This document provides advice on search engine optimization (SEO) for websites. It discusses how the author initially tried to optimize a site for highly competitive keywords without success. Through trial and error, the author learned that each page on a site needs careful on-page SEO targeting a single keyword phrase. The document recommends keeping site designs simple, focusing optimization efforts on individual pages rather than an entire site, and continually analyzing traffic to optimize for new keyword phrases. The overall message is that effective SEO requires patience, learning, and optimizing websites at the page level over time.
2. This is a story about a poor guy with an inept domain
that wanted to build a site geared for a very competitive
keyword and his long, agonizing journey toward the true
light of SEO wisdom.
3. Here's a little foundation for what I'm about to cover
here. A while back I bought a stupid domain name. It
was one of those fairly useless domain names that might
have been good for maybe selling cellphones or
something. The thing is, though, I'm a poor guy. I don't
have time to taylor a site for cellphones with the pitiful
amount of money I have. This was my thinking not long
ago at least.
4. After sitting on this domain name forever I decided to
put a site up there and give myself to the study of SEO or
search engine optimization. It seemed like an interesting
subject and I knew to those that managed to learn SEO,
marketing, and some web design would fall infinite
riches. It really sounded good to me.
5. So I went for the throat so to speak. More precisely I
picked out some search terms that I will probably never
be able to get traffic for in my lifetime. Smart I know.
This had the grand side effect of having the site
sandboxed by Yahoo and Google until pigs flew.
6. Recently they flew, however, and I've come out of the
sandbox altogether and hit face to face with a few SEO
surprises. I did manage to get a tiny trickle of traffic but
not from the terms I tried to get it from. After trying to
optimize those pages for the key terms I received traffic
from I got more traffic. This of course started me down a
long road of speculation and hair pulling.
7. After many a night of such I've come up with a few
things that I believe will give anyone the power to
eventually pull traffic off the net and covert it into a
good decent living. I'll probably write an ebook and
make millions one of these days.
9. Don't fall into the trap of focusing totally on building this
far flung and far reaching site that will rule the world or
make you millions instantly. Unless you have lots of
money you're going to need to work for your traffic. Plan
your site out carefully and make sure each page is a
precision crafted piece of art.
10. I love serverside scripting and dynamic websites but I've
come to realize there is a danger that people will
overuse it. I know I have. If your site is dynamically
generted, make sure every page isn't a total cookie
cutter image of every other page. It's good to have the
same navigation and same general layout but each page
also needs to be special. Each page should have careful,
proven SEO techniques applied to maybe a single key
phrase.
11. Don't try to optimize one page for a handful of phrases.
Just focus on one phrase. Do your keyword research and,
whatever you do, don't haul off and pick a key phrase
with 2 billion wealthy competitors in Google. Pick
something that can be attained and can get you some
traffic relatively fast. Select a phrase that is as specific as
possible to your particlar niche and still gets a couple
thousand or so searches per month from Yahoo.
12. Whatever you do, make sure that one web page has
good, solid, desirable content that is keyword rich and
one of a kind. This will help make it special. At the same
time your content obviously needs to lead the customer
toward your intented goal for monetizing your traffic.
14. I've found to my dismay that building a complex web
site with all the content management stuff and all the
database thrills isn't exactly what really gets the
attention of search engines. Weirdly enough this can be
true for internet surfers too. A nice, clean layout with
very accessible content and intuitive navigation will be
recognized by both search engines and surfers alike. If
you can figure that part out you've just pinned down
about 90% of SEO in my opinion.
16. When you start getting search engine traffic to your site
take a very close look at what they are searching for. I
assume you have some kind of statistics program and
can mostly see what search terms people are using to
get to your site. When someone comes in on a keyword
or phrase you haven't optimized for do a little research.
Does the page they are coming to need touched up to
include the search term or would this search term merit
its own search engine optimized page to handle the
traffic.
18. With every page you add you are gaining another
potentially valuable piece of internet real estate. If
you're doing your job right then eventaully each page
should get its own traffic and you should begin to attain
your goals. Patience and learning are the name of the
SEO game.