourkeyword.com as the format, don’t despair. You can vary your domain by including words before or after your keyword.
Short of being able to acquire such a domain, place your keywords using a subdomain structure or placing a folder on your root domain. This can have a positive impact on your overall rankings.
All of the top five ranking factors will work for you. I have personally seen them dramatically improve rankings for even the smallest web sites. Make sure that you address each factor. In combination, these factors have the most impact. By addressing the top ranking factors for your web site, you’ll be able to add additional search engine optimization techniques to ensure top placement over the long term..
Michael Fleischner is the Author of SEO Made Simple: Strategies for dominating Google and offers SEO training for small and medium sized businesses. Be sure to get free search engine optimization and Internet marketing support at the Internet marketing forum
