10 SEO Tips for Internet Marketing Newbies

One of the terms that newbie marketers will encounter is Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. It can sound really complicated to “new” ears, but in reality you can get started without much fuss at all. 

SEO is basically optimizing your web site by using certain tactics to make the search engines like your site, which result in your site ranking higher and you getting more traffic to your site. The higher your rank is, the more people will see your site when they use a search engine, and we want all the visitors we can get, right? 

To help get you started on the right path, I have compiled 10 tips that will get you up and running quickly. After you have implemented these tips, you may want to dig further into SEO to make your site a strong search engine contender. 

1. Use The Correct Keywords - The first thing you should turn your attention to is the keywords and keyword phrase which best identifies your site. Be sure to use only the correct keywords associated with your site. After you have identified the keywords, you’ll need to use them as a keyword phrase within the Title Tag of your page. This is the same text that you will also see up in the title bar at the very top of your browser. This title tag keyword phrase should identify your business and give a short descriptive sentence describing it. 

2. Make Proper Use of the Description META Tag – The META Tags are broken down into two sections, the Description and Keywords Tags. To properly use the Description Tag, you should accurately describe your business, or your web page’s purpose.

Within this description you should also use your keywords phrases. Create a short (25-35 words) but descriptive narrative, as some of the search engines rely on this information to display a summarization of your site. 

3. Use the Keyword META Tag Wisely – You should make full use of the Keyword Tag by putting all the keywords and key phrases which are relevant to your site. Be sure not to use keywords that do not pertain to your site, or you could get penalized. Also, never repeat any of the keywords over three times, or your site will look spammy to the search engines.  

4. Use H1 and H2 Tags – Some of the search engines love to find the heading tags used, and will reward the site with a higher ranking. The header tags can be used in your site without them seeming too large and out of place by using CSS files to control their size. I’m not going through a tutorial on CSS files in this article, but you can find great tutorials on the web for using them on your site.

5.  Use Bold Tags on Important Keywords – You can add emphasis to some of your keywords by using the bold tags. You should not over do it however, and only use it on your strongest key phrases within the content body of the page. Remember, use sparingly. 

6. Put Target Keywords Within The Body Content – I know it sounds redundant, but some people never use the keywords they want to target within the content of the page. You should do so in a natural manner, and not make it look spammy to either the human eye or the search engines. 

7. Use Different Title Tags on Each Page of Your Site – All of your website’s pages aren’t going to be the same, so why should the titles? It’s best to give each page it’s own title so the search engines don’t think you have eight or ten pages of the exact same content. 

8. Get Good Quality Links Back to Your Site – Hit the search engines and ferret out sites which are complimentary to yours and allow you to post back links. The higher the page rank, the better for your site. Do this often. 

9. Use Your Keyword Phrases When Creating Back Links – Always use your strongest keyword phrases to make links back to your site.  

10. Submit Your Site to Search Engines – Manually submit your site to the search engines. Currently Google, Yahoo and MSN are the top three search engines, and are the minimum to which you should submit your site.

This is by no means the end of your SEO journey!

As a matter of fact, this is really just the beginning. Search engines are forever changing what they like and what they dislike, so you have to stay up to date on what is working at the present. You can do this by subscribing to several SEO newsletters and frequent sites which are dedicated to SEO.