Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Finding Good Keywords

What is an SEO? SEO stands for search engine optimization which is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines via natural search results for targeted keywords. Of course we all want our site to be the first on Google, Yahoo, or MSN search, because the higher a site ranks the more people will visit it. Although there are complicated tricks that can provide your site with better ranking, there are easier ways of improving your website’s position in search engines such as the keyword you pick for your site.

The keywords you pick for your website are very important and will affect your website’s spot in search engines. When picking keywords stay away from commonly used words or phrases; the trick here is that by using common searches you will be fighting with too many sites for the same words and will lose your chances of improving your ranking. For example the term “diet” has 59,200,000 results. What are the chances of your brand new site reaching to the number one spot? Your chances are almost zero unless you spend thousands of dollars over time using various optimization techniques. So how do you find a good keyword?

Two ways of finding good keywords are “keyword tools” or your search engines. “Keyword tools” are programs that help you find good key words by performing searches that will produce related words and also let you know which keywords to have the most results, which are ultimately the ones to avoid. Another way to find good keywords is using your search engines. Go in a search engine and type in your word; your search results are your competition, the quantity of sites fighting for those same words. When picking keywords start with something different and start small; at first you should opt for the keyword and phrases less used by other sites. Targeting keywords words giving about 500,000 results is a reasonable target.

SEO isn’t easy and can be very tricky. Search engine optimization is like starting a business, you have to start small and then grow. Too often people want to run before they can walk and end up hurting themselves. So if you are starting a site or re-doing your site spend time on your keywords and phrases first. If you already have a site you can still modify your current keywords and phrases; it’s never too late but please remember this is a timely process so don’t expect to be #1 over night even if you spend millions on optimization systems.

Essential SEO Tools - Link Popularity

You have a great website, but it still does not get the traffic you want. Besides spending $$$$$ of dollars with paid search you want to know how to take advantage of the free stuff… natural search.

Having some key information at you disposal will help guide you in your quest for search engine dominance. If you haven’t used the right SEO tools to check your sites’ performance and make the necessary changes you are missing the boat.

Get The Right Link Popularity Tool

One of he most important things you need to use is a tool that measures the Link Popularity of your site. This requirement stems from the simple fact about search engines, they calculate the page ranking for your site based on the number of back-links you have.

What is a back-link? A back-link is a link that points “back” to your site, usually from another site.

If you have a large number of sites that provide a link to your site for a certain keyword, the search engine takes it to mean that your page must have some authoritative content. In such a situation, the page ranking for your site begins to climb.

A Link Popularity tool measures this metric and gives you a clear performance picture of the popularity of your website.

Back-link checking does not end here. You could have sites linking to your home page or they could be linking to a specific page in your site. This is called a deep page link. For obvious reasons, a deep page link is preferable to a mere home page link. Search engines weigh your links accordingly. A back-link checking SEO tool will give you specific information on this so you can create a strategic plan to convert as many of these home page links to deep page links.

Understand The Page-Rank System

As if this was not enough, all search engines employ a page-rank system where they grade websites according to links and other parameters. If your website has a number of back-links from high page-ranked websites, search engines evaluate it as more relevant and give that link a higher rating. So having links from just any site is not always the best case scenario, but having deep page links from high page-ranking sites will give your site more weight with the search engines resulting in more and higher natural rankings.

You may not be able to measure these parameters manually, because you will probably never know which websites provide links to you. However, with the right Link Popularity tool that is built for the job, you will be able to get a good indication of where you stand.

As is evident from the preceding discussion, a good Link Popularity tool will be able to tell you how you stand and how to make an early correction before market forces tell you to. Do remember however, that all Link Popularity tools are only tools. Their application is your responsibility. Your journey begins with producing a great product and bringing it to the market. If you have a great product, smart use of a Link Popularity tool can increase your chances of success.