12 Search Engine Optimization Tips

Search engines want to feed searchers the best information and so do you.

Make sure you have the most content, feature it in a search engine friendly site, and then start to build your link popularity over time.

SEO does not have to be intimidating or very hard. Sure, there is a lot more that you can learn, but at the heart of it all, it is rather basic.

8 Web Design Pitfalls that Can Ruin Your Rankings

1) Do not get fancy.

Follow this rule. The simpler the better. Your site should have more text than fancy HTML. To make sure your site is search engine friendly; use as much text and basic HTML as possible.

2) Do not use Flash.

Flash is useless for SEO. Don't waste precious resources on your site for flashy graphics.

3) Do not use image text.

Many sites have beautiful headlines. They create these in Photoshop and upload the images! Doing this instead of using the H1 tag seriously undermines your odds of ranking well.

4) Do not use fancy navigation menus. Remember, text links with rich anchor text are far better than image links so don't use any buttons for your navigation and especially avoid using drop down menus.

5) Don't go after too many keywords per page.

If you don't focus, you are going to dilute your page and as a result it will not get a good ranking for any keyword.

6) Do not over optimize.

If you push the limits and add your keywords everywhere, you will get penalized. Always do what is best for the reader.

7) Do not fall for bad linking practices. Never link to or collect links from bad sites that are just trying or promising to help boost search engine rankings.

8) Don't fall for the latest fad.

You will often hear of BRAND NEW search engine optimization strategies. Don't fall for them. Even if they work, they will most likely only work temporarily.

Another important key of search engine optimization is to build your "link popularity." You have to get other sites to link to you. While this is extensively covered in another tactic, here are a few quick ways to get started.

4 Quick Steps to Start Building Link Popularity

1) Submit your site to Yahoo!: Getting listed in the Yahoo! directory costs $299 per year but it is well worth it since Yahoo! is a huge authority site. It will help boost your PageRank and help with SEO.

2) Submit your site to Dmoz: Go to dmoz.org and submit your site to the appropriate category. Then wait 6 weeks and repeat. Getting into dmoz is hard and may take months of waiting but it is well worth trying.

3) Get into Wikipedia: Wikipedia is the fastest growing online directory. What makes it unique is that it is open source. Anyone can add, edit, and delete content.

It is a wonderful resource and has hundreds of thousands of pages with excellent resources. Every page includes links to "External Resources." Find relevant pages on Wikipedia, create excellent copy on topic resources and then link to them from Wikipedia.

4) Get links from expert/authority directories in your field: Almost every space has at least a few expert sites that list all of the main resources. Find these sites and try to get listed.

There is one very important thing to keep in mind ' SEO is not a quick fix to boost your business.

We have listed the things that you can start doing today to boost the position of your site in search engines.

However search engines work differently. They take months to update their index and rankings! So you must be patient, but the rewards are well worth it.

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Bjorn Brands is a successfull enterprenuer who transitioned from having his own building company to a great online business. Check out his site and see for yourself how his FREE course can help you do the same at http://www.moneyacces.com