The 3 Essential Components of a Search Engine Optimization Campaign

Everyday, the Search Engines average 300 MILLION searches. In a recent Forrester Research report 81% of consumers on the Internet find products and services by using the Search Engines. Search Engine Optimization allows you to achieve top search engine placement and a tap into a new source of qualified visitors who are actively searching for products and services on the Internet.

Unfortunately, only 7% of all websites are visible by the search engines according to a recent StatMarket.com study. The reason for this phenomenon is because most web sites are not properly optimized and promoted to achieve high search engine rankings.

The Top 3 Components Of Optimizing Your Web Site for Top Search Engine Rankings:

To achieve the best overall, long-term search engine positioning, three components must be present on your web site:

1. Content component (Your web page text.)

2. Link component (How you link your pages together.)

3. Link Popularity component (The in-bound links to your site.)

1) The Content Component

The most important part of the content component (of a search engine algorithm) is keyword selection and where you place keywords on your web pages. In order for your target audience to find your site on the search engines, your web pages must contain keyword phrases that match the phrases your target audience is typing into search queries. Finding these keywords that your target audience uses to find your product is accomplished by conducting keyword research.

2) The Link Component - Internal Linking

The strategy of placing keyword-rich text on your web pages is useless if the search engine spiders have no way of finding that text. The way your web pages are linked to each other has huge impact on your site's search engine positioning. Be sure to link your pages together with your keywords within your links.

3) The Link Popularity Component - Acquiring In-Bound Links

The "Link Popularity" or Google "Page Rank" (PR) component of a search engine algorithm analyzes how many web sites link to your website.

95% of the battle of getting high rankings at the search engine is acquiring quality and relevant links pointing to your web site. Ever since Google entered the search engine market, all the major Search Engines have started using links as the primary way they rank web sites. This is known as your web site's "Link Popularity" or in Google's case it's called "PageRank" or "PR."

For example, the heart of Google's algorithm is PageRank, a system for ranking web pages developed by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. Here is what Google says about their "PageRank" web site ranking algorithm at their web site http://www.google.com/technology/...

"PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important."

As Google explains, Links and PageRank are critical to ranking high in the search engines. In fact, inbound links and the text within those inbound links account for 95% of effective search engine optimization.

Relevant Links: But, attaining optimal link popularity is not as easy as simply obtaining as many links as possible to your website. The quality and relevancy of the sites linking to your site holds more "weight" than the quantity of sites linking to your site. Since Yahoo is the most frequently visited site on the web, a link from Yahoo to your website carries far more "weight" than a link from a smaller, less visited site.

Here's what Google Developer Matt Cutts has to say about links...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Thematic incoming links from authority sites
carry more weight than on-page optimization."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Top 4 Strategies for Acquiring Links to Your Web Site:

Below are the four critical steps for achieving high rankings by acquiring text links to your web site...

1) Get a higher Google PageRank score than your competition For any given keyword, there is a minimum PageRank required to rank at Google. In order to see what this minimum PageRank number is, search Google for your keyword and look at the PageRank of your competition's web sites that are ranked in the top 10 of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). An easy way to view the PageRank scores of your competition is to use Google Toolbar http://toolbar.google.com or the SEOChat PageRank Search tool. http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/pagerank-search/

2) Get more relevant links than your competition All links are not created equal. The best links are "relevant" links from web pages related to your keyword.

3) Get more links on more different web sites than your competition Getting links on a variety of different web sites on different networks is crucial for high rankings.

4) Use the keywords you want to high rankings in the search engines as the anchor text of your in-bound links. "Anchor text" is the visible text within a hyperlink. Text links and anchor text are the two most important criteria for how Google and other top Search Engines rank web sites.

Here is an example of a link containing the keyword phrase "ERP Software" within the anchor text...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
F*R*E*E [ERP Software] white paper shows how
to increase profitability and reduce inventory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Relevant Links and PageRank are critical to achieving high search engine rankings. Want proof? Do a search at Google for the highly competitive keyword "computers" and you'll find Apple and Dell computers rank numbers 1 and 2 in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Now, click through to the Apple and Dell web pages and look for the word "computers" in their web page text. What did you find? Neither www.apple.com or www.dell.com have the word "computers" in their text, yet they're ranking #1 and #2 at Google.

Relevant Links and PageRank Win!

The sites with the most relevant links and highest Google PageRank win every time and rank the highest at the top search engines. There are many methods you can use to acquire text links including buying links from a broker, Internet directories, reciprocal linking, Internet publicity, and others.

Matt Hockin is President of Interactive Marketing, Inc., an Internet marketing consulting company providing web site optimization and search engine marketing services that "tune up" web sites for increased conversion rates, traffic, qualified leads, and profitability. For more information, visit http://www.interactivemarketinginc.com

---

Writing SEO Copy ? 8 Steps to Success

We all know that the lion's share of web traffic... Read More

Search Engine Optimization: Get the Low-down

Been hearing the words Search Engine Optimization lately? I know... Read More

New MSN Search Engine: How Good is it?

If you have an online business or you just use... Read More

Google Patent Application - User Data As Part of Ranking Process

In this third article, we continue to dig into the... Read More

Is Something Missing From Your Keywords Research? (Part 2)

In my previous article, I raised the issue that proper... Read More

Get a Number One Google Ranking With This Simple Technique

You probably do this already - complete regular searches in... Read More

Selecting The Title Of Your Link Exchanges

I want to touch base with selecting the title of... Read More

Search Engine Optimization for Beginners

If you are confused about terms like "search engine optimization"... Read More

The Google Sitemap For Idiots

I don't mind admitting that every time some new fangled... Read More

Absolute Top Five Search Engine Marketing Myths Uncovered!

It's no secret that Search Engine marketing can drive significant... Read More

Google Adsense Optimization Tips

There are plenty of tips to help you enhance your... Read More

Absolute & Relative Links How Do They Rank?

The question for this article is whether or not you... Read More

Why Articles Are Not The Route To High Search Engine Rankings

If you have any interest in getting high search engine... Read More

These 7 Back Link Strategies Will Get You a Top Ranking on Google Guaranteed

Google use a very complex function to determine which search... Read More

How Do I Improve My Web Site Conversion Rate? Part 2

Question 1Does it help to track visitor behavior on websites... Read More

Googles Good-Writing Filter

I was recently struck by the fact that the top-ranking... Read More

STOP Writing for Search Engines

Back when I was starting out with my first internet... Read More

Is a High Search Engine Ranking Important for YOU?

In the process of designing a website for clients the... Read More

Search Engine Optimisation - Getting Targeted Traffic

Getting SEO right is an art and it's based on... Read More

SEO Basics - 8 Key Strategies For Online Business Success

The world of search engine optimization (SEO) can be a... Read More

How Search Engines Connect Sellers and Buyers

Maggie knows how to find what she wants. She lets... Read More

When Google PR Tool Bar is Down!

Where is the need to worry? Who needs a PR... Read More

How To Improve Your Search Engine Ranking

With search engines like Google currently indexing over 8 billion... Read More

How You Can Easily Compile A Gigantic Keyword List

It doesn't matter what kind of marketing you are involved... Read More

The Write to Link Popularity

Incorporating writing as a means of boosting your link popularity... Read More

Ten Steps To A Well Optimized Website - Step 2: Content Creation

Welcome to part two in this search engine optimization series.... Read More

Search Engine Strategies for Affiliate Websites

The major search engines are always on the lookout to... Read More

Submit Your WebSite: Add Your URL to Web Directories & Search Engines

Why get into Search engines and directories?Increase backlinks of your... Read More

8 ways to build a really bad web site for Search Engines

Some web sites receive hundreds or thousands of unique visitors... Read More

Taking Advantage of Googles Sandbox Effect

Most new sites submitted to Google (at least within the... Read More

The Search Doesnt End at Your Homepage

In a recent report for a new client, I wrote:... Read More

Introduction to Google Page Rank (PR)

For anyone looking to enhance their Google Page Rank (PR)... Read More

Soliciting Search Engines

As your guide operator through the web, search engines are... Read More