SEO Basics for Beginners

Site SEO Help

Search Engine Optimization can be confusing, frustrating, and downright annoying. But, it can also be fun. When done properly, SEO will increase the amount of relevant traffic to your website, and when you see those numbers climbing, it is exciting! More visitors means more popularity, and more popularity for your site is what you want. SEO in its most basic form doesn't need to be intimidating - it simply entails making your site as easily usable and accessible as possible.

There are many ways and many different views on just what SEO is and how SEO works, but one thing is certain: If you want Search Engine Results, you'll need site SEO help.

Basic SEO starts with a solid idea - if people don't search for something, they won't find it! The topic of your site is VERY important. This is where keyword research comes in - knowing what people are searching for and how often they do. Specificity is key. You need to offer something not many others do - then do it better.

Building an SEO friendly website is next. Site's that use mostly Java and Flash, without proper HTML tagging and "plain text" readability will have a hard time being indexed in the search engines. Search engines can't read Java or Flash content, and they base their findings mostly on content. HTML and PHP are preferred, at least until your site has been picked up and has a loyal following. Only then should you think about updating the site with some Flash or Java (note some, not tons).

Having the site hosted on a reliable server in your demographic area is important. Nothing will stop people from visiting your site more that getting a "Page cannot be displayed" sign. That person will be turned away immediately. First impressions are important to any website.

Once the site is built (or built for you) and hosted, you need to get the search engines' attention. Getting backlinks from other, relevant sites will do the most good. Backlinks are one-way links, from some other site to yours. This is called "Link Popularity" and is very important to raising your search engine rankings. Directory submissions help as well, but you must make sure you are using a service that provides "manual" submissions - automatic submitters (most free website submission services) will often place your website address in a directory category that is not relevant to your site, which can lead to lower SERP (Search Engine Result Page) rankings. Many paid submittal services offer manual inclusion, usually for a small fee - and they are well worth it.

Advertising your site is important as well, especially if it is to be a monetized site. If your site is a business, targeted traffic makes all the difference. There are many programs that offer CPC Advertising (Cost Per Click) - you pay for "sponsored" listings in Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, MSN, etc.... The best part is that you only pay if someone visits your site. The worst part is knowing that many of the most popular keywords are expensive - yet another time where specificity is key. Advertising a monetized site should also include traditional methods, i.e. business cards, flyers, anything you can hand to someone with you website address on it.

There are many things you can do easily to increase your websites SEO, and most of them are simple, no cost procedures. For more information, help, tips, and tricks, please visit www.SiteSeoHelp.com