Keywords, meta tag descriptions and top ranking – this optimization tutorial is what it’s all about. I am giving the love away… Can you feel it? Okay, then, let’s get down to work.

I’m sure you have wondered why some pages are ranking higher than others, right? Especially if you’re in this business. I’m also sure you’ve heard and seen 100 ways to get all your pages ranking well, and you’re still wondering why it’s not working for you or why you only see a minimal change in your traffic.

Well, you’re not alone. I’ve been there, seen that and done it. Read on. You’ll see what it takes and then wonder why you didn’t think about it. It’s so obvious it’ll make a grown man cry. Well, maybe not, but you will feel better.

Here are the 10 rules or commandments you should use to SEO your pages for keywords and meta tag descriptions:

Rule #1. Let’s say you already have your page created. Remember, this isn’t a tutorial to build your website. It’s a guide for SEO.

First off, the entire page you’re creating should determine the amount of content. For instance, a landing page (or sales page) should normally hold no more than 1500 – 2000 words. Here, you would describe the advantages of the service you’re providing along with how they are a solution to the consumer. Testimonials are a great additional feature, so place them appropriately. You could go as far as telling a story of how a client had “pain” in their sales effort and how it was solved by using your service. Don’t blabber – get to the point and make it interesting.

Your product page will be different that your sales page. This should be 500 – 700 words. On this page, what you’re trying to accomplish is selling your product. If your user gets to this page, you know they want specifics. The job is convincing the user that your product or service will take the” pain” away.

If you have an article page to match your product or service, don’t worry about length. People are coming to find out information, and now’s your chance to give it to them. Some may argue with this, saying that Internet users have a short attention span, but if the visitor has already looked at your product and is looking for more information, you want them to find it on your site. This way, they can order from you once they find out what they’re looking for.

Rule #2 The keyword your page is based on should match your page name. The search engines will match up your keywords with the page and give the page a higher relevancy spot.

For example: “copywriting”

Your URL and page name might read something like this copywriting.com/copywriters.php

Rule #3 Do not use more than 5 keywords on your page. More specifically, pick a main keyword and then use other keywords to support it. For instance, this page is about SEO; therefore, SEO is the main keyword. However, I might also use optimization, optimizers and search engine optimization as well. All the words are derivatives of the main keyword.

Rule #4 When writing your meta description, remember that users come first. You want to use your main keyword (at least) in the description, but only if it doesn’t compromise the overall read. This is your first handshake with the consumer, so write the description with this in mind.

Rule #5 Your meta description should be no more than 146 characters, counting the spaces. Not words – characters. If you want to write more, that’s fine, but make sure your main message is in those first characters. The rest may be cut off in the search engine listing.

Rule #6 When you are setting up your meta description, do it so it looks like a sentence. Search engines don’t read it like this, but people do. Keep it professional, with proper grammar and punctuation.

Rule #7 Read your content at least 3 times. Check spelling, grammar, placement and paragraph description. Once you’re confident with your page, proofread it again and focus on you keyword placement and repetition. You want your keywords placed in your content sparingly.

As well, read your content aloud. When a person reads their content silently, they may not catch spelling errors or may miss hiccups in the word flow.

Rule #8 Place your meta description in one line in your html code. Do NOT use a hard enter; let it naturally flow. Some search engines will miss the second line. I have seen it happen.

Rule #9 If you choose to put links in your page, try not to use more than 1 link per 100 words. The links can be close together, even right after one another, but keep the links down. For instance, if you have 500 words, use no more than 5 links. (This is only if the links are for SEO purposes, not if they are actually relevant to the page)

Rule #10 Use your primary keyword in the first and last paragraph of your page, as well as the header. The search engines will give more relevance to your page if they find your keywords at the beginning and the end of your page.

Extra Kudos for you –

Get a bookmark widget on your page. This makes it easier for your visitors to bookmark and save your site. In conclusion, use your keywords wisely. Content is king – keywords are just a bonus.

Making use of a splash page
The first page of any web site is the most significant page. That’s number one, and search engines normally run through it. If a person uses the first page to place a beautiful picture then it results in a SEO disaster. Search engines do not consider splash pages including human users; they get annoyed if they have to click again to view the web site content. Avoid splash pages if at all possible. If you MUST have a pretty page, then please stop reading this article.

Placing a text as an image
Web designers want to produce a pretty web page that contains the text and images together so that it appears like a standard web page. That’s called typography, all well and good if you are doing a term paper or designing a logo for a project but when you are doing a web page try to avoid non clickable pictures. I have actually seen Web designers render their whole page as a gif or jpg image. Though it appears good to the viewer, the SEO engine will not locate any searchable text. Another point please, avoid changing web pages vital headlines into images.

Not placing the description tags and title on the pages
Certain web pages display the words “new page” at the top. This occurs when the web site owner forgets to place the title tag on the web page. The SEO engines regard the title tag that is present in the head segment of the page as a very crucial indicator. If a person leaves the title tag out or does not give it any text then guess what so will the search engines. It won’t give this page much significance then that person is wasting an excellent SEO opportunity.

Additional SEO mistakes

1. Placing the same description tags and title on every page
Each web page is unique and has a particular function. A person has to let the SEO engine and the users be aware of this, by changing the description tags and the title to adhere to the content on that specific web page. It is a little difficult to optimize a single page for several varied search terms but it is easy to optimize each of the web site pages for one or two crucial search phrases.

2. Using a brochure site
A person can maintain the owned web site with top position by providing a good amount of high-quality content. The SEO engine will not give importance to pages containing a general description about something bland. A person has to make the owned web site a valuable resource so that SEO engines and site visitors will soon recognize that web site as a reliable source of information. These are only a few SEO common mistakes. There are plenty more which I will discuss in another article.

Now I know every one of us have been caught doing some of the things I have mentioned. I would love to hear from you, the reader. Please let us know what are some of you most recent mistakes.

Whether you are a small business owner or a CEO of a large company you cannot help but wonder about this topic. I have been asked this very same question by both; when is SEO necessary?

This is because most people out there still do not understand nor have the time to inform themselves about the real power that SEO articles and copy carry. There are really two major factors to consider. The first point (and advantage) of these articles is that they are rich in keywords/phrases which are designed to get the attention of the search engines “crawlers” –these are akin to electronic spiders that go searching the entire Internet for the information that you are looking for based upon what you have just typed into the search box.

Secondly the copy should read well, engage the readers and entice them to click on your site. Hopefully and ultimately offering them the solution, the service, or that new magic potion you offer.

In case you are not aware SEO, stands for Search Engine Optimization. In it’s purest form, this style of copywriting is designed to help the search engine “crawlers” find what the reader is looking for based upon how those articles are ranked by the search engines themselves.

So maybe you are wondering how do I write SEO Articles? First you need to know the basics of writing copy. The main thing is to have a goal in mind, an outline if you will that will make the words flow. Then I pick out a keyword or phrase that characterizes your item, product or idea. This can be anything from the name of a specific product or place to something like writing content geared towards the real estate market. The point of the keywords/phrases is the main idea of what the SEO article is all about.

If you are writing articles for someone else, they are likely to give you the necessary keywords. Most will also ask for a certain keyword density. I always advise the client that a 3%-5% keyword density is best. That translates into great copy without stuffing too many keywords. You see there are three forms of keywords. They are:

a. primary

b. secondary

c. tertiary

Lets hypothetically say the client wants the main keyword to be Alcohol Abuse.

I would then break it down like this

a. Primary (main keyword or key phrase given) alcohol abuse
b. Secondary (related topics) alcohol abuse statistics, alcohol abuse effects
c. Tertiary (Variations of keyword or key phrase) alcohol and abuse, abuse of alcohol

Sometimes I get carried away therefore before I regress again you are wondering back to the original question here: when is SEO necessary? Anytime you are on the World Wide Web SEO/SEM and all it’s variations of techniques are necessary.

Is SEO necessary to make your mark in this very competitive marketplace? This is one of those questions that people have been asking for quite a while, and the answer is a resounding YES folks! SEO Articles are meant to draw the attention of not only the search engine crawlers and those readers that you really want to reach.

You’re familiar with the language used: “act now and we’ll send you two pieces of junk you don’t need, but wait there’s more, call in the next ten minutes and we’ll add a third useless item.”

Does any intelligent person really respond to this kind of pitch, and what self-respecting business would actually behave in this manner? The fact is, if you sell something of value at a reasonable price, and you treat your customers with some respect, you will get your share of business.

You may not get all the business, nobody does, but the business you do get, will result in more satisfied customers, more word-of-mouth referrals, and ultimately more sales.

This is why it is so important to stay in touch with your clients and new potential business. Many businesses think that they don’t need to know anything about SEO Articles, but they are very wrong indeed. This kind of thinking is what leads them to ask the title question of when is SEO necessary? All the time, is the answer to that.

The main things to remember are these:
#1 Rules are there for a VERY specific reason. They aren’t arbitrary or misguided.
#2 There is a very definite “line drawn in the sand” as far as what tricks and tactics are not only ethical but also legally and morally right!

That being said, there have been, and always be, those who decide that they are going to do what they want to do, how they want to do it, and so do not really give a darn about Search engine optimization ethics because they consider themselves above the law. Therefore, they don’t bother obeying the rules and guidelines of ethical behavior that have been set down to protect everyone from people who choose to take shortcuts so that they can get where they wish to go in the business world. They are special. And special people require special rules.

For them, there are several different ways that Search engine optimization ethics can be circumvented, ignored or disregarded altogether. They are at best unethical and at worst illegal. But, these people don’t care how many ethics codes, Terms of Service or website rules that they bend or outright break in order to get their articles, blogs and websites listed with the top search engines and/or submitted among the highest in page ranking.

Let me give you a prime example of a blatant violation of Search engine optimization ethics. There have been freelance copywriters who, very intentionally, overstuff their copy/articles with many more keywords than actually need to be in the piece in the first place for the sole purpose of getting those articles listed with the very best of the search engines as quickly as possible and to get a much higher page ranking than the piece actually warrants. There have been a few in the past 5 years that have been caught doing this very thing and they have actually been permanently banned from ever submitting any type of copyrighted material to any of the current search engines available… and to any search engines that come online in the future! Folks, this ranks up there with plagiarism as the worst violations of Search engine optimization ethics that any copywriter can ever think of and/or carry out!

So, basically, let the Golden Rule be your guide if any ethical issue arises: Treat others as you would want to be treated. The best possible thing to do to stay on the correct side of the Search engine optimization ethics line is to remember to use only as many keywords/phrases as are absolutely necessary to get your article or website listed on the current search engines. Period. Why skip-toe across the ethical line when you can easily stand firmly on the right side. If you don’t have to do more than the basic rules, then don’t.

First of all, SEO is short for search engine optimized. What this means is that you use keywords that are the top ranking keywords for your product or service. Google uses these to rank web sites and compares the site in question to other sites that have SEO articles or advertisements on them. They will also rank the clicks to your website as well as the Meta tag descriptions and top ranking.

The W3C is a consortium that has been providing the guidelines since 1994 by which sites should be structured.  This compliance helps to keep your site looking good (no matter what the browser), helps to ensure accessibility, and to make possible different devices accessing your site. This is imperative for your rankings. (Bear in mind that you will need to start using HTML 5. HTML 5 is the fifth revision of the core language of HTML.)

When working with both SEO and W3C, you need to be aware of the terminology and be familiar with it. Here are a few key terms and their definitions.

Metadata content is content that sets up the presentation and the relationship of the document with other documents. Flow content is the elements that are used in the body. Sectioning is the content defining headers, footers and contact information.  Heading is the header of a section of the page. Phrasing is the text of the document. Embedded is content that imports a resource or content into the document. Interactive means just that, Interactive content. Most everything that you will do is classified into the Flow content area. You need to use elements, attributes and attribute values for semantics purposes. What this means as a Professional SEO specialist is that you have to utilize the proper elements and attributes from the specifications.

Now bear in mind that there are arguments that SEO and W3C do not mix. This depends upon your idea of mixing. Most will say that it will help rank your page higher on Google because of less code.   So, yes, it is important on some levels that you are W3C compliant, as it will begin to matter more in the longer the run. However, some have decided that it isn’t, and have discarded it as purely inconsequential. But, there is no one true way when dealing with SEO and W3C.  It is up to the reader to decide whether or not these two forces will ever mix. There are the arguments, also, that this doesn’t matter in relevance when working with validation. Some say that W3C compliance doesn’t work and are content to create their sites the way that they see fit. Some have better luck than others when it comes to validation and SEO and W3C. We shall see.

SEO obsolete?
First, I don’t think that SEO is obsolete. Granted, it is changing form and moving with the trends of the marketplace and the internet (Web 2.0 as prime example), but the traditional methods and practices of SEO –  (what I like to call back room sweat shop) content writing, article submission, web submission, link building – are still as potent and practical as before. They work, and they will continue to work for a long time to come.

As I read recently, they are the foundation and the starting point for any SEM campaign. Regardless of what other tactics are utilized, search engine optimization is of extreme importance. They combine with social media optimization, and social networking to form a power-packed punch that sends your traffic soaring.

In terms of political campaigning, SEO and SEM can be thought of as the TV advertisements, the press releases, the interviews, the visits and the debates – all the traditional forms of campaigning that have worked for so many politicians in the past and present. Yet, there is another type of campaign that most resembles viral marketing: the grassroots, word-of mouth movement.

Viral Marketing Effectiveness
As seen in the last campaign for the Presidency, grass-roots movements can be extremely effective in gaining notoriety, fame and acclaim. Through word-of- mouth and, now, the online social networking, popularity can grow faster than ever before. This is, in essence what viral marketing is. It is the spreading of awareness of a website through referrals and recommendations.

There are many forms of viral promotions to stimulate talk. They include video clips, eBooks, interactive Flash games, text messaging and brandable software, all of which attempt to pique the interest of a consumer and satisfy them in some way, as to bring not only them back but also their friends. Think along the lines of funny videos (all the SNL digital Shorts ) or addicting games (Orbitz).

More Effective than SEO?
Though viral marketing has proven to be effective and looks to continue to be so in the future, it cannot be said to be more effective than SEO. However, it cant be dismissed either. Thus: maybe. If an SEM campaign uses both SEO and viral marketing, then it will decidedly work. The two do not stand in contrast, but can work together. My recommendation, though, is always to start with SEO then add other marketing strategies, including viral

When you start to see your Page Rank fall, what do you need to look at and then what do you need to do to bring you page ranking with the popular search engines? This is a pretty powerful and very useful question which requires a very good and insightful answer, so that you may, with knowledge and guidance, solve this problem and bring your page ranking back up to where it was only a few days to a couple of weeks ago. First, you should look at what you were doing when your page rank was at its highest and how you were writing your web copy (or what your copywriter was creating). Look also at how many links you had in both the articles and your web copy itself. If you had 33 to 35 links on your web page before, and several in your articles, and then you drop the number of links down to say 20 links instead of the original 35 that you had before, you will start to see your Page Rank fall pretty quickly.

No doubt about it, this is not something that you want to see happen! There is another very good reason that you will see your Page Rank fall; and that is because you either do not have nearly enough keywords or key phrases in either your SEO Articles or your website content or in both. Not having enough keywords/phrases in your copy written material is something that really will drop your page ranking faster than a lead balloon! If you need to bring the page ranking up very quickly, then you really need to go back and re-work your web content and make sure that you have more than enough links and keywords/phrases in your web copy and content to help the search engine crawlers to find your SEO Articles, as well as your web page, by the links and the keywords/phrases.

Now that you are aware of the things that can and will make your Page Rank fall, as well as a few good hints about what you need to do to bring your page rank back up to where it previously was, you should be good to go. With this knowledge in mind, you really need to take these hints and tips and put them to work for you to bring your page ranking back up to its previous great ranking. To make sure that you are doing this right, you can always ask for advice from Professional SEO consultants. In conclusion, don’t worry too much about your page rank, as long as you have interesting content, with valuable information let the readers make your site valuable.

The drama is this: W3C is causing Google to change their policy so that a natural search will yield more results than a keyword search. That means, for example, that if you search “dogs, doghouses and dog breeders,” then you will get more results based on those words than if you had used SEO keywords. The results will have all three words or phrases in them, but in a natural form. This is a departure from the current SEO search approach.

The controversy is obvious. What does this mean for SEO? Will everything have to change and will we have to adapt to this new search approach? Can we even adapt? Does Google not like us anymore (thinking of High School again…)? The answers to these questions are actually quite positive regardless of how grim the prospects look. But before tackling those issues, you must first go to the source. This means heading straight to the W3C consortium and hearing it from the horse’s mouth. There you will find out exactly what is going on and exactly what changes will happen and when. If you have questions, you can read all the information from their site and you can always contact them in regards to the new policies and procedures. Hopefully, this should calm your fears and your concerns down a bit.

Now…as for what this all means: the truth of the matter is that, while the former SEO approach delivers some results, a natural search, like the one being implemented, will land more interested customers for the company. The results will bring more people who really want your business, not just some curious surfers who may not truly be interested in what you have for sale. This will not only boost business but also increase the traffic to your site. All this means: added rewards for you. Plus, by using the guidelines issued by W3C, you will have everything at hand to make the changeover easily. This is a win/win.

Understand, then, that change is inevitable, and it isn’t always a bad thing. True, when change occurs, it will be difficult for a little while. But all should/will even out and your business and company will be the better for it. The changes to a natural, organic flow have already been started and there are guidelines already available out there for companies and businesses to start the change over now. There is no need for tears (or punches)…at least not this go-around.

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.

First off, anyone who wants to make a living on the Internet needs to understand that Google treats information like mercy in an Inquisitorial dungeon. In other words, they don’t hand it out if they can at all help it. If you’ve got the free little tool on your browser that allows you to see Page Rank, remember that the Rank in question can be up to three months out of date. Google updates those about every three months, and there is no program known to the Internet community today that can reliably tell you someone’s real, current Page Rank. Page Rank works off an insanely complicated mathematical algorithm that’s based on the idea that any given page has a certain value. By linking to other sites, they transfer some of this value. They keep their own value, but the amount of value they have to give other sites is limited. If you are one of twenty sites linked too off a particular website, in effect you get one-twentieth of that website’s value. Of course, that’s only an approximation. Most people have to attend college for a science degree to really start understanding the core of the algorithm itself.

So, how important is it? That’s the real question, after all. Survey says not important enough to worry over much about, at least not in the beginning. What you really need to worry about first is your traffic. If you’re number one for your chosen keywords in the search engine results pages, Page Rank will come on its own in time as naturally as rain falls. If you provide a quality site, people will naturally link to you as a reference or resource. It’s certainly not worth giving money to worthless link farms that may even bring your Page Rank or worse, your place in the results pages down. The search engines don’t like “link farms” too much, they rightly see these link farms as yet another attempt to manipulate their results. As problematic as it may be, there are no quick fixes in business. Creating a business that will last takes time, effort, persistence and patience in addition to providing a quality product. Do that, become or hire a decent SEO copywriter, and the Page Rank will take care of itself.