Hi there, I guess most if not all of you will have heard the term SEO (search engine optimisation is its full name) but today I just want to cover a very basic guide to what it is, why you need it in your internet marketing life and how to do it.

The e-commerce world is hugely competitive and will get more so.  If you want to make money online, it’s about working smart and consistency in what you do.

You’ve got hundreds of thousands of companies and webmasters fighting over the top spots in the search engines.  You cannot for one moment afford to fall behind; you must be continually pushing forward.  Once you start running your online business, you’ll see all the failed e-commerce sites that litter the Internet.

For the last ten plus years, e-commerce sites have used SEO to get top listings.  Recognizing that everybody’s using search engines to find the information they need (and products and services they want to buy!), sites have worked hard to get ranked highly in the search engines for the relevant keywords to the product or services they are selling.

The higher you rank on a search engine, the more likely that someone will find and visit your site.  Most Internet surfers never look past the first page of the search engine results.  Few even look past the first few relevant results.  This means that every little ranking counts.  The more visitors you have to your site, the more business you’ll stand a chance of getting.

It’s not just enough to rise in the rankings, but you’ll also get to hang onto that spot.  As I said above, it’s a cutthroat business and if you fall behind, somebody will take your place.  This is why its essential to constantly improve your site; an ongoing process with fresh and unique content that will make visitors return

Why SEO Is Absolutely Necessary

Why do you need to use SEO?  Search engine optimization is what gets you ranked and the higher the ranking the more visible your site will be to those searching. The closer you can get to number one in the search engines, the more traffic and the greater Lakewood of more cash you’ll see flowing into your business.

How To Do SEO

Now, let’s look at what search engine optimization is all about.  What it involves is using tools and strategies to get your site ranked higher in the search engines.  The ultimate goal is to get you at least on the first page of the search engines.  An even better goal is to get you ranked in the number one spot!

Keyword Research.  The first step is to find good keywords.  Keywords are the exact terms that people are looking for in the search engines.  You will make a list of good keywords and use these in all of your marketing efforts.  When they search for a given keyword, your site will appear there amongst the competition

SEO Content.  Once you’ve got your keywords, you should rewrite your content so that its keyword optimized.  This means that you’ll be using the keyword often and in key spots that will get it noticed by search engines.  Use it once in the title, a few times in the first paragraph, and naturally throughout.  Make sure that you don’t make the text unnatural; it still needs to be informative and valuable to the reader.

Get Backlines.  With the right keywords selected and an optimized site, you’ll now work like crazy to get backlines.  Backlines are links that lead back to your site.  One way to get them is to trade links with other sites in your niche.

Actually, there is a whole library of methods, tips and tricks that are just waiting for you on the Internet.  There are more techniques for getting backlines that anyone can summarize in one place.  What works for some doesn’t work for others?  The point is to find out where your potential customers are (the people who might buy your product), and give them something there that will lead them to your site.  Forums, online communities, article directory sites, Web 2.0 sites, social networking sites and blogs are all great way to get backlines.

If you’ve got some money to spend, there are sites that can help you track your keywords and improve your SEO.  You can also hire a professional content writer to supply your content needs with high quality, keyword-optimized content.  Great content is ultimately what gets people visiting your site. But I’d always advise you certainly start out writing your own content and articles – it’s a learning curve every internet marketer needs to travel el through, otherwise you’ve no idea when you do put work out how good the writers are or not even more importantly

Start working on it now, because successful SEO takes some time.  These are all things you can do over time, and before long, you’ll start to see the results of your activity but do bear in mind its takes time so try & stay focused and patient.

cheers

Tony