The field of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is too variable and expansive to establish a rigid set of effective practices. However, basic principles hold good despite shifting search trends and search engine algorithms. You can make search engine optimization strategies more successful by making your website more meaningful, accessible, and customer-friendly, while keeping straightforward points in mind. Here are some guidelines to achieve this

Develop keyword-rich content

Keyword-rich content is critical to Search Engine Optimization. Content is infused with pertinent keywords and search phrases commonly used in searches for products or services and relevant to your website. Keyword phrases need to be placed prominently to catch the reader’s attention and that of search engine spiders. Some guidelines to get you started off:

• Use applications such as Nichebot, Google Adwords, Wordtracker, KeywordDiscovery and Google Analytics to uncover keywords that are fairly competitive but are popular in searches.
• Use niche keyword terms instead of all-encompassing phrases, (for example, “Women Plus Size Clothing” instead of “Women clothing”).
• Make keywords part of titles, headings, links, page URLs, alt text of graphics, text write-ups of audio/video files, and bold and italicized content.
• Keyword density should be good but not over the top. It is important to write as naturally as possible.
• Use keywords in the first few lines of paragraphs for better indexing.

Develop suitable content that addresses customers’ needs

Content should be relevant to prospects interests, not difficult to comprehend and access, and most of all addresses their needs. Search engines favor web pages with many inbound links from other sites. It tells the search engines that the content is useful. This will make search engines boost your page rank and get it to rank higher in organic search. Constantly updated content will also encourage repeat client and also lead to re-indexing of pages by search engines.

Build user-friendly website design and information structure

Internet surfers and search engine bots should be able to navigate pages without trouble. This is achieved through effective information structure – website navigation; displaying links with meaningful labels; placing text, multimedia, and pictures effectively; etc. A website page should include links to sections within the website. Use a sitemap or a navigation menu for quick access. Sitemaps improve the search-ability of websites too. These strategies should be part of the web site’s development plan as they need effort but help build a sound foundation of the website.

Get backlinks to your website

Inbound links or links from other websites can get you more search engine traffic. Work at getting backlinks from reputed web directories and relevant industry websites. Linking directories are useful. They charge an ongoing or one-time fee. Do not get lured by unethical SEO tactics that promise hundreds of links to raise your ranking. Their tactics may get you blacklisted and make your site disappear from search engines.

Some tips for getting backlinks are:

• Good, appropriate web content is the best way to get backlinks by becoming link baits.
• Have a “Link” button for easy linking to your website.
• Contact site owners and build mutually useful relationships for exchanging links.
• Link to good quality websites that may help your customers. You might get a link back.
• Write quality articles for high page rank article directories. They let you place a few links in the author resource box. Also make contact with owners of high PR rank blogs and ask if you can provide free content to them if they let you include back links to your website.

Use meta tags effectively

The description meta tag text is shown in search results. It should be keyword-rich and should elicit interest of clients. The keyword tag, though ignored by most search engines, helps in the website’s classification. The tags should be developed for every page separately.

Track the website’s performance

Once you deploy an SEO policy, analyze the website’s performance to judge its efficacy. Use applications such as AlertSite Website Performance Monitor, Google Analytics, SEO Analysis Tool, etc.

Track SEO news

Search engines are constantly tweaking underlying algorithms. It’s a good idea to know the latest happenings by subscribing to websites such as Search Engine Guide, The Official Google Blog, SEO blogs, SEO Chat, Sphinn, etc.

Avoid content duplication

Duplication of content can happen if articles are published on various websites, product descriptions are similar except for title and representation, session IDs are the only changed constituents in URLs, printer-friendly version of pages are not excluded from search with directions in the “robots.txt” file, and if a website has multiple URLs names with identical content, etc. Search engines do not penalize you for duplicate content but backlinks created by duplicate content do not improve your site rank.

Steer clear of black hat strategies

Unethical SEO practices such as keyword stuffing and website cloaking do generate immediate results but can get you barred from search engines. Stick to approved SEO tactics that play by the rules.

Relevant content, information design, and effective positioning of keywords should always be part of your SEO strategy with a mix of other tactics thrown in. By following this formula, your website will always attract customers in spite of changes in search engine algorithms. Daljeet Sidhu is the author of this article.