As we attempt to discuss and analyze seo strategies and focusing on keywords and organic search results. We need to look at how we can stomp the search engines with targeted free traffic. Focusing on keyword optimization with specific tactics will give us the edge on the competition when done properly and specific. Let’s begin with using long tail keywords that the competition is ignoring. If we do in depth research and spy on our high page ranked competition, we will usually find that they are positioned in the serps by mishap rather than what they are doing right. This is the perfect situation to go in and make your site dominate the first page or even the first position in the serps for the same keywords that your competition is using. Noticed I said using, not working. If you work your keywords properly and have enough of them, say 500 to 1000 then you now have that multiple of searchers that will find your site when they search. Let’s look at it this way. Just because you sell widgets, widget is only one key word. How many other sites are selling widgets and are using the same keyword? Now even though you sell widgets, it doesn’t mean that the potential customer that is searching the web will type in their search bar; “widget”. If we do advanced keyword search results we will find that these same searchers are typing in things like; buy widgets, visit best widgets, blue round widgets, best deal on widgets. You get the idea here. Your keywords should not be just your product or service but what your customers are searching for that you have but you aren’t telling them that you have it because your title and description that shows in the search results are lacking their keywords they just typed in,  so they are just walking by your shop that has no sign that says “I HAVE WHAT YOU WANT! LOOK INSIDE and I WILL SHOW IT TO YOU”.

It doesn’t matter if you have a product or service that you are offering on the web, you must know what your competition is doing, both right and wrong. First you need to identify who is your competition? Where are they advertising? What are they offering? What specifically does the offer look like? What specifically are they offering to the buyer? (We identify the buyer as the person that will do or not do something with you or your offer). How is the competition offering its product or service and can you make yours better or sweeten the pot just enough to make the sale? What is their selling process? Knowing - NOT guessing - are the answers to these very important questions and it is what gives you the leading edge as one works the online market place.

Writing original content and back linking with proper keyword anchor text is King and we want to create sticky content. We want to guide humans and search-bots with keyword related articles and links. Links that tell the truth about the content wins every time. Where content is King on the web - linking is Queen! Content and linking must work together. In general, search engines try to use programs that make the same choices as humans by sheer intuition. Intuition is way beyond what today’s computers are capable of, so search engines must do their best to fake it with math, but by using web page titles and headlines within the pages as indicators of what the page is about. Just as the search engines do and for the same reason we set a priority of what the search-bots will do with a given page on the website.

How do we get people to come to our website in droves until we can optimize them fully for the search engines and have them pick up on what we are trying to tell them? Social media, web 2.0 and web 3.0. A key element of search engine optimization is social media within the realms of find ability and market positioning efforts. Utilizing the power of social media and presenting you product or service to sites such as Youtube, Google Videos and the 43 other popular video sites, when done properly with proper keywords and links can immediately put you in the number one spot over night. It is beyond the scope of this article of the proper way to do this but I will make a post about just this subject soon.

Utilizing aggressive white hat techniques and understanding the serps as it relates to keyword concepts, research and discovery, mapping keywords and content management, with competition research and linking plus utilizing the most current tools available will beat the competition at their accidental placement in the serps and greatly increase your ability to take over the high ranking. Improving results through measuring, planning, reviewing with cross and split testing and promotions will put you at the top to sell as many widgets as you can sell.

The one thing I want you to understand is there is no secret seo recipe. There is a good general framework necessary to be effective, but the process must be adaptable to each unique client. Seo is an ongoing process that should never be considered compete. Each of these elements takes time to develop and work. Reporting and research fuel each other and keep the site at the top of the search results. A seo or marketing program is never done in the traditional sense. It’s a cycle, not a once and done process. The length of certain parts of the cycle can increase if a website doesn’t change often, but seo should become part of the routine maintenance and updating schedule.

The end result of an seo and online marketing program is a sum of its parts and the path one takes to get there will decide if the site is ranked on page 1 of the serps or lost in cyber oblivion never to be seen by human eyes.