Another quick strategy tip..

Star out small. When first optimizing for a site, do not try to target too many keywords. It may be tempting, but it is extremely difficult. It is better to perform extremely well for only 2-3 phrases than to be on the third SERP for 20+ terms. In other words, it is much more time/cost effective to put all of the energy into fewer terms. See my previous posts to learn how to choose high traffic, non-competitive keywords.

SERP Competition

Previously, I regarded first SERP back link profiles as the primary way to judge the competition for a given keyword. Sometimes, more in depth research may be a good idea. Tools like the SEO for firefox plug-in will help provide other data about competing sites. This may include PageRank, Alexa rank, cache date, and positions in other search engines. If an optimizer is having trouble deciding between a few keywords, he could take into account all of this information to select the least competitive terms. Though perhaps added search volume or relevance is worth a little more competition.

Keyword Competition | SEO Strategy Tip

Once you've chosen some great, high volume keywords, you need to judge the competition. How difficult will it be to reach page one? The simplest way to find out is to check how strong the back linking network is for sites that currently reside on the first SERP. I suggest using Yahoo site explorer to gather this data. Be sure to list only links that come from outside domains, as these are far more powerful than links within a site. If most sites on the first SERP have great numbers of links, you may want to reconsider your keyword choice, especially if you are a beginner SEO.

Online Competition

My next lesson will focus in depth on how to research your competition for SEO or PPC campaigns. Stay tuned...

Basics of Keyword Research

The start of any SEO effort must be solid keyword research. Here are a few tips to get started:

1. Use one of the many keyword tools to generate a list of relevant keywords, along with their search volume.

2. Choose a few of the top most searched, and relevant queries. Center your SEO strategy around the chosen terms.

Individuals or small businesses may need to consider the competitive nature of the most popular queries. It may be extremely difficult to reach the first page of search engine results for these keywords. Also, research for PPC campaigns has its own complexities, as advertisers may choose many more terms to target. More on these complexities to come.

One more thing..

If nothing else, the concept to take away from my previous post is that search engine optimization drives an enormous amount of relevant traffic to your site. Naturally, this results in a fantastic conversion rate.

Search Engine Optimization -Why?

Many small businesses ignore the benefits of SEO, or are simply unaware. After all, who would guess that it's possible to actually manipulate a site's position on the SERP? Here are just a few basic reasons why search engine optimization is key to a successful, competitive business.

1. Increase traffic to you site, and a lot of it! Sites in the first few results of major search engines for popular keywords earn thousands of visitors each month.

2. These are the most relevant visitors. Consider this, these individuals took the time and energy to search for a keyword relating to your business. These individuals are the primary target of SEO.

3. Your competitors do it! More and more businesses realize the benefit of SEO each day. For that reason, it becomes more and more competitive. It is so important that an increasing number of business owners pay thousands of dollars to professional digital marketing companies for SEO.

Don't leave this valuable resource untapped.