SEO - Science Meets Art

If you’re new to the website game, you might have heard a lot recently about SEO or Search Engine Optimization. In recent years, with the advent of more advanced search engine algorithms, the importance of optimizing key words and articles for search engine inclusion and performance has only grown.

SEO itself is a complicated procedure that requires a certain careful artistic touch along with some simple science. It’s necessary to have a certain amount of keywords in the proper percentages throughout a website, but at the same time, no one wants to read content that is clearly positing towards a keyword and trying to sell itself. Over optimization is for that reason a major problem.

The Search Engines

There are hundreds of search engines. Each of those engines has their own algorithm, but the most important of them are going to be Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The big three are used more often than any other engines, and Google itself has a majority share at this point of all searches, so many people look there for their optimization. Because they rake in over half of all internet searches, if you can reach the top of the Google listings you’re nearly guaranteed a substantial traffic boost.

Choosing Keywords

Optimizing for Google is largely dependent on which keywords you use. Many people hope to get a good ranking for a popular keyword. However, with the millions of websites out there already using those keywords, you’re only wasting your time. Instead, you need to look for specific keywords that match your content, people will search for, and have not been used too many times in the past. There are dozens of research tools available for you to start this process, not the least of which is Google’s own Keywords or Adwords services. The more money a keyword goes for, the more likely it is a very popular keyword. Mostly though, you’ll be doing this through trial and error. Check if a keyword works for you and if it doesn’t try switching it up a bit.

A good starting point for target keywords is 5000-10000 searches per month for a phrase. In this case, you’ll likely run in to much less competition. However, if you do not find success here, aim a little bit lower still.

Utilizing Keywords

Once you’ve settled on good keywords, it’s time to start using them. The first step is to load them into your Meta tags. In the heading of your HTML code for your webpages, there are Meta Descriptions and Tags that search engines use for finding these keywords. By placing your keywords here as well as in your title tags, you can optimize their search position in Google results.

Furthermore, you can put those keywords in your content. This is where the true trickiness of SEO arrives, balancing good frequency with quality content. Ideally, you’ll want keyword frequency to equal around 2-4% in an article. Any more and it’s entirely too obvious, while any less does not have enough impact on search results.

Making money the internet wayThese icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.