Since the beginning of the understanding of Search Engine
Optimization – SEO – there have been tons of different
theories developed about how to do it “right”.  The truth
is, however, that there is no one single method that is one
hundred percent known to be better than the rest.  Since
the large search engines such as Google and Yahoo! don’t
release the details of their ranking elements – in addition
to the fact that they are constantly changing what these
elements are, and how they are weighted in the grand scheme
of things – we can only apply the efforts that have been
tested and have worked for a given online marketing effort.

The following are the SEO techniques that have been known
to work for marketing strategies used by experienced web
designers and webmasters. Keep in mind that SEO is an
ever-changing experience, and that while these techniques
will work for you today, they may not be the same when
tomorrow arrives.

1. Google AdWords – this is an SEO technique specifically
offered by Google to make certain that you are indeed
getting use out of the keywords you want to use.  This
technique is considered to be quite cost-effective for
achieving good search results for your website.  It works
by allowing you to state the maximum amount that you are
willing to spend on a daily basis on your chosen keywords.
This can be changed monthly as you witness the results that
the Google AdWords SEO technique brings you.

2. Overture Keywords – similar to Google’s AdWords, you can
choose the keywords you want, however, you cannot limit
your daily spending, so this may be an issue if you’re on a
tight budget.  However, it has been found to be quite cost
effective when balanced against the number of new visitors
and active customers created.

3. Yahoo! Regional Directories – when you have your site
indexed by Yahoo! Regional Directories – a place where
submission is free – then you will always be in their list.
Many new clients are found through this reliable process.

4. Keywords, Site Descriptions, Alt-Tags, Title Tags, and
Page Content – these are the main focus of SEO experts and
SEO businesses today.  These are the five elements that
take the most amount of effort when optimizing websites. It
all has to do with what is contained within the coding of
your website.  Unless you are truly confident that you know
what you’re doing, it is very beneficial to hire a
professional SEO company to ensure that you’re including
all of the right elements, and doing it properly.  Have
this done before you submit your site to the different
search engines, or re-submit your site after you’ve done
your SEO for your website.  SEO is well worth paying for to
ensure that it is done properly.  Professionals will know
which keywords to use, how to use them, and how to make
sure that they are properly laid out for search engine
spiders to crawl the site.  Furthermore “illegal” tactics
will never be used, which can result in having your website
permanently banned from search engines.

5. Online Directories – by submitting your website to any
number of different free online directories, you will have
an excellent new path for prospective customers to follow
to find you.  Many are free, others include a nominal
charge.  If there is a fee involved, do some investigation
into the directory first, to make sure that it is worth the
money.

6. The Open Directory Project – this is one of the primary
resources utilized by the big search engines such as Google
for sending their spiders out to crawl new sites.  The
directory is entirely maintained by humans – that is, every
site submitted is reviewed and indexed by a person, not a
spider.  This does mean that it takes additional time to
have your site indexed, but it is well worth the wait.

7. A Blog – adding a blog to your website is a fantastic
method for continuing to attract new and repeat visitors to
your website. They are drawn to the fresh new content that
is constantly being added.

8. Make It Great – Search Engine Optimizing (SEO) is only
as good as the website it supports.  If you bring lots of
visitors to your website, and it has nothing to offer them,
or the content is terrible, all of your efforts will be in
vain.


About the Author:

Mark Nenadic
Mark is the director and face behind FifteenDegrees-North
http://www.15dn.com , where you will find articles and
resources to help with SEO, marketing and Web design.