The SEO Ninjas

working online for a while and still feel confused about Search Engine Optimization (there ya go, that’s what SEO is!) this is a must read for you.  This article will explore SEO,  how you can use it appropriately, and what you must do to ensure you don’t get penalized.

(Before I dive right in, Alex Goad’s Conquest Authority is a training program that will go over SEO in full detail, but for now, you can start off here.)

As I stated above, SEO means search engine optimization. The hardest question new internet marketers have is what is a search engine? I know this is extremely basic, but this is where you must start.  Once you learn the absolute basics, when you start to explore more on the topic of SEO, you will have a complete understanding of exactly what it is.

A search engine is a website you go to when you are searching for a particular subject on the internet. An example, Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask, etc. These are all search engines. When you are looking for an answer online, you visit a search engine, put in the information you are looking for, and presto! The search engine “searches” the internet for you and brings up pages of all the websites that are relevant to your query.

You know what a search engine is and you know what SEO is.  Now let me explain to you how you can optimize your site for it.

The number one thing you should do before any optimization, is you must determine the targeted keywords you will use for your site. What I mean by this is finding the search phrases you want your site ranked for with the search engines. An example of this would be:

Let’s say you have a website loaded with fixing computers. People who are looking for information on repairing their computers might search for these phrases: what’s wrong with my computer, what does a blue screen on a computer mean, or where can I get my computer fixed. These keywords would all be considered long tail keywords, and those are what you would want to target, because they are actual terms that people search the search engines for.

Make sure when picking your keywords or key phrases, they are actual phrases that get searched for, if not, you won’t get any traffic to your site. (Another tip is to be sure you pick keywords that don’t have too many websites targeting them. You may still never get traffic if there is too many sites competing.) I highly recommend using a keyword research tool to help you find some great ones. You can use Google’s free keyword tool, or Wordtracker’s free tool if money is short. They are perfect starter tools, and they do the job fantastically. Once you start making some money, I highly recommend you get a paid tool because they are so much more effective, and you can really find some good keywords.

You can read more on keyword research and finding good keywords here.

Okay, so now that you know what keywords you will use, the next step is to be sure your site is optimized for your keywords. How is this done? It’s pretty simple really.

The first rule of thumb is always title your page or post with your keywords. This is known as your title tag. Title tags have a huge influence on the search engines when they visit your site, so whatever your title is, the search engines will consider it a keyword and you want to rank for it. This holds true for your domain name as well. Your page/post title and your website title (domain name) are very big factors in the SEO world.

Once you have bought your domain (the website address), and you have picked your targeted key phrases or words, the next phase is to add content to your website or blog. Your article should be between 400-500 words at least, and make sure you include your targeted keywords or phrases at least 2-3 times in the content. Do NOT go overboard with this, or you can get penalized. Be sure the keyword density is not over 7% (amount of keywords vs. actual words on page). Staying below 6-7% is much better. If you go over this recommended safety net, the search engines may see you as “keyword stuffing”. Keyword stuffing means using your keywords too many times in one page, and your site will pay for it if you do that, I promise.

The longer the page and content, the better chance you will have of being able to get all your keywords in and not make it look like you are keyword stuffing. In other words, keep your posts and pages long, and you can put all your keywords in. Search engines like long text articles and unique content.

Do not worry about getting every keyword phrase in your article multiple times, because the search engines are smart, and if you have a quality site, Google will rank you for keywords you never even thought to rank for. The biggest goal is getting your main phrase in 2-3 times, and the others at least one time.

That’s SEO in a nutshell. Learn as much as you can about the subject, because it really will benefit you in the long run.  To learn SEO takes some patience, but you will be a pro in no time.