To succeed in the game of search engine optimization you must focus on effective keyword research. By choosing the right keywords you can achieve search engine dominance. I have personally worked with hundreds of clients seeking number one rankings but who have given little if any focus on keyword research. This is incredibly important when your site is competing against well ranked sites that have been in the top ranking for some time.

In addition to focusing on a keyword phrase that doesn’t have strong competition, you need to find search phrases that are frequently searched on. I recently finished a consulting assignment for a company trying to optimize their website. They had good rankings for a keyword term that seemed to be somewhat desirable. However, keyword research proved that the term received less than one hundred per month. As a result of seeing so little traffic, top rankings for this keyword phrase were nearly meaningless.

Once you have found a keyword phrase that isn’t too competitive and receives an adequate number of monthly searches, the next step is to take a look at your competition. Google the keyword phrases you want to optimize for a run a back link check on the top three ranked web sites. This will show you the strength of those web sites relative to their search engine ranking. The more inbound links, the more difficult it will be to rank higher than they do without some type of sustained link building campaign.

Once you’ve conducted your keyword research and decided which keyword phrase you are going to optimize for, it’s time to focus on optimizing your web pages. This can be done by focusing on on-page optimization techniques and off-page optimization techniques. Start with a well formatted web site that includes keyword phrases in meta tags, page titles, and so on. Then turn your attention to off page optimization which includes link building and getting your site listed in major directories and social media profiles. Add additional link building techniques like bookmarking to enhance the quality of your web pages and web sites.

Your optimization strategy should include a plan for the continuous creation of inbound links. Build links too slowly and you’ll never get the authority needed to achieve the number one ranking. Build links too quickly and search engines may think you’re up to no good. If you want to improve your organic search engine results, begin with keyword research before link building. Having the right keywords can make the difference in your overall optimization results. Update your meta tags and web pages to integrate your keyword phrase, focus on link building over the long term, and you’re sure to achieve search engine dominance.

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