Search engine optimization, SEO for short, is a broad term given to any of the various techniques used by websites to increase their ranking within the search engines. There is no one way of doing it, but it is still used as a general term. The reason SEO is important is that it will help people find your site when they are using search engines to find information, which is relatively often.
The search engines use automated software to “crawl” the web in search of new or updated pages. Once these crawlers get to a site they check for different things. SEO is about making your website attractive to the search engines. Here are a few things you can do to help your site rank higher.
1. Short and long. Keywords come in two varieties: short and long tail. Short keywords are anywhere from one to three words long, while long tail keywords are four or more words long (for the most part). Short keywords are usually harder to rank for because they are the ones people think of first, and therefore generate more search volume. Long tails may not get as many searches, but they also tend to be very specific and have less competition. Using a combination of the two makes the most sense.
2. Think “keyword rich”. You need the crawlers to have a good idea of what keywords you are trying to rank for, so you need to use them liberally. There can be a fine line here, but the goal is to use your keywords as much as you can without the search engines thinking you’re trying to use them too much. You also don’t want to overdo it to the point of confusing your visitors.
3. Content counts. While keywords are of the utmost importance, your content also has to be relevant. Granted, the search engines don’t always get the relevance part of the equation right, but they are getting better at it all the time. If you think about it, the best search engines are the best because they deliver relevant results to their users. Therefore, they are quick to reward those sites they think are the most relevant. Your content needs to be relevant to the keywords you are targeting. This is true in regards to both crawlers and your human visitors.
4. No tricks. The world of SEO is often divided into white hat and black hat. Those who practice black hat SEO techniques try to get around the rules and do things to artificially manipulate their rankings. White hat SEO is playing within the rules. At first glance, it may seem that black hat SEO has the advantage. And the truth is black hatters can rank higher than their white hat counterparts, however, it doesn’t always last. The search engines will remove the black hat sites when they catch them, so it simply isn’t worth the risk.
