There is so much buzz about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) that I think it deserves a little break down of its character. So let’s start with the definition of SEO. SEO is the process of marketing and optimizing a web page or blog in order to rank high in search engines. The higher a site appears on the search results list, the more visitors you will receive from the search engine. This is why it is important to try to rank on the first page of Google. More visitors will see your site and therefore, receive the content you are trying to deliver. The whole object is to drive as much traffic as possible to your site increasing your visibility.

Now, there are TWO forms of traffic:

PAID                                                                       

• PPC (Like Google Adwords) 
• Banner Advertising
• Paid Press Release
• Paid Directories

FREE

• Video Marketing
• Social Media
• Press Release
• Article Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization

Most of us like free traffic but you will need to decide which kind of traffic works best for you. Regardless of how you choose to market your website, SEO is about going where the traffic already is. It’s about finding people that are searching for what you might be offering. Tons and tons of people go to Google which is the #1 search engine and are looking for guidance, leadership, products or services to name a few. They may be looking to start a home business. They may be looking for YOU! This is where you want to be because they are looking for information, direction or reviews and very possibly looking to join a company so they are all over the search engines digging for information and it’s your job to get noticed and provide them with content that will help them make a decision. The search engines is where all the traffic starts and you want to capture as much of that as possible to help your business.

So, now that you know where the traffic is…How do you get your website to show up where people will see it? How do you go where that traffic is and why? One obvious reason is so you can get lots of leads and lots of sales and earn the money you are seeking. That is probably your main goal. This is why it is important to understand SEO so your content can be seen. So, I am sure you are asking yourself that million dollar question. HOW DO I GET TO THE TOP OF SEARCH ENGINES so my content can be seen? This is important to know because the people who have their content at the top are the ones making all the money. They get all the traffic and exposure which means all the leads and all the sales. That is what SEO does for you. It helps you motivate Google to put your website in the #1 spot.

There are TWO components of SEO:

1. On-Page SEO (On Your Website). It lets Google know you are “worthy”and helps get Off-Page Optimization (see below). This is why your domain name matters. You want to give a strong credibility back to you. Choosing yourname.com gives you a boost in Google’s eyes. Choosing tags are important also and many people overlook this. Google likes to see tags such as a title tag, description tag and a keyword tag. 

2. Off-Page SEO (Link Building). This helps in establishing authority and getting “human votes” which are your inbound links. The more links you have the more popular you appear to Google and the more Google will like you. Linking and deep linking (sub pages within your url) back to your site shows Google how many other people like you. It truly is a popularity contest and when other people like you, Google will like you and rank your site higher.

Keep in mind that you are giving your page a title, a description and keywords that are all relevant to one another. Google will look at this. When it comes to your title tag, the keyword needs to be in the beginning, middle or end. It doesn’t matter. According to Google, you have 65 characters to work with. The description tag also needs to contain your keywords. It gets indexed and used by the search engines and entices viewers to click on your link and check out your website. The meta keywords almost always get ignored by Google now because there has been so much spam in trying to get ranked but keep in mind that Google is not the only search engine out there. Still make sure that you are using the keywords you are targeting.

So to put this all together, it is important that you put yourself in front of the traffic that is out there. It doesn’t matter whether it is free traffic or paid traffic, but point them back to your website with the use of links and deep links. You want to create valuable content that people are looking for, add in your tags and organize it in a way that is easy on the visitor to navigate through.  You want them to stay and get as much of the content you are offering as possible. You can also use social book marking to help get noticed. Another great suggestion is to take your content and put it on your social media sites. Spread it to as many places as you like and don’t forget to post it to article directories, too. This is where you can make use of a deep link that points back to your original content on your website. When you have all of these components working together, Google takes a look at everything as a whole and ranks your website accordingly. So target your keywords properly, use on-page and off-page SEO components, get in front of the traffic and market your website to those that are looking for you and what you have to offer.