Search Engine Optimization Guide

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 133 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #718 in SEO, #40,316 overall

The Basics Of Search Engine Optimization

Anyone who owns a website and is looking to unlock their site's revenue potential is going to be interested in something referred to as SEO or Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a process of making a website search engine friendly. The end result is that the website will show up in search engines for search terms related to the content of that site.


The whole process of optimizing a site for specific searches involves various things. Certain changes must be made to page content and site layout  to make it search engine friendly. Other steps must be taken to help the site to be indexed in the search engines. These things will be discussed briefly in this lens. To learn more about SEO please visit the A2Z SEO Strategy Guide.

Visit my other lens to learn more about the best SEO techniques.



If you like this lens don't forget to give it a rating out of 5 stars and add it to your favorites.

The Best SEO Techniques Ever 

Who uses the best SEO techniques ever?

The mission of SEO.com is to give businesses of all sizes the opportunity to harness the power of search engines as a marketing medium. When properly utilized, search engine optimization gives small businesses an opportunity to compete at the same level as larger corporations. SEO.com will get your company in front of prospective customers at the precise moment when they are looking for your products or services.
Best SEO Techniques Ever
SEO.com uses only the best techniques to provide our clients top search engine placement for the most relevant search terms. SEO Specialists at SEO.com use the best SEO techniques ever!

Free SEO Proposal From SEO.com 

Request a Free SEO Proposal and Ranking Report from SEO.com

Looking for search engine optimization services? Want to know how your site is ranking and how your rankings can be improved? SEO.com offers free Ranking reports and SEO service proposals. Fill out the form to request yours today! SEO.com is an SEO company that can help you reach your marketing goals.
Free SEO Proposal From SEO.com
Fill out the form and a search engine marketing expert will perform an initial analysis of your website and contact you regarding a Search Engine Optimization proposal.

Related Links 

Domain Names and SEO
Learn about getting most of your site and the effect a great domain name can have on search engine rankings.
Search Engine Optimization Tutorial
Learn more about seo from my seo tutorial.
Best SEO Techniques
Learn what the best SEO techniques are.
SEO Forums at SEO.com
Discuss the various techniques of search engine optimization at the SEO.com search engine optimization forums.
Learn SEO from the Pros
If you want to learn about SEO the best place to go is search engine optimization forums.
The Best SEO Forums Ever
The SEO forums at SEO.com are a place to keep updated on the latest trends in the search engine optimization industry.

Get Targeted Traffic 

Diving Targeted Traffic Through SEO

Why is SEO needed? SEO is the process of optimizing pages of a website for targeted search terms. This process allows for a website to show up in search engines for these targeted search terms. The end result is driving targeted traffic to the website as people searching for those targeted search terms are able to find the optimized page in the search engine result pages.
Drive targeted traffic to your site with SEO.com!
SEO.com is recognized as a world leader in the art and science of search engine optimization by Fortune 500 companies, emerging Internet entities, small businesses, and professional firms.

SEO Services 

Hire A Firm Or Do It Yourself?

Before discussing the basics of search engine optimization I am going to mention a decision that every website owner is going to have to make regarding SEO. That would be the decision to either hire an SEO firm or learn SEO and do it yourself. There are pros and cons to both choices.

Learning SEO yourself and doing it on your own can save the expense of hiring a professional. However SEO is not something that can be learned over night. Search engines are constantly updating and SEO professionals are constantly watching trends, reading blogs and communicating in forums to keep up with changes. By doing it on ones own, money can be saved but much more time has to be invested and the results do not usually come as fast.

Hiring a professional will ensure that the optimization of the site is done by someone who is experienced and will be able to bring results in a relatively short time. Hiring a firm will not be cheap. Reputable SEO firms will cost money to employ their services. In the end the money invested is always well spent with a reputable SEO firm.

Get a free SEO quote from SEO.com.

Recent Blog Posts From SEO.com 

Read All the Latest Stories on the SEO.com Blog

Loading Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

Website Optimization 

Optimizing For Relevant Search Terms

The first part of SEO is optimizing for relevant search terms. Showing for search terms in search engines is not going to matter much if the searches are not relevant. Research must be done to find the best relevant terms to optimize the site for.

Once those terms have been researched they will then need to be placed in various locations on the pages of the website. The terms should be found in The page title (title tag), meta description (meta tag), page headings (h tags), in the body content and in the anchor text of text links that point to the page being optimized.

Other site optimization involves making sure that the site navigation is SEO friendly and all pages can be indexed by the search engines. This often involves the creation of a site map that is usually linked to from the index page of the site. The site map will contain a list of text links pointing to each page of the site.

Matt Cutts Search Blog 

Loading Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

Link Popularity 

Getting Inbound Links To Build Link Popularity

The part of SEO that doesn't effect site content or site layout is that of building link popularity. A big part of ranking in search engines is inbound links. Links pointing to your site will help search engine bots find and crawl the site. This helps to get the site indexed and then it can be ranked based on the search engine algorithm. The anchor text of the link that points to your site tells the bots that those terms are relevant to your site.

Inbound links should be from sites with content that is relevant to yours. Good places to get links are directories, articles, press releases and through link exchanges with other sites that have relevant content.

Contrary to popular belief, Google has not totally abolished the value of directory links. Directories hold the same value today as they did in the past. Having said that, a person should still look for quality when submitting sites to directories. Look for a unique clean layout and unique content. Look at the back links of the directory to see if it is being actively promoted. Those are the things that will tell you that it is a quality directory and you should list your sites in it.

The A2Z Internet Directory at www.a2zmoz.com is a personal project of mine. It is a hand coded, SEO friendly directory that offers additional deep links for every listing. Since it was hand coded by me it offers a unique look and feel as well as 100% unique content. If you have not submitted your site, submit to the A2Z Internet Directory today!

I highly recommend submitting your site to dmoz.org and for a small submission fee, submit to Directory At V7N as well as Site Sift Directory

Find more great tips on link building at the link kitchen.

Get Quality Back Links

Quality Links To Your Site: Get Top Search Engine Rankings By Automatically Increasing Your Web Site's Link Popularity With Quality Back Links.

Yahoo Search Blog 

Loading Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

The Best Book for Google Analytics 

Google Analytics 2.0

Google Analytics 2.0

by: Jerri Ledford, Mary E. Tyler

Amazon Price: $19.79 (as of 07/04/2009)Buy Now
List Price: $29.99

This book contains valuable information to help anyone get the most out of Google Analytics. Get a copy for your personal library today!

Usually ships in 24 hours

Maximize Your Adwords Campaign 

Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords: How to Access 100 Million People in 10 Minutes

Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords: How to Access 100 Million People in 10 Minutes

by: Perry Marshall, Bryan Todd

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 07/04/2009)Buy Now
List Price: $24.95

Learn how to maximize your Google Adwords campaign and start getting the most for your money. Ad this book to your personal library today!

Usually ships in 24 hours

Get Indexed in Google 

Get a Site Indexed in Google in 1 Week

To get a site indexed in Google you don't need to submit the site to Google. Submitting sites to search engines is a thing of the past. Google now offers a service where you can submit an XML sitemap that will give Google a list of the URLs of the site that should be crawled. Simply create an XML sitemap and then submit it to Google through a Google Webmaster Tools account.

Webmaster Tools 

Learn More About Your Site With Google Webmaster Tools

Google Webmaster Tools is a feature that give webmasters the ability to see how Google crawls and indexes their site and learn specific details about their site.

Part of Google webmaster tools is the option to submit a Google sitemap to tell Google more about the site and get it better indexed.
Google Webmaster Tools
The first step to increasing your site's visibility on Google is learning how the Googlebot crawls and indexes your site.
Create an XML Sitemap
A sitemap is a way of organizing a website, identifying the URLs and the data under each section. Previously, the sitemaps were primarily geared for the users of the website. However, Google's XML format was designed for the search engines, allowing them to find the data faster and more efficiently.

Are you using Google Analytics? 

Monitor Your Site Traffic With Google Analytics

So you have optimized your site and are getting some good inbound links. You now want to see the results of your work. There are several different programs to monitor site traffic with but one I recommend is Google Analytics. You just create an account, then add some code to the pages of your site and you will be able to see lots of different information about who is visiting your site. There also the option to set up goals and conversion tracking. Get registered with Google Analytics today!

The Most Complete Book on SEO 

SEO: Search Engine Optimization Bible

SEO: Search Engine Optimization Bible

by: Jerri Ledford

Amazon Price: $29.19 (as of 07/04/2009)Buy Now
List Price: $39.99

Teach yourself SEO with this book! It is the most complete and most up-to-date book on search engine optimization. Anyone who is just starting SEO or anyone with years of experience will benefit from the information in this book. Buy this book for your personal library today!

Usually ships in 24 hours

How Well Optimized Are Your Landing Pages? 

Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions

Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions

by: Tim Ash

Amazon Price: $18.89 (as of 07/04/2009)Buy Now
List Price: $29.99

This book will guide you through the process of creating well optimized landing pages. With landing pages that are optimized you will unlock the revenue potential of your Adwords campaign. Order this book for your personal library today!

Usually ships in 24 hours

Matt Cutts on YouTube 


Matt Cutts Discusses Snippets

Runtime: 8:19
70287 views
10 Comments:


Matt Cutts Discusses the Importance of alt Tags

Runtime: 3:10
59872 views
10 Comments:


Matt Cutts Discusses Webmaster Tools

Runtime: 12:12
75802 views
10 Comments:

powered by YouTube

Is Google The Best? 

Join the debate and let us know why you do think or why you don't think Google is the best search engine. I have stated my opinion now share yours.

Share your thoughts about the best search engine.

Black Hat SEO 

What is Black Hat SEO?

When referring to SEO you may see a term called "Black Hat". Black Hat SEO is the process of using certain optimization strategies that will bring high rankings but are against search engine policies. These methods will end up getting a site quickly banned from search indexes. Below are links to Google and Yahoo search policies.
Google webmaster Guidelines
Following these guidelines will help Google find, index, and rank your site.
Yahoo Search Content Quality Guidelines
Yahoo! Search Content Quality Guidelines are designed to ensure that poor-quality pages do not degrade the user experience in any way.

My Squidoo Lenses 

Be Sure to Visit my Other Lenses

featured lens Domain Names and SEO

A domain name can have a positive effect on how a site ranks in the search engines. A domain name that contains targeted search terms can help a site to rank better for those terms. This is where getting a good domain name comes into play for SEO str...

featured lens SEO.com: The Best Seo Techniques Ever

While working full time as an SEO specialist for an SEO company I use current seo techniques that are proven to bring results. SEO.com uses only the best techniques to provide our clients top search engine placement for the most relevant search terms...

featured lens Search Engine Optimization Forums at SEO.com

Perhaps you have visited my other Lenses on SEO, or maybe you haven't. If you want to learn how to promote your website using search engine optimization then one of the best places you can go to learn SEO is an SEO forum. Search Engine Optimization F...

featured lens The SEO Forums At SEO.com: The Best SEO Forums Ever

The SEO forums at SEO.com offer webmasters a central place on the web to meet and communicate with other webmasters. The forums are staffed by the SEO specialists at SEO.com. The SEO forums are a place to keep updated on the latest trends in the sear...

Don't Put Your Site Rankings in Jeopardy 

Use Good SEO Techniques to Ensure Your Site Ranks Well

Weird Al Yankovic - I Lost On Jeopardy

weird al yankovic jeopardy

Runtime: 3:47
1215249 views
10 Comments:

powered by YouTube

Reader Feedback 

Give Me Your Feedback.

Please post your comments and any feedback about this lens.
Note: All HTML will be stripped out of comments.

Lensmaster

thewishpearl wrote...

Very interesting lens. I have learned a lot,will apply these principles to my lenses as well as to my website

ReplyPosted July 01, 2009

Lensmaster

LaToya998 wrote...

Great Tips! thanks so much

ReplyPosted April 13, 2009

Lensmaster

Alka_Dalal wrote...

Hi! This is a great lens. I appreciate the useful info and 5 stars for you!
Please visit my site for your free report: "7 Tips To Web Positioning"
Have a great week! Your friend, Alka

ReplyPosted March 16, 2009

Lensmaster

EternalFlame wrote...

Very informative lens - 5*. Feel free to visit my new lens Everything About Easter

ReplyPosted February 14, 2009

Lensmaster

moinseo wrote...

Hi Yours SEO Techniques vary fantastic I appriciate yours good information.

ReplyPosted November 24, 2008

Lensmaster

altamiraweb wrote...

nice and educational

ReplyPosted August 09, 2008

Lensmaster

JJC13 wrote...

very informative! Thank you!

ReplyPosted August 05, 2008

Lensmaster

Intercambio wrote...

About "Get Indexed in Google", a faster alternative is placing a link on Digg or other social bookmarking site. Faster and you also get a backlink.

ReplyPosted July 27, 2008

Lensmaster

GreenRevolution wrote...

Congrats on making 'Giant Squid'!
5 ***** for this great lens on SEO! Thanks for sharing all this valuable information. I have enjoyed my stay and will come back for more.
Cheers! :)

PS. Love the Jays cap.

ReplyPosted July 18, 2008

Lensmaster

Hi , SEO confuses me to the point of no return. You actually make it sound simple - thanks.

ReplyPosted July 09, 2008

Lensmaster

KimGiancaterino wrote...

Congratulations on making Giant Squid!

ReplyPosted July 07, 2008

Lensmaster

anilg wrote...

Great lens with valuable tips about seo. Know about best online money making programs here

ReplyPosted June 09, 2008

Lensmaster

TopStyleTravel wrote...

Thanks, more info on my least understood but favorite topic right now.

ReplyPosted June 04, 2008

Lensmaster

Gusher wrote...

wheeew!!! this one was great, a lot of useful artcles were here!!! ;-)

ReplyPosted June 03, 2008

Lensmaster

Scrap_Book_Guru wrote...

Wow! This lens is full of lots of great information. Definitely going to add it to my favorites.

ReplyPosted May 07, 2008

 
Next Page
1 of 6 pages

Search Engine News from Google Blog 

Bing Builds an Underwhelming Twitter Search
... a competitive edge in the Internet search wars, Microsoft plans to index Twitter updates in real time for Bing, its recently rebranded search engine. ...
Ask.com Bets on Semantic Search, Targeting Special Audiences
In the past eight months, Ask.com has unfurled a set of changes to its search engine that the IAC unit calls a success, although its share of US search ...
Private Search Engine To Completely Hide IP Address Of Users
New York, NY (AHN) - Private search engine Ixquick.com, which protects users from eavesdroppers by hiding their IP address, will improve its secure service ...
Powered by Google

SEO on Wikipedia 

The Wiki on SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence.

As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.

The acronym "SEO" can also refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.

Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or Spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.

read the rest of the Wikipedia article

by WebGazelle

I am an SEO specialist and currently work for SEO.com. I have been building websites and marketing them on the internet for over 6 years.
(more)

Related Topics

WebGazelle Recommends...

Favorited By

Create a Lens!