Part of the
You Can Learn Web Success Techniques series.
By Ken Brown
Editor, YouCanLearnSeries.com
Updated: February 16, 2006
This is the information that Search Engine Optimization specialists
don't want me to print. This is so valuable you can make a career on just
knowing this information and utilizing these search engine optimization
techniques in your own pages and your customer pages. These are the secrets of
search engine optimization -- SEO.
In my August 2005 newsletter I wrote an article on how I was able to get some
of my pages into the top 10 searches on Google™. The article shared some of my
secrets to making it to the number one search page. If you need some background
information before reading this article then read
SEO Terms, where I educate you on the acronyms of SEO. This article
expands on my original newsletter article, and will help you take your pages to
the top. Why be on page three when with these secrets of SEO you can be
on page number one.
When you are done reading this article on SEO, it will be clear to you the
exact steps you should take to rank higher on searches in all the major search
engines.
Are you getting the most from your SEO process? Every once in a while, I will
check my web log files to see what search terms people are using to find my
site. Most of my traffic comes from people that are searching a specific
subject and sometimes a page of my site comes up near the top.
The Top Ten of Searches
Some of my pages actually end up in the top ten of searches. To me that is very
exciting. Now there are simple techniques you can use to increase your chances
of getting to the top in searches by potential customers.
There are a couple of old direct mail terms called recency and frequency. In
direct mail those terms relate to sending out additional sales brochures to
people based on the number of times they purchased through direct mail and how
soon after a purchase they bought again.
In search engine optimization those terms appear again based on keywords. How
often are you using a keyword on your page? In a number of paragraphs on the
page how many times did you use the keyword? Are the words relevant to the
topic of the page?
Keyword Combination of Secrets of Search Engine Optimization.
Let's say you have a keyword combination. Anytime a person does a search on
that keyword combination you want your website to pop up in the number one
position. Here are steps that will help.
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Place the keyword combination in your keyword metatag.
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Place the keyword combination in your description metatag.
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Next place the keywords in your title.
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Place that exact string "secrets of search engine optimization" in the first
paragraph of your page and make that string BOLD
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Use that keyword combination again in the next paragraph. At least once.
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You can skip a paragraph, but use it again once in the next two paragraphs.
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Place an image on your page. The keywords should be in the alt tag.
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Put some text referring to the image beside, above or below the image using the
keyword.
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After the image add at least 2 more paragraphs. Use your perfect keywords once
in each paragraph.
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In the last paragraph italicize the keywords.
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Sprinkle headlines throughout the article with relevant keywords
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Make sure the keywords are relevant to the scope of the article.
We follow this formula because of how the search engines look at your page.
Most SEO experts say that metatags aren't used by the search engines anymore.
But it takes nothing to add your keyword to the metatags. There might be some
old style search engines still using the metatags. Don't miss the opportunity.
Search Engines look at the First and Last Paragraphs
The big search engines look at the first and last paragraph, though I have had
arguments with co-workers who say the search engines have no way to know where
the last paragraph is in an article. Add it anyway. Why chance failure on an
assumption?
What is the proper number of times you can use your keywords in your article?
There is no hard and fast rule to follow. Though the search engines know
exactly the proper number before you are considered spamming. Spamming the
search engine is when you have the keyword combination in your article so many
times that the search engine excludes you completely.
The number I follow is to have a ratio of 1 instance of the keyword combination
to each instance of paragraphs in your article. That has served me okay.
Beyond all these issues is the relevancy of the keywords to the topic you are
writing about. If your article covers search engine marketing, then use the
keyword combination of search engine marketing. This article covers search
engine optimization and SEO. This keyword combination is relevant to SEO and
optimization.
Confused about the Secrets of Search Engine Optimization?
Confused how to use all this information? Use the old speakers formula. Tell
your readers what you are going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what
you told them. Three opportunities to express your keywords in all your
articles.
I am big on using combinations of words when I do searches. Who knows what will
come up when you do a search on one keyword like "SEO". That single acronym
will return 11,600,000 matches to the keyword in Google. But if you let it
become a keyword combination then the single word "SEO" becomes "secrets of
search engine optimizaton techniques and SEO". That returns only 4,080 matches.
Which will give you a better chance to get to the top? And these days who does
searches on only one word? Maximize your potential for matches by creating
relevant keyword combinations.
This formula will help move you up in the search engine rankings. It will not
guarantee you first place. There are too many factors involved to guarantee
that scenario. The important points to remember. Recency, when did you last use
the keywords? Frequency, how often are you using the keywords? And relevancy,
how relevant are the words to the topic of the page?
Make your Keywords Relevant
Make your keywords relevant, secrets of search engine optimization or SEO, are
relevant to this article. My keywords aren't about page rank or search engine
marketing. They are about SEO and are indeed relevant to the topic of this
article.
A word of warning, don't try this with every keyword. That is a certain path to
failure and exclusion from the search engines. I hope this helps clear any
questions you may have about the secrets of SEO.
Next Lesson:
Affiliate Ad Programs
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