Introduction to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – How to Rank High on Google

If you are a small to medium size business owner, are very busy running your business, and outsource your website to a local web designer, the concept of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) may be foreign to you. SEO refers to the ways you can make your website rank higher in the results of search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. The algorithms and the processes may vary from one search engine to the next, but you can use some of the same techniques in order to boost your rank. It is a very effective business tool.

While it is not a perfect science, but there are common, easy to follow SEO techniques that will boost the ranking of your site on the most search engines. Basically, your site content’s relevance to a user’s search keywords will generally determine whether your site will appear on search results. Therefore, when you are writing up your site’s content, keep in mind the specific keywords that people may search for, and reflect those keywords on your site.

This does not mean that you should fill your site with over-used keywords. Search engines of today are very smart, and they can detect unusually high keyword concentrations. They may omit sites in their listed results which have the keywords used excessively. So, make sure you include your keywords naturally and only where it is suitable and needed.

Every web page has a has a title. Don’t just put “Home Page” or “Contact Us” in the title. Named it with something that is related to the content of the page.

Linking is also a factor in search ranks for Google. You should join as many sites and online communities and provide links back to your site wherever you can. You should always try to provide useful content to the community as you link back to your own website.

Some sellers also use hidden, transparent text, sometimes by making it the same color as the page background. Nowadays, search engines can detect hidden text, and this may affect your site’s standing negatively. It is generally regarded as a “blackhat” technique now

As you can see, making your site a little bit more search engine friendly and preferred is not all that difficult.

Source by Karen Jane McDonagh