Improve Search Engine Ranking

Search engine rankings are a bit misunderstood. Is it good enough to be in the top 10, the top 5 or must you be number 1? First, you definitely want to be on the first page of search results. For all intensive purposes, there is little difference between being ranked number 11 and number 111. Few surfers will go beyond the first page of rankings.

I don't have a clue what your site looks like. Still, there are some general issues that I see pop up over and over with sites that have poor rankings. And here we go...

The first issue to consider is the number of words on the pages in question. You need at least 250 words on a page or the search engines may downgrade it. This is particularly true with Google. If you selling a product, make sure to put a lengthy description.

On most sites, the keywords are a mess. Don't just put up random keywords. Use a keyword analysis tool like Word Tracker to identify the exact phrases being used by your prospects. Once you have the phrases, incorporate them into your meta tags and text on your pages. Your business name should never be in your meta tags. It adds nothing to your ranking efforts and actually hurts them by diluting the impact of the other keywords in the meta tags.

Once you have identified your keyword phrases, use only one on each page. The search engines like a concise, focused theme on each page. Create one page for each phrase and focus on that phrase throughout the page. If the keyword phrase is "travel New York", don't start blabbering about California.

Probably 90 percent of the sites we look at use the wrong titles. If your home page text starts of with "Welcome to..." you are doing it wrong! Nobody is search for "Welcome to..." Replace this text with your keyword phrase. Using our previous example, it should read "Travel New York."

In concert with the title, make sure to include your keyword phrase at least once in your first paragraph. The first 100 words of the page are critical in getting rankings. Your keyword phrase should be in the title and at least once in the opening paragraph. Don't use it more than that as the search engines may consider it negatively.

Generating links to your site is important. Links tell a search engine how relevant your site is. The more links from other sites, the higher you will rank. Importantly, only trade links with sites that have subject matters relevant to yours. If you have a real estate site, do not trade links with a gambling site! The search engines will downgrade you.

Every site is unique, which means they have unique optimization problems. Following these rules, however, should help you improve search engine ranks.

Come and see me at http://www.150k-income.com and enter your details. I'll send you through to my personal site where you can speak to me directly, ask me questions and grab some free training resources to help you and your business.

Lee Grint - Internet Entrepreuner and Wealth Coach, Helping Others to Achieve Their Goals