| Introduction | | | | 1. Keywords and Phrases - |
| Search engine optimization (SEO) is an online | | | | To optimize your site, you must strategically select |
| marketing strategy which is used to increase a Web | | | | and place words or phrases into your Web page |
| site's visibility to the millions of people who look for | | | | content and specific HTML tags - the areas from |
| information and various services on the Internet with | | | | which search engines grab words and phrases to build |
| the help of different search engines available on the | | | | their indices. If you want your target audience to find |
| internet. Search engine optimization helps rank your | | | | your site through a search engine, your Web pages |
| company/website among the top search results for a | | | | must contain keywords or keyword phrases that |
| given query/keywords. This can dramatically increase | | | | match the search queries of your target audience. |
| traffic to your Web site and establish a Web | | | | Often, there are multiple words or phrases that |
| presence for your practice. Among other things, SEO | | | | mean the same thing. From an SEO standpoint, it is |
| involves optimizing the page structure and layout of | | | | important to include all the words or phrases your |
| your website and the text that appears on it, as well | | | | target audience may use in their searches. The closer |
| as gaining links to your website from other websites, | | | | the match between your Web site's content's |
| to help make it popular with search engines. Since the | | | | keywords and phrases with those terms, the higher |
| number of Web sites on the Internet increasing at an | | | | you will be ranked in a result set. |
| exponential rate, gaining top positions in search engine | | | | 2. Web Site Structure and Page Layout - |
| rankings allows you to market your company in a | | | | The way you structure your site and design your |
| very powerful and effective way. Page | | | | Web page layout will have a large impact on your |
| RankPageRank is in some ways related to link | | | | site's search engine ranking. This includes how you |
| popularity, but the calculation is dependant on the | | | | serve your Web pages (e.g., as static HTML or |
| quality and strength of the links your site obtained, | | | | XHTML pages or dynamically from a database or |
| not just the number of links. So, first question that | | | | Web script), the directory structure of your site, the |
| comes into your mind is how does one go about | | | | names of your site's directories and individual HTML |
| building and increasing their Page Rank?. It is not as | | | | or XHTML files, and the URLs you choose when |
| difficult as some may think, but surely require some | | | | selecting your domain names. Also, each Web page |
| research and effort. | | | | on your site needs to be optimized individually to |
| Types of Linking: Internal linking : | | | | most effectively present the content it contains to |
| This also plays a factor in the Page Rank of the | | | | the search engines. Thus, the elements of a page's |
| pages within a site. The linking structure within the | | | | layout, including navigation, site maps, graphics and |
| site should follow the themed approach to internal | | | | multimedia elements such as Flash and QuickTime |
| linking, which stresses importance on minimizing linking | | | | movies, need to be placed correctly on every Web |
| between 2nd and 3rd level directories and pages. | | | | page. Using W3C Web standards such as XHTML and |
| Since the internal linking of your site plays a factor, | | | | CSS can allow you to place unique content for a |
| not in increasing PR, but in sharing the PR of the site, | | | | given page above its navigational elements, while at |
| and the dilution of your keyword strength and | | | | the same time reducing the file size of these Web |
| theme, it is important to review the internal linking | | | | pages. Other factors that affect a Web site's ability |
| structure of your site. Then there are modifications | | | | to be successfully indexed are the use (and |
| that could be made to improve the site's internal | | | | sometimes non-use) of Image Maps, Frames, |
| linking. External linking : is the largest factor in | | | | JavaScript and, most importantly, your Web page |
| determining PageRank, and is the place where you | | | | title tags. |
| have the least control. There is no way to force | | | | 3. Web Pages Popularity - |
| another web master to link to your site, especially | | | | Putting up a Web site is not enough to market your |
| when they already have a high PageRank. For this | | | | company competitively on the Internet. For your |
| reason and many more, increasing your PageRank is | | | | target audience to find you, your Web site needs to |
| difficult, but important nonetheless. When contacting | | | | be found easily by search engine spiders/crawlers |
| other websites to link to your site in the attempt to | | | | and then to be ranked well in search engine results |
| build and increase your Page Rank, these web pages | | | | sets for the keywords and phrases you have |
| that you are requesting a link from should be | | | | selected and placed in the content of your Web site. |
| relevant and of the same theme and market of the | | | | Conclusion The process of SEO is not easy to tackle, |
| page that you are requesting they link to. Perform a | | | | largely because so many pieces of a site factor into |
| search for your target keyword in Google, ODP, and | | | | the final results. Promoting a site that writers on the |
| Yahoo to start, and check the top 40 ranking sites. | | | | web are unlikely to link to is as deadly as creating a |
| contact them and request that they link to your site. | | | | fantastic website no one will see. SEO is also a |
| Be prepared for them to ask for a reciprocal link. | | | | long-term process, both in application and results - |
| Your website and pages within your site must meet | | | | those who expect quick rankings after completing a |
| certain criteria for this to work, with one piece being | | | | few suggestions in this guide will be deeply |
| the most important: the site and pages within your | | | | disappointed. Search engines can often be |
| site must be quality content that people will actually | | | | frustratingly slow to respond to improvements that |
| want to link up to. This is one of the basic points of | | | | will eventually garner significant boosts in traffic. To |
| Components: There are three major components of | | | | make your site the best site |
| search engine optimization that you should keep in | | | | 1. Unique Content |
| mind and incorporate into any design, written Web | | | | 2. Search engine friendly layout and structure |
| page content, coded HTML, and programming scripts | | | | 3. Link-Friendly Formatting |
| for your site. | | | | 4. |