Search Engine Optimization SEO

Search Engine Optimization. A lot of people are clamoring to know exactly what it is. SEO is the process of enhancing the presence and visibility of a website on search engine listings. Not only is it a process, it is about the tool required to make the enhancement happen. There are two main types of search engine optimization:

*On page Optimization

*Off Page Optimization

When SEO was in its infancy, getting back links to a site was the most important factor. In fact, many books and articles written on the subject will still tell people that getting back links is the only proper way to optimize a website. Back links with proper anchor text, of course.

After search engine optimization has a chance to mature, SEO specialists became aware that using only back links is not at all the best way to optimize a site. In fact, if an SEO is only creating back links, the site is not getting optimized.

In On page site optimization, there are techniques and tools that are related to your own website and in OFF page optimization, there are items which are related to the other websites. In On page the old technique was Meta Tag Optimization, appropriate content, Alt tag optimization, proper navigation for the website and much more activities through which changes were made to the website, itself. In OFF page optimization, only back links were created.

Today, optimization is a little bit different. While using the old techniques are still appropriate, creating a Sitemap can be added to the list. Sitemap is something that came in existence a few years ago.

A Sitemap is a graphical representation of the architecture of a website. There are two kinds of site maps. The first is used to assist visitors to a site to navigate the site and the second is done in XML. XML Sitemaps--usually called Sitemap with a capital 'S'--are used by Goggle to gather information about the site.

Sitemap is especially important if your site:

* Has dynamic content

* Has pages with a lot of flash or AJAX

* Is new and does not have many links

* Has a lot of archived pages that are not linked well, or not at all

The use of Sitemap becomes doubly important if the site has pages that can only be accessed through user entry. Sitemap will assist web crawlers in finding and accessing the pages.

Google has a very nice Sitemap tool that will assist in the creation of Sitemap for a website.

Karen Vertigan Pope writes for Ciniva Systems, an award winning Virginia web design company. Ciniva specializes in web design and SEO. Ms. Vertigan Pope is the President of the SEO Department of Ciniva Systems.

What is SEO?

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the name given to the process of making a website achieve high ranking in search engine queries. The most popular search engine by a long margin (60% of all searches worldwide) is Google, and so most effort is put towards optimizing for that website.

How to implement it

SEO is founded on good web design that consists of accessible and efficient code. Words or phases should be researched using online keyword popularity tools such as Overture and WordTracker to determine which keywords should be used in the text of your website. The ideal scenario is to find a keyword or phrase, or set of keywords or phrases that are frequently searched for, but are not found on many websites. Obviously, very popular searches will have many websites focussed on these keywords.

However, SEO is not only limited to keywords. Perhaps even more important is the PageRank factor. PageRank is a Google-created attribute that reflects a page's importance: the higher the PageRank (out of 10), the greater authority and importance your website has, and normally, this is reflected in your ranking on search engines. How PageRank is determined is a closely guarded secret (by Google), but it an important factor is the number of links from other websites to yours. The greater the number of links from high PageRanked websites, the higher your PageRank will be, and the better you will rank in searches.

The Long Tail

A Long Tail when applied to SEO is a term used to describe niche areas that in total receive greater interest or traffic than mainstream areas. For example, "books" is a very popular search term, whereas "antique art books" is much less popular. However, if you can optimize your website for those search terms, although you will not have as many people searching for the term, you are much more likely to be one of the top results returned. Furthermore, and most importantly, the people that have found your website are much more likely to be interested in your content, than if they were just searching for books. The Long Tail effect enables smaller specialist websites to survive and thrive, and it is important to consider when choosing your keywords.

When should you do SEO?

It is best to start SEO before you write the content of the website. This way you can ensure the keywords you have targeted are well incorporated into your text, in prominent positions, such as page titles, near the top of your page content, in headers, and emphasized in bold or in italics. However, if your website has already been made without considering SEO, you can still go back and make editions to the website content and design if necessary.

What you should not do

With the growing importance of search engines on the Internet as a method of finding information, SEO has become big business. There are now thousands of specialized businesses offering SEO alone, many making bold promises such as a guarantee of a top 10 rank in Google. Approach such offers with care, as you may be paying for a top 10 rank in a search phrase that receives no traffic at all!

You must also be exceptionally careful not to try and trick search engines. There are a huge number of dirty tricks that can be done to try and increase your ranking on searches, such as websites filled with thousands of links linking to yours. It is possible that such schemes may bring you temporary success, but it is almost guaranteed that your trickery will be found out, and then you can expect to be stripped of your rank, and possibly banned for good from the search engines. This is a risk that will not pay off.

Best practice

While SEO is essential to consider when trying to get a top-ranking site, if you have a website filled with quality content, and you are able to promote it so that other websites link to it, this is arguably the most important strategy you can employ. Although assorted SEO strategies and fads come and go, if you are producing good quality text that is useful, you are already giving your website a headstart. "Content is King" is the catchphrase coined to illustrate the importance of this.

Ben Coleman is the CEO and owner of Real Free Websites. He has been designing websites and working on website technologies since 1999. Real Free Websites was created to fill a niche: to offer free or low-cost customized websites and top quality hosting.

Getting into any type of business requires some type of capital. To make money requires money as well but it does not necessarily have to be your money. You can use what most refer to as OPM, other people's money. However, with the versatility the internet offers, there are many ways you can optimize the potential of your site or business in generating traffic. The money generate from that monetized site can be used to fund your business.

While there are ways to jumpstart your traffic flows, many sites don't have the resources that either well established or knowledgeable marketers know to generate more traffic for your site. Well, you don't have to spend a cent; all you need is the proper mindset and a lot of eagerness. You also must have the drive and perseverance work smart and research to generate more traffic for your site. Notice I did not say work hard. My feeling is that if you are passionate about your business, hobby, or whatever, doing what it takes to see it succeed is not considered work in the general meaning of the word.

How sweet it is to have more traffic for your site without spending a single cent. Now it's a sure thing that many sites have articles that offer tips and guidelines in how to generate traffic using only free methods. To be honest, because you can generate traffic for free, it is going to take some time to see the fruits of your labor. Of course your chances are better and almost instant by paying for your advertisements, but at least you get a fighting chance with some of these free methods I'm about to tell you.

Free traffic tip number one: Take advantage of online forums and online communities. The great thing about forums and online communities are that you can target a certain group that fits the certain demographic that you are looking for. You can discuss about lots of things relating to the niche that you represent or are interested in. Another great advantage is that you know what you are getting into and you will be prepared.

With online communities and forums you can build a reputation for your company. Show them what you are made of and wow them with your range of expertise about the subject. Your knowledge display will instantly make you the subject matter expert. You automatically start building a reputation and trust with the people you are interacting with.

Free traffic tip number two: You can also make use of newsletters by providing a catalog of your products and interesting and entertaining articles. If you make it really interesting and entertaining, more people will sign up for your newsletter and recommend it to other people. The more people who signs up for your newsletter, the more people there will be that will go to your site increasing your traffic.

Free traffic tip number three: Link trading with other sites. You don't have to spend a cent. All you have to do is reach an agreement with another webmaster. Both sites can benefit from such an agreement. Every visitor that goes to the linked site could potentially bring traffic to the linking site thereby increasing your traffic. This works well especially when both sites feature the same niche.

Free traffic tip number four: Write articles that entertain or educate people that have interest in your product or niche. Try writing articles that will provide tips and guides to other aficionados. Writing articles that provide good content to others will not only provide readership, but backlinks to your site. If your articles are compelling enough, you will have people wanting to know more and follow your link back to your site. So, include a link or a brief description of your company with the article.

Write good content for your site. Search engines algorithms track down the keywords and keyword phrases your site uses and how they are used. It is not a requirement that content should be posted by a professional writer. You could your own content but it must be of value that is entertaining as well as informational.

All of these methods as well as others can be used to drive more traffic to your site for free. All it takes is a bit of effort and extended man hours. Learn all you can about the methods depicted here and you will soon have a site with a great traffic flow without paying monetarily for it.

This article is going to show you, how to get free traffic to your site with powerful and easy to implement strategies for driving massive amounts of well-targeted traffic to your site. Traffic that will make you money. Getting traffic to your site is critical if you want to make money online. However, the wrong traffic won't produce any sales. You need niche-targeted traffic; people who are highly interested in your product or service. If they aren't, they definitely won't buy what you have to offer. Here three (3) free methods I use.

The first method is article marketing. You've probably heard a lot about this. Everyone seems to be writing articles to drive traffic. Ever wonder why? It's because it works. If done properly article marketing can be one the fastest free ways to drive traffic. How else can you get yourself to the first page of Google in a week? Basically, you write articles about the niche you're in. Then, you distribute the articles to ezines. People read the articles. At the end of the article you're allowed to have an author's box. In this you write up a benefit rich reason for clicking through to your website. Many people will take you up on the benefits you present and click. You now have targeted traffic crawling around your site. The more articles you write the more traffic you'll get. A tip with writing articles, which will get them on the front page of search results, is keyword optimizing the title. For example, if you want to bring people who type in acne treatment to your site, title your article: Ultimate acne treatment: an undiscovered acne treatment that clears zits in no time

My second method is, forum marketing. This is also a good way to drive traffic. Go to forums that directly relate to your niche and register. Most forums allow a personal box that shows up under your posts. It's very similar to the author's box in an article. You use the same strategy of enticing people to click through to your site. Search the forum answering tough questions and providing good answers to peoples' problems. Every post you make is a seed for interested traffic. It's only a matter of time before your enticing message gathers attention.

Third is, blog marketing. This is a little used strategy that provides good results when done properly. Go to blogs related to your market. You can find blogs for your niche by typing in Your Niche then the word blog. Find blogs that have a good readership. Make posts that relate to topic and add value. Near the end of your post, slyly mention that you have a site with significant amounts of information on the subject being discussed and include a back link to your site. Do not be pitchy or hype-filled. You want this to be subtle. Just a small nudge towards your site is all you're looking for. People then click through if their interested. This will also count as a back link to your site which increases search rankings.

Employ all the strategies outlined here on a regular basis and you'll be able to drive lots of targeted traffic, making many sales. What more could you ask for? All the free traffic you want with minimal time and effort. That's the power these strategies will provide you with. Act on what you've learned and you'll see just how easy it is.

Well, the foregoing is simple and easy to do. They may require some of your time, creative thinking, and due diligence. However, when you consistently apply these three (3) ideas to your sites traffic generation program, you should see results.

Walter Scheu Sr. Th. D. writes article reviews for and about products and/or services etc., which may be seen on the internet. He and his bride run a small family farm in North Carolina. This article is about a affiliate marketing and how they did it, and he knows these tips work well! Hopefully you have found this article informative as well as interesting and desire more information. Please click this link: http://the-winning-affiliate-marketer.com