Saturday, March 7, 2009

3 Key Components of SEO

When getting started with SEO there are many things to consider. The problem with this is information overload. How do you know where to begin? How do you know what really works and what is just plain bad info? I like to stick to the basics and do things the way the search engines want them done. Search engine optimization can be intimidating, but if you have a website then you already have most of the tools you need to get started.
In this article we will discuss 3 key components of search engine optimization that every webmaster can identify with. You do not need to over think seo, just get in there and get it done. As a webmaster you will have no problems with these seo tips as they are very straight forward and easily understood. We are going to discuss basic html, site content, and backlinks.
HTML- This is the backbone of solid SEO. It really surprises me how much I learned about seo from a book I bought to learn HTML. As you build your sites just be sure to remain w3c compliant. That's it. Hard huh? You build your sites compliant anyway, right? Well if not then you are hurting your sites ability to get high search engine rankings. You can check your site for correct HTML by visiting the w3c website. A quick search on Google will get you there.
Site Content- Your sites content is it's soul. You didn't know your site had a soul did you? You need to keep your sites soul pure and clean with quality unique content. That's what the search engines want, trust me. Content is King and all webmasters should know this by now. Please do not soil your sites soul with outdated rehashed content as this will cause the search engines to look the other way.
Backlinks- Backlinks are the blood that flows through your sites veins. Getting links to your site from niche related sites is what your after. A link from a site with a similar theme is considered very valuable to the search engines. This should be considered as a very important part of your search engine optimization plan. You can get quality backlinks by posting comments on blogs related to your niche and emailing other webmasters asking for a link trade.
The most important thing to remember about SEO is K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid). Do not over think it or believe that it is too hard. Trust me, you can do this. Just stick to the basics until you feel more comfortable with your skills. Most importantly please research the SEO tactics you plan to implement to be sure that they are acceptable to the search engines. The last thing you want to do is follow some bad advice and end up being penalized or worse, banned.

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