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Search engine optimization is important for getting a higher
ranking on search engines – and thus more exposure to
your website.
However, it can be very expensive to engage the services
of search engine optimization specialists to take care of
this for you. In fact, some large companies pay many
thousands of dollars just to get their websites to rank
higher in Google, Yahoo and MSN.
Of course not everyone has this kind of money in their
budget to spend on SEO, and as such most people choose to
do this themselves.
Just be aware that achieving a high ranking is not easy,
but if you have more time than money then naturally this is
the preferred method.
To help you get started, here are 6 things you need to do
to optimize your website to give yourself a fighting chance:
1. The Title Tag:
The title tag is the most powerful on-site search engine
optimization you have, so use it creatively. What you place
in the title tag should include the keywords that you are
trying to optimize your page for.
And most importantly – every single web page should have
its own title tag!
2. The Alt Tag
The Alt tag is the text for an image. When you move your
mouse over an image and it shows some text, you’re seeing
an alt tag.
While you need to put your main keywords in these alt
tags, don’t abuse this technique. If you do, it may be seen
by the spiders as trying to spam the search engines and
this will cause your site to be penalized, which may result
in a drop in your rankings.
3. Your Link Popularity:
Link popularity is one of the most important off-page
search engine optimization technique you can carry out, so
you should place a huge emphasize on this in your overall
strategy.
You need to request links constantly from highly related
website to increase your link popularity – plus you need to
write and submit articles, participate on forums and post
on niche related blogs to obtain as many “one-way” links
pointing to your site as you can.
When your website popularity increases, many people will
want to exchange links with you. Make sure your potential
link partners do not have a website that competes with you,
and never exchange links with link farms (websites with
only links and no content) as this can hurt your rankings.
4. Your Keyword Density:
Keyword density is the number of times your keywords
appear on your page expressed as a percentage to the rest
of the text on the page.
This optimization factor is rather important. If it is too
high, it may be considered as spam by the search engines.
Conversely if it is too low, the search engines won’t
recognize it as a content worthy page.
There is no magic figure when it comes to how many
keywords you should have in each page of your site, but a
common theory is that you should try to have a keyword
density of between 3-5%, while still maintaining a good flow
that makes sense and sounds completely natural to your
visitors.
To improve your keyword density you should use the
appropriate keywords in the title tag, in your the heading
tags, and in bold or italic text in your body.
5. Your Keyword Relevance:
Keyword relevance is where on your page you keywords
appear and this can have a profound affect on your rankings.
You should try to place your main keyword in your
headings, sub-headings using the h1 and h2 tags. Plus in
is also advisable to include your keywords at the beginning
and end of your content, with a natural sprinkling in
between.
Search engine optimization rules can change anytime and
will result in an increase or decrease in your rankings, so
it is recommended that you never solely rely on search
engine optimization as your only method of driving traffic
to your site.
To maintain a steady traffic to your site, you should use
a number of traffic generation methods to ensure your long-
term success – it’s the safest way!
Well, that ought to give you a good start.
Save this to your Website Info and Design Tips folder for future
reference. You don’t have a ‘Website Info and Design Tips’
folder??
Well go ahead and make one then… 
)
Hope these tips help you get more sales.
- Garrett
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