Everyone who owns a website would love to have lots of traffic that doesn't cost them anything. This is the basis of SEO or Search Engine Optimization; to get you that free traffic so that your website shows up in the top ten search results of any major search engine. While there are countless details that go into driving a highly successful SEO campaign, one area of SEO can easily be handled by just about anyone simply by using a few simple on-page tweaks that won't cost you a dime.
1. Your Website Design
One overlooked factor to be sure that the search engines rank your site well is the overall design and layout of your website. Using basic text-based navigation instead of images, limiting the use of JavaScript and Flash on your site as well as having a logical navigation with categories that help organize your website will all help push your site in the right direction.
2. The Keywords
Each and every last one of your web pages on your site needs to have it's own unique keyword phrase. When you're researching keywords for use on your site, you'll want to start with those keywords that are easy to rank well for. These are usually those keywords that don't have a lot of searches done on them but also don't have much competition in the search engines. The goal is to start and slowly build up to the more competitive terms.
3. The Title of Your Web Page
Every web page on your website should be focused on a specific keyword. That is, a word or phrase you want that web page to show up for in the search engines. The title of your web page tells the search engines exactly what that web page is about and what it can expect to find within the rest of the content on that page. Always use the keyword or keyword phrase that you want to rank well for in the title of your web page and keep it contained within the
4. Your Meta Description Tag
While many meta tags, such as the meta keywords tag, are rarely used by the major search engines any longer to determine what's contained within your web page, the meta description tag is one of them that is used. The description is what shows up as the text just below the link to your site in a search engine results page or SERP. While it won't provide a huge boost in rankings, it will help your potential site visitors to make that all-important decision to click your link over your competitors. Use your keywords within the meta description tag, but also make it enticing to your would-be site visitors by offering an incentive to visit you such as a free report or free tips.
5. Keywords in a Header
You can think of a heading on your web page like a headline in a newspaper. The headline generally gives basic information about what's contained within the rest of the article. The heading on a web page works much the same way as a newspaper article only within the web page, the heading contains the keywords you're optimizing that page for. When you write the heading, incorporate the keywords you've chosen for that page. The heading does not have to contain ONLY the keywords but it should work them into a readable format.
Additionally, not all headings are created equal. Headings range from H1 header tags all the way to H6 header tags with H1 being the most important, H2 the second most important and so on. So always be sure you're using the H1 tag when writing a heading for your web page.
6. Keywords in the Content
When you begin to write the content of your web page you'll want to incorporate the keyword phrase you've chosen for that page where it would fit naturally. Whatever you do, forget keyword density; in other words, using your keywords a certain percentage of time throughout your content. Instead, focus on using your keyword phrase naturally while also using words and phrases related to the keyword itself. You can generally see what Google believes to be similar terms to your keyword phrase by simply using Google's free keyword tool which you can find by doing a Google search, entering in your keyword phrase and then scrolling down to the section "Additional keywords to Consider".
7. Linking Your Pages
Links are very important to search engines. Especially Google and this not only means links coming to your website but how you link up your own website's pages. When you link to another page on your site, be sure you're using the keywords of the page you are linking to within the anchor text. In other words, the "clickable" portion of the link.
8. Using Images
Images are very important to add to a web page because they add to the visual appeal. However, when you do use images on your web pages its important that you do two things with that image. First, give the image a description within the
All of these on-page SEO techniques will work to your favor if you simply use them with each and every web page. Although for a one-man or woman operation it can get very time-consuming so if possible, outsource these simple tasks to someone willing to do the work for you. This will allow you to focus on building incoming links to your website from outside sources which is a very large contributing factor as to how well you rank for those more competitive keywords.
Kristine Wirth is the creator and author of a new SEO Video Course scheduled to be released the second half of 2009. This SEO course teaches new and seasoned website owners how to optimize their own websites without expensive monthly fees. You can visit her website at BoneheadSEO.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristine_Wirth
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