Search Engine Optimization Forums

What is SEO?

This article is just an introduction into what SEO really is. There are many sources out there, hey thats why your here. To skip everything and just get the Forum links click here.

SEO (or SEM): A form of online marketing, search engine optimization (or search engine marketing) is the process of making a site and its content highly relevant for both search engines and searchers. Successful search marketing helps a site gain top positioning for relevant words and phrases.
Definition from Glossary of SEO Terms @ Searchenginewriting.com

The definition above gives you the general idea of what SEO is, but there is a lot that goes into SEO. A site is made up of different aspects:

• Navigation
• Content
• Links In Bound
• Links Out Bound
• Sales Copy
• Keywords
• Tags such as Title, Meta, and other HTML Tags and Attributes

Each part of the site can be used to help optimize a site for search engines. The idea is based on knowing what your audience is looking for in search engines and then targeting those users with your site.

As an example we will build a site that sells Blue Widgets and is located somewhere on the East Coast. The site has the goal to drive people to buy these Blue Widgets online or to come into any of the physical stores they own. Now how do you do this? Well you can read the SEO Forums about how to optimize your site and get a better understanding of just how best to optimize your site for those looking for your product online.

I will do a quick breakdown on how each of the different aspects of a site are affected by SEO and how they can help you rank better in search engines.

Navigation: The navigation needs to make sense to a user and a search engine. Bots (search engine crawlers) that index your site follow links into your site and from there follow your navigation. If the navigation is easy to follow and gets to your products in an ordered and easy path then users and bots will be happy. If you want people to find the "Blue Widgets" on your site make the "Blue Widgets" easy to find. If you bury the "Blue Widgets" 6 pages deep into your site the crawlers and more importantly users will never find them. When possible try and keep navigation simple and to only as deep as 3 or 4 levels.

Content: The most important thing on your site is the content. The more unique the content the better your site will do. Users want something different, something they haven't seen or read on every other site. If you sell "Blue Widgets" try and put as much text about the product, say what it does and how the "User" will benefit from having this "Blue Widgets". Content is what makes the Bots(search engine crawlers) happy and thus you should try and have a minimum of 250 words on a page. Not every page will be able to have this, but you should shoot for this when possible.

Links In Bound: Having your site grouped with other similar sites is very beneficial to you in two ways. It helps people find your site that did not use a search engine. The second benefit is that all search engines take links into your site into consideration, some more then others. When configuring rankings the more links the better your site will appear. This however does not mean that 500 links from your personal homepage are all you need. A link from a Web Directory or Cnn.com means more then from Joe Smith's personal homepage means to search engines.

Links Out Bound: Just like in bound links, out bound affect your site. Do not link to any site that asks or you may find your site in with the wrong crowd. If you sell "Blue Widgets" and a site selling cars wants you to link to them you must think about how the two are related. If your "Blue Widgets" are part of a car, or related somehow to cars then it makes for a good match. If "Blue Widgets" are used in the kitchen, then obviously a link to a car site will not do you or them a lot of good.

Sales Copy: This content is part of your site and can have a double use. Your sales copy can be written as content and house many of your vital keywords all while selling your product to the user. Everyone wins, you get content for the search engine and you sell your "Blue Widgets" to the users.

Keywords: The content and sales copy should be rich in these. Keywords are the terms or word phrases that you are targeting. Our example site would go after "Blue Widgets" and try and use the terms "Blue Widgets" where possible. It is key to not over do it, but to make it readable. A key to over doing it is to read aloud your content/sales copy and be sure that it makes sense. By just placing "Blue Widgets" everywhere on the page will do more harm then good.

Tags such as Title, Meta, and other HTML Tags and Attributes: If you are scratching your head on what a Title Tag is or what Meta Tags are, you should read into HTML Tags or look them up in the Developer Search Engine. The title and meta tags help explain your page to the user and search engines. By putting some of your keyword rich sales copy you can give meaning to your pages and help your rank in search engines.

For more on what SEO is and examples try doing a search on Search Engine Optimization: Google - Alltheweb - Yahoo - DMOZ

Where are the SEO Forums?

• Webmasterworld
• High Rankings
• Search Engine Marketing Forums
• Site Owners Forums
• Site Point
• Spider Food Forums