Like any theory, there has always been an argument between SEO specialists about what works, what doesn’t, what are “best practices” and what’s black hat. However, what many laymen don’t know is that there are also arguments over whether SEO is a viable, working theory, or crap. If you use the right search terms, you’ll come across a whole bunch of “propaganda”, pushed from both sides of the fence.

For instance, early this year, a gentleman by the name of Eoghan McCabe wrote a blog entitled “SEO is Bullshit”, a short little rant about how he felt. A few weeks later, he clarified in “SEO is Still Bullshit”, suggesting that SEO is nothing but a list of “best practices” for any website design. In other words, if we all built our websites like we’re supposed to in the first place, we’d automatically rise on the search engines, so SEO isn’t needed. It took two months for the furor to die down.

So what’s the truth? IS SEO just a scam? Are we SEO specialists sitting on our butts, pushing one or two buttons and then collecting your money? Oh, contraire, Mr. McCabe.

Website design “best practices” only go so far. You take two websites, A and B, competing for a search term with the same amount of usability, clean design, etc. and add SEO “theory” to site B. Will the search engines register both? Of course, because that’s part of website design and deployment, but they won’t have the same PageRank or search engine ranking. Unless site A is just “so absolutely fabulous” that everyone decides they must link to it, site B will rank higher on the list. That’s not theory, that’s fact.

Website owners expect to be listed on the search engines; they don’t ask, “Are we on the search engines?” They’re interested in placement, so they ask, “Where are we on the search engines?”

This is where we SEO specialists come in and really go to work. Granted, design practices call for some of the same coding that we do. Take headers, for instance. Whether web design or SEO, it’s considered best practice to use a relevant title for the header.

However, keywords are not part of design practices. It’s strictly SEO. So is on-page optimization, link building and various other SEO methods. Sorry, Mr. McCabe, your argument doesn’t hold water.

What a true SEO specialist does points the search engines towards the page so the readers can find it, and makes the page relevant to the user so they stay. Contrary to the opinion of some, SEO does not favor search engines over users; SEO doesn’t play favorites.

We, as SEO specialists, continually walk a fine line for our clients between getting them noticed by the search engines and catch their users’ interests. And it is a fine line. Too many keywords, a missed line on coding, incorrect title tags or bad linking, and the visitor and Google both dismiss the website.

So, for those of you that lean to the dark side, where SEO is crap, keep that in mind next time you do a search. Check out the top websites’ source page and see if they have SEO. You’ll be surprised at the results, and we SEO specialists will be proven “helpful” once again

Step 1: Do a comprehensive keyword analysis. You should have a list of keywords that’s between 20 to 40 words long. These keywords will tell you how people are looking for your topic. You may not use all of them specifically in metatags, at least not at first, but it’s a good idea to have them so you have a good idea of what people are looking for most.

Step 2: Write a decent website in HTML. You should have at least thirty pages to start with before expecting to get visitors in any quantity whatsoever. These thirty pages should be quality information, not a catalog of product descriptions. Provide plenty of background and context on the core subject of your website.

Step 3: Write metatags for each individual page on your website. These metatags should have the four or five keywords that define the page in question, along with an eye-catching title and description. Titles and descriptions don’t show up directly on your page, but they do show up in the search engine results pages. Considering that the results page is where a visitor decides to visit your website or not, the title and description have to get people to want to click.

Step 4: Set up a traffic analytics program on your website. A good analytics program tells you where people are going, what they’re doing, how they’re getting to your site and how long they’re staying. All of this is valuable information when trying to maximize your site’s appeal and ease of use.

Step 5: Submit your site to search engines. This gets your site indexed more quickly by the search engine spiders and gets you quicker results. In order to get maximum results, you may want to create or get an accurate XML sitemap before doing the submissions.

Step 6: Get quality inbound links. You can do this by asking people you know nicely, by participating in communities, or by waiting for the high quality information you’re providing to serve someone else as a reference. This last is, of course, the slowest.

Step 7: Start a blog, and update it religiously. You don’t have to do it every day, but you should at least do it every week. That’s the only way you’ll build a loyal following that looks forward to your new content. Of course, if they’re not on the same server, your blog and your website should be interlinked. If you can’t write yourself, hire a professional SEO copywriter to do your writing.

Step 8: Publish SEO articles and SEO press releases about your core topic that will lure people into your website. The idea is to provide quality, relevant information that will make readers want to know more. Again, these should be high quality, well written and informative articles. They should also lead to specific landing pages, not all to your home page. For example, if you’re providing information about one of your products, the link at the bottom should go to your product page, not your home page. Readers aren’t going to go navigating your site in order to find your product.

Step 9: Get listed in directories that specifically cater to your particular product or service. Some themed directories will let you list for free, some charge a small fee. Be careful to only do this with quality directories. Having a link on a link farm will only get you blasted by the search engines.

Step 10: Maintain your website. Get a program that will check for broken links every so often, and fix them promptly. If you have too many glitches on your server, your visitors will fly away like so many migrating birds.

Step 11: Resubmit your website’s updated sitemap every time you make an addition or move a page. This both allows the search engines to offer up-to-date information to their users, which they like, and you become more trustworthy to your customers because they can see that someone’s home, so to speak.

Step 12: Provide a contact form of some kind on your website so that your customers can talk to you. Don’t do a “squeeze page” where a visitor has to give up an email address before he or she can read the rest of the site, but do provide something through which people can make comments or ask for more information.

When building a web presence, the main consideration is how to bring quality views, known as clicks, to your website. One of the ways to do this is by creating optimized articles using key words and phrases. Why would you want to do this? Because it’s also one of the top ways to get Google Ranking.

Briefly, here’s how it works:
Keyword Research – Keywords are words or phrases that users search for. Though any word or phrase can be used for this purpose, you want to ensure that those you choose would be used in a search. You may want to use professional SEO service providers for this. They will provide you with a Keywords analysis and a competitors analysis. These vary in prices, but are well worth the time and money spent.

The Articles – When writing SEO articles, the main element is how the keywords are used and how often. Those knowledgeable in writing SEO articles recommend that you choose two or three keywords, or one key phrase, and use them in strategic places.

The Finished Product – Once you have your SEO articles, it’s time to do your own internet search. What you’re looking for are places that allow article submission or directory submission.

Article and directory submission sites allow you to submit your article along with a Meta tag description – which, by the way, will also hold your keywords. Once your article is submitted, anyone who types in that search term will now see your article, which has links to your website.

A tip: Ensure that your keywords won’t stand out in the copy. Most Internet users understand they’re being manipulated; they don’t want to see the actual manipulation. This could be detrimental to what you’re trying to achieve – clicks to your website.

Finally, do your research, stay informed, and good luck on your future SEO articles!

The first and most important thing that you need to do is to use main keywords as part of your title tag. You should also utilize your main keywords as part of the description tag of your website. Every page of your website should have a unique keyword and description tag. Moreover, make sure that the description tag describes only that particular web page. You will need to remember all these aspects when writing SEO articles for your website.

While SEO copywriting, you must ensure that you add around five to six keywords that include the main keyword phrase, along with some synonyms of that particular keyword phrase. It is also a prudent idea to stay away from what are known as ‘little’ keywords. Examples of such keywords include words such as “for”, “and”, “or”, etc., which generally should not be included in primary key phrases. You can also think of using the keyword as part of the domain name of your website. Although it is not essential, it is known to be helpful for attracting web traffic.

As often as possible, the page title elements in your website should be approximately three to nine words and to the exact point. This is important since this is what will show up as a link- back to your page in most of the search engine results. Similarly, you should also insure that your Meta description tag consists of thirty words or less. The Meta description would show up in many search engine results, often as a summary of your website. All these key phrase factors play an important role in the on-page optimization process.

Writing SEO articles is an expression of the site’s content in substantive keyword verbiage that draws the reader to the site. These articles also use an effective copy writing technique that encourages the reader to not only stay but also re-visit the site.

Writing SEO articles requires resourceful, imaginative and original copy writing. Positioning and frequency of specific keywords can help boost site response; however, effective SEO copy writing does not stop there. The author must also apply the basics of good research and deliver the site’s material in a clear, concise and compelling manner that makes the reader return for the site’s content.

When writing SEO articles, the author must grasp the reader’s mindset as it applies to the site’s message. It is from within the reader’s mindset that the links between the keywords and the optimal copy writing material reside. If the author knows the product or material, he has the fuel to ignite the connection. The copy writing challenge is writing SEO articles that maintain the integrity of the product and promote the product through the application of the anticipated search entries or keywords.

SEO copy writing should be powerful, even infectious. If the author has performed the research and understands the site’s potential, the keywords become an integral part of the posting. Too many sites and too many articles are written to emphasize keywords at the expense of content. Successful SEO article writing enhances the product and site by utilizing powerful keywords to express the product’s unique qualities through strategic and fluid copy writing techniques.

I recently read another blog by Robert Smith where Keyword strategies were defined in a comprehensive. manner.

You may have come across Key Search Ranking in one of their SEO articles, or in an Internet search for information. If this keeps you wondering, let me introduce you to some factors of Key search ranking. Key search ranking is an important concept in the world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Key search ranking of your website implies the reputation and value that it provides to the user. The appeal of your website is determined by its ranking in the search result of any popular search engine. It’s important that your website appear in the first ten results displayed. For this, your website should have relevant keywords.

Choosing your keywords isn’t as easy as just picking the word you use the most. You want to use keywords with a high rate of search, but a low competition value. In other words, keywords used frequently by searchers, but not by a lot of other websites. The term for this “high rate vs. low competition” formula is called KEI, or “Keyword Effectiveness Index”, and most professional SEO consultants use the KEI formula.

It’s a good idea to have your articles written by a professional SEO copywriter. Professional SEO consultants will guide you through the various options to improve upon the excellence of your website, using various programs and formulas that can help find the most popular search terms. You’ll receive tailor-made solutions for all your SEO Services. If you wish to raise the search ranking of your website, SEO is a great solution.

Furthermore, Professional SEO Consultants help you to increase the visitors to your website, build new customer relations and make you a challenging competitor for others. So go for that Professional SEO Consultant to lead you to a profitable new way of business.

Search-Engine Marketing Power and Achieving the Targets:

It will be extremely advantageous if a person figures out the keywords which customers generally use to seek particular services and products and then present those keywords to several search engines. Duhhh right? Well, when web site visitors type those keywords, the search engine results display the person’s owned web site prominently, thereby resulting in better exposure and sales.

A better alternative compared to organic or free search-engine marketing is search optimization. This definitely enhances the outcome. The more a person bids per keyword the greater will be the search engine guarantee to place the owned web site on the engine result page. But I say don’t get too caught up in getting on top of the search engine. Become vigilant about giving your readers good copy, important information and lots of good advice. They will become loyal to you because they can see that you are not trying to sell a product or service but you want to share your services with them.

I mean really don’t you hate when someone tells you hey I have a great web page with tons of free information only to go there and what do you find? Lots of useless information and lots of crap and you realize you have wasted your time and hopes for another shmuck.

Search engines typically bill on a cost-per-click or a pay-per-click basis. A person is charged only when an Internet visitor clicks on the owned link. The pricing depends on the categories and keywords. However, a person needs to outbid competently the competitors or else all the money is a total waste. The main aim is to attract only those customers who are eager to purchase the owned products and services.

A recent development in search-engine marketing is a novelty called contextual advertising. Content aimed advertising or Relevant paid search. It connects the sponsored link present on the search result page to the web sites themselves. Instead of giving money for the placement on the search result page a person can pay the engines to place the owned web site on those content pages related to the products.

For instance, if a person is looking for the weather condition in Miami Beach the engine will also display a listing for Miami car rentals and hotels. A person can now target the web site visitors the very moment they show interest in knowing more about the service and products that the person is marketing. A shrewd combination of all these search-engine marketing strategies will improve a business in several ways.

Search-engine marketing:

1. Gains business exposure and boosts the brand profile
2. Helps in gaining new customers
3. Increases the traffic that is necessary for building affiliate revenue or advertising
4. Creates leads for following up calls
5. Advertises sales and offers
6. Launches or increases online sales
7. Creates publicity
8. Markets events and off-line goods

These days every business has to offer several varieties of products to customers. Search-engine marketing makes this easy by getting an Individual’s attention from the Internet visitors. Now don’t believe everything you read either. I mean really don’t take what I have to say as the end all. After all I am only human, I try to give you the information the best way I know how. By reading and testing things out. Hey I make mistakes too, the beauty is that I make them before I give you the info. So they have been tried. I offer a full turnkey product. That’s what drives me failure. Read it and weep you sly competitors, feed me, but love me.

Good SEO copywriting is a skill that you effectively learn over time by doing it. Good copywriting needs to combine the 3 elements:

1. Content – Which has value
The content, which is presented to the reader needs to be in such a manner so as to provide the reader an opportunity to clarify, learn and experience the product or service. Some of the key factors in creating valuable content include, providing a high level of detail, birds-eye view, reader perspective, specific calls to action and usability.

2. Content – Readability
The content should first be written with the reader in mind only after that you should rewrite the content for the search engines. You will need to do a constant revision until your content is just right. Here is something to remember when you are going over content. Whose problem are you going to solve with this content? You also need to remember that it doesn’t take a doctorate in English to be able to write for the internet.

3. Content – Format and structure
Today the search engines are getting more intelligent. They rely on a number of factors as below

a. Writing for the reader in mind and not just keyword stuffing. Don’t try to make the reader feel dumb and create further problems for him/her.
b. Make use of bullet point or numbering wherever possible. It is a clean design and breaks up your copy into consumable pieces that makes it easy for the reader to go back and read the points without wasting time.
c. Bold and italics should be used whenever you would like to highlight anything. Search engines also give more weight gauge to bold and italics.
d. Don’t forget to hyperlink internally, you can ensure that the reader will be browsing around your site through the various internal hyperlinks and it will also help the search engines.
e. External hyperlinks provide a third party validation of your sites content. If the external site is into affiliate marketing all the better. Reciprocal linking also has its advantages.
f. Use keyword density but don’t over do it.
g. Make use of examples to beef up your content.
h. Content mass should neither be too less nor too much, it should be concise and give accurate information to the reader. Remember a well crafted story and well chosen detail will make your content easy to read and a certain draw in for people searching for your business or service online.

By taking this information and crafting it into web articles, you would be well on your way to make it big in the world of internet marketing. Always remember that you have to write clearly, cleanly and concisely in order to have a good chance of making any headway into the internet marketing field. Make certain that your keywords really represent your business. Write for the searcher and not the ranking engine. Solve the searchers problem for today. Make your writing stand out with a good story.

Give information that only you know. By doing all these things, there should be no reason for you not to succeed in the world of internet marketing.

The point is even if you have submitted your website check it, a few weeks later. For example my website I have had this puppy up since 1997. I have changed it over the years as my business has changed but the point is the URL has stayed the same. I was playing with one of the SEO tools and realized MSN doesn’t even have my website in their system. So basically a word to the wise, check your submissions and here are a few new links below that can give you some new ideas and some free tools to SEO by yourself.

http://www.rankquest.com/index.html

They have a bit of everything. Most of their stuff is free then again a lot of it isn’t therefore make sure you read thoroughly before you download. What they do have is an SEO Toolbar available for most Web browsers.

http://www.doit.wisc.edu/accessibility/online-course/validation.htm

University of Wisconsin has an amazing site of validation tools and guess what they are all free. Universities you can trust.

http://seocompany.ca/tool/seo-tools.html

Finally a company that knows the value of the words “free.” Here you will find everything from PageRank tools to Keyword data miners to the keyword analysis. The best thing is if you have SEO tools you want to submit you have to pay $5 Sure it’s refundable but they check it out and make sure it works and is a good tool. One last thing I haven’t heard back from any of you on here, Are you guys Shy?? Got to love this site. Check them out and keep me updated on any changes if any apply.

1. Search Engine-Friendly needs to be created
I have said this over and over again therefore pay attention and remember people want to read value not a barrage of useless information. Flash embedded text or the search engines will not read text embedded in your images. Therefore using important keywords is the answer, using hyperlinks in text form and use CSS as your “buttons” or image for your navigation link is the ticket. This will create great anchor text that will result in the search engines finding you easier and faster. Repetition is also another aspect just don’t overdo it. One way to see if your keywords are being crawled is to plug in those words in a search engine and take a look. Is it being crawled?

2. Keywords have to be chosen Wisely
If this is done properly from the beginning then your reaming efforts and moving forward will make your SEO efforts so much more remarkable. Use the Keyword tools I have given you they are free. This will always be a good point of reference. Use phrases sometimes that how people will do a search. Most people out there don’t just use keywords when searching for information. Think about the last time you searched for something. If you are like me you will sue a sentence. For example, when searching for a store to buy your specialty food. You will use things like “ how to make humus, or where can I buy humus home made” Okay so you may not even know what humus is but once again I am going off on a tangent and I am sure you get the drift.

3. Keywords and phrase word variation
is another thing to keep in mind there are tools that can help you with that. It’s called a Wordtracker. Or even a keyword discovery you can find these tools online or you can go to my SEO tools and bookmark them and people USE THEM. You can bring a horse to water but you cannot… well you know the rest.
Have other business link to you

It’s all about relationships. Don’t give up. Keep trying to find relevant sites that will give you a link back. But make sure it pertains to what you are doing. There are a lot of sites out there that will give you a reciprocal link you just have to do your homework and find them. This past weekend I have found several sites where I have added my link and they have reciprocated the link. Just a word of caution make sure they give you a link back and that it’s a two way street. Quality not quantity is the key here. Otherwise your readers will be turned off. Some of the methods are by:

Press releases with relevance to your website
Submission to good directories like Yahoo, Google or as Dave states ALEXA. Clients you have worked with or worked for ask them if they would mind using your link as a potential link back. These are always taken into consideration when you are going to move up the PageRank ladder. Google and other search engines look to see how many links are available out there with your site. Forums, chat spaces, logs that are relevant to what you are doing.

Articles articles and more articles
From Ezine articles, to submitting your articles that pertain to your business will always give you more traffic. Social media, bookmarking, and get viral. Join some of theses neighborhoods from Facebook, to you tube etc. Make sure it is all-relevant to what you are doing.

I hope this has helped and I am looking forward to hearing from you. Keep working at this I know it can be frustrating and it may not give you immediate results, but persistence, determination, and commitment will.