What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search Engine Optimization or for short SEO is the task of making your site search engine friendly. I use the word task because it is a task. It takes hard work to get your site to the top and a continuous task to keep it there.

Why use search engine optimization?
The Internet is massive if you want to succeed, you need to beat your competitors . One way to do this is by getting a Higher Search Engine Ranking than them. It is common knowledge that you need to appear on the first page of search engine results if you want maximum traffic to your site.

Why optimizing your web site will save you money
If you have a web site or blog then one thing for sure is that you want to get it noticed. SEO is something all those with web presence should be interested in. It will save you money in the long run. Why? Well many Internet marketers use adwords which is paid advertising, this can be very costly. If you organically appear at the top of search engines then this is free advertising. Which would you prefer?

How to get Indexed by Google
If you want high search engine ranking then firstly you need to make sure your site is indexed. You need to make sure that google knows about your web site.

Many webmasters use what is called black hat methods of getting google to notice them, i would recommend you avoid these methods, it is not worth the risk. Google is clever and can penalize your web site.

How to get indexed by google.
You can use the google submit tool but to be honest there is no point. It can take anything from 3-6 weeks to index you.

I have tried and tested many methods to get a site indexed by google quickly and here are my findings.

Choose a good domain name - Try and include your main keywords in the domain if your keywords are not available then use hyphens for example if i my web site was about nursing home abuse and nursinghomeabuse.co.uk was gone i would try for nursing-home-abuse.co.uk

Content - Create approx 5 pages of good quality content. Making sure that your content is not duplicated from any other site and that it is keyword enriched. Try not to go over a 5% keyword density or google will think you are spamming.

Backlinks - Get backlinks from high PR web sites. This is the most important task. The web site that you get the link from must be on the same niche as your web site. Type in your keyword on google and look for high web sites that except links. You can email them asking for a link exchange.

Articles - Submit articles to article directories like this one.

Track your stats - Join google webmaster tools and google analytics so you can track when you get indexed and view your traffic stats.

Once you are indexed on google you need to keep added fresh quality content and gain quality anchored back links. Learn more Search Engine Optimization

Don't dismiss Yahoo

For all of you bloggers out there who concentrate on getting high search engine ranking with Google only to find your still not getting top 10 ranking go and check Yahoo search engine listings, you may just be in for a shock.

Anyone noticed more traffic from yahoo?

Not sure what is going on but there has definitely been some changes with the Yahoo serps. Many of my blogs are showing in the number 1 position on yahoo for many many keywords. I have noticed a surge in traffic from yahoo in the past month. Anyone else noticing changes or know whats going on. Please enlighten us.

Quality back links are one of the most important tips i can give you to get high search engine ranking. If you have a website that scores high with your keyword and the site has a link to you then this is worth its weight in gold.

How to get back links
You can get back links many ways:
social networking
blogging
message boards
commenting
directories
classifieds
direct request

In my next post i will look at how you can get back links from each of the above and get on your way to high search engine ranking.

Many people believe in the term 'Build and they will come' this is simply not true. It is no good to just build a website or blog and hope for the best, you need to be able to get your blog or website noticed, you need to get traffic.

You can get your website noticed many ways

Social networking
Paid ads
Banner exchange
Forums
Question and Answer sites
SEO - Search Engine Optimization
Email Marketing Campiagns

later in this blog i will discuss all of these techniques to get your website noticed but for now i want to tallk about why it is important to rank high in search engines.

Most interner seaches will use a search engine search bars to search for what they want, they will type in thier keywords or phrase and be provided with many pages of results. Most internet uses only click on the top ten search engine results so it is important that your site is ranked high in search engines.

In my next post i will look into which search engines you need to rank high with.