Today, the internet is largely responsible for the tremendous success, or absolute failure of a business. It affects companies of all shapes and sizes. If a business aspires to succeed, it must reach out to the millions of people who surf the web daily. As owners realize this fact, they replace traditional advertising methods with the complicated entity of Internet Marketing. Many online advertising techniques exist, and the best campaign will utilize most of them. Still, perhaps the most effective strategy is to try to place at or near the top of major search engine results for relevant keywords, a process known as search engine optimization. Not only does this enable interested users to find the business, but it increases perceived credibility as well. This article provides a basic outline of SEO and explains how individuals or businesses can positively affect their rankings in major search engines.

Step one – Keyword Research:

This is the foundation of any search engine related campaign. An optimizer must decide which keywords he would like to target. Never play it by ear, or assume the public frequently searches for a given term. Proper SEO relies on solid research and an organized approach. Begin by using one of the many keyword tools available, such as the Google AdWords Keyword Tool, to generate a list of applicable terms along with their average search volumes. Next, sort the data by average search rate, and select a number of highly searched, yet relevant terms. These will be your candidates for SEO. The final number of words chosen depends on the size and resources of the business. How much time will be spent on SEO? How quickly must they see results? The more resources and time a business has, the more keywords it may choose to target.

Step two – On-page Optimization:

Once the optimizer chooses a few relevant and frequently searched terms to target, he must incorporate them into his web site design. Professional SEOs have discovered that search engines put more weight on keywords when they appear in certain positions on a page. First, try to include keywords in the domain itself. This is often only an option for fledgling businesses that do not have well established sites. Most established businesses may need to forgo this valuable option. Still, these companies do have control over the extended URLs that mark each page of their site. A clear, well organized, keyword rich URL (beyond the domain) will help search engines determine what the page is about. Any site manager with URLs that contain randomly generated letters or numbers should change that immediately.

Next, add keywords to the title tag of each page, though avoid repeating the same title for multiple pages of a site. Although the title does not appear on the page itself, search engines consider it an accurate description of a site’s content. It will also show up in the search results, influencing whether or not a user decides to visit the site. Similarly, meta descriptions appear on search results, influencing users. However, these descriptions have no SEO placement value. The optimizer should also be sure to include keywords in the body of a page, especially in headings. However, avoid keyword stuffing, as search engines may consider that a sign of spam or manipulation. All of these techniques will help search engines understand what the site is about, and place emphasis on the chosen keywords.

Step three – Off-page Optimization:

Once the search engines know what sites are about, they need to rank them by importance. After all, many sites contain the same keywords, or similar variations. Currently, the importance of a page is largely judged by the number of links around the web that point to that page. Off-page optimization consists of expanding the network of sites which link to the optimized page. SEOs should utilize social media, article marketing, press releases, and other tactics to aid their link building efforts.

Successfully following this outline will greatly benefit a company. Those seriously interested in SEO will find plenty of information around the web about the complexities of search engine rankings. If a business achieves page one results, it will notice a significant increase in traffic and conversions.