Overcoming Search Engine Paralysis
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Many do-it-yourself webmasters and online entrepreneurs have been led to believe that search engine positioning is a black art and that no mere amateur can hope to compete with the so-called experts. If you are among them, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to drive free, targeted traffic to your website.
There are only three steps you need to take, if you want to quickly increase your site’s visibility in the search engines. The three steps are: positioning, optimization, and link building. In this short tutorial, I’ll explain what’s involved with each one, and show you just how easy it can be. If you can give me even 10 minutes of your time today, you’ll be well on your way to top rankings.
If there is one message I’d like to get across to you, it’s this: don’t fear the search engines! Not everything that you have been told about them is true! If you would like to increase the amount of traffic flowing to your website, without spending a dime, I urge you to read this article with an open mind.
Step 1: Keyword Research Search Term Selection
Let's start with a quick definition:
Search terms - are the words and phrases that people type into search engines. For example, if I go to Google.com and type in “Pokemon cards,” that’s deemed a search term.
To get traffic from search engines, you need to know what people are searching for, and who you’re competing against. This sounds very basic, but it’s important. Search term selection really boils down to finding a balance between popularity, targeting, and competition.
Realtors, for example, might be tempted when they discover how many people search for “real estate”, and believe that this is a perfect set of keywords. That’s a very popular search term, but unless you sell real estate all over the world, it’s not specific enough to reach your customers.
Some folks can come up with good, targeted search terms with nothing more than common sense, but I prefer to do my homework. The best way to do this on your own is with the Wordtracker service (http://www.wordtracker.com), which allows you to find popular search terms, and investigate the competition.
If you aren’t interested in a “do-it-yourself” project, you can hire someone to do the research for you, and get a report back that tells you which search terms are the most popular, and which will be the easiest to compete for.
Next: Low-Cost Keyword Reports >>
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