SEO for the Faint Hearted, the Lazy and the Dumb

Search engine optimization or SEO is almost a dirty word that every Tom, Dick and Harry wants to apply to their website to make it findable to the common man. But for some of us, its not working is it?

SEO is a very frightening task and it’s not easy, it’s hard, it’s uninteresting, it takes time. You have somehow pulled together a site, slapped some ads on and you want people to go on it. Or even more, you have spent time to make a great site and no one goes on it. If you are blessed you will get 20 visitors a day. In SEO terms that’s a great start. Some webmasters don’t even manage that. There are several ways to get visitors. Either some one looks up the search engines and finds the website because you happen to have your site on the first two pages of the search engine results page (SERP). Or you have your site all over the web and people are bound to smack into it. Here are 10 things you should do as an amateur search engine optimizer.

1. The number of keywords in your pages or key word density is important. This tells the search engine the relevancy of the webpage for a particular word or term. It should be around 3% appearing on a webpage; more than that it will be called keyword stuffing that could be penalized. If you know how to add Meta tags in HTML then do so as its important for search engines to accurately index and list your pages.

2. Links are the top most criterions for good search engine positions. More you have from relevant sites, the better it is. You can either ask related sites to place your link on their site or you could ask them for a link exchange. Some experts are not too keen on buying links but some say that done in the right way, can be beneficial. Best is to avoid it, why spend money.

3. Every website should have an RSS syndicate feed to keep it fresh with contents, making the site dynamic. It's usually in the form of a link or HTML code that you need to "cut-and-paste". If not, than you could always update your pages by adding more content, as search engines love content. Apparently they cannot read images.

4. Writing articles is a great way to get one way links. Write as many articles as you can on your subject of interest and then submit to several article directories. Webmasters crave for contents will use your articles and include you link. Make sure that you use your keywords as anchor text for your URL in the resource section. Try writing between 500-1000 as reading more can be really boring.

5. Go over to other blogs in your subject and leave commentaries. You can often leave your name and website address. Many would come to know you gradually if you are good making sure you don't spam them. Be good.

6. Propose your site to directories. Some would want money while some would want a link back. It's your call. DMOZ is a must but it's difficult. If you cant get in it, don't worry about it.

7. Affix your site in your email signature.

8. Post your sites at classifieds sites such as Craig list and Gumtree. But don't spam.

9. You might want to leave your URL at yahoo answers if it's helpful to the asker. Make a 360 page and add your links. Sometimes people like to see who the answerer is and might come across you site.

10. Join forums in your area of interest and add your website in the signature. Don't ask people to view or review your site. People will have a look if they are interested or if your answers are good or if you launch yourself as a specialist.

If you follow these simple steps, you will make it. Be uncomplicated and clear-cut. Don't spam; it's prohibited and can be damaging.