Can SEO companies guarantee high rankings?

Some SEO (search engine optimization) companies guarantee that you will get a special search

engine position if you let them do the work for you. Actually, this is not possible. No company can

guarantee search engine listings.

If a company makes such promises, take a closer look at the small print. The catch is often that the

company selects the search terms. You'll be listed for obscure search terms that nobody searches for.

If you have a unique company name or a unique product name, it's relatively easy to get high search

engine rankings for that term.





A single spam element can destroy your work



Before you start with your search engine optimization efforts, you must make sure that your web pages

are spam free. This is very important. If you use a spam technique on your web site, all other search

engine optimization efforts are pointless.

If a search engine has tagged your web site as a spam source then you have to remove the spam

elements from your web pages before the search engine will take another look at other elements of

your site.





Most search engines consider the following spam:



· cloaking (the web server returns different pages for search engine spiders and human web surfers)

· doorway pages

· misleading redirections

· hidden text (text has a color that is very similar to the background color, text in very small font sizes,

text that has been hidden with CSS tags etc.)

If you use one of these techniques on your web pages, remove them now. You might get short term

results with them but it is extremely likely that search engines will ban your site if you continue to use

them.

When you're sure that your web pages are spam free, you can start with your search engine

optimization activities.

Search engines don't like to be cheated. Don't try to use search engine optimization

techniques that try to trick search engines. It might work for a while but search engines have managed to detect

all tricks sooner or later. Better concentrate on ethical methods that are beneficial to you, web surfers and search

engines (you get more visitors, web surfers get what they want, search engines can deliver better results).

That way, your rankings will last much longer.



Step 1: Using the right keyword is the cornerstone of

successful SEO



How to find the best keywords for your web site



Keywords are the words that web surfers enter in search engines to find web sites. It is important that

your web site has good search engine rankings for popular keywords that are related to the theme of

your web site. In this manual, we use the term "keywords" for single word keywords and for keyword

phrases, for example "hiking boots shop chicago".

The right keywords are important to the success of your SEO activities!

It's pointless to optimize your web pages for keywords that nobody uses in the search engines. In

addition, in order to get targeted visitors, the keywords must not be too broad or too general. IBP's

Keyword Generator tool helps you to build a list of keywords that people use on search engines to find

your web site.





Which keywords are the right keywords for your web site?



Use focused and targeted keyword phrases that are common enough so the web searcher will use

them, but selective enough that they don't return millions of matches. Very specific keywords generate

highly qualified, targeted traffic that increases your sales. The first step in choosing the right keywords

is to make them very specific.

· use keyword phrases that consist of two to four words

· avoid very competitive keywords

· be specific

· only check the keywords that are important to you





For a successful online marketing campaign, you have to target the right keywords. The keywords you use should be relevant for your web site and web surfers should be searching for your keywords. Most people use a two to four word phrase in a search, so phrases are very effective. Single words cannot be promoted effectively. For example, it is not likely that someone looking for "free software download" is going to type just "software" into the search box.

Avoid the most popular keyword phrases because you'll be competing with millions of other pages for a search engine's attention. It is unrealistic to think that a new web site could rank number one on a popular phrase like "mp3". More established companies who have been on the Internet for several years will have the big advantage of a high link popularity.

Internet users who use four-word searches are more likely to purchase goods or services than those using fewer words (source: Oneupweb Research).

Start with multiple word keywords and then extend your keyword list

Search engines analyze all pages of your web site and put them in a context. Start with multiple word keywords and then extend your keyword list. If you're selling MP3 files, you should optimize your web pages for keywords such as "independent bands mp3", "alternative grunge mp3", "pop music mp3download" and similar keywords first.

If your web site many rankings for these keywords, search engines will find out that your web site is relevant to the mp3 topic. As soon as search engines consider your web site relevant to this topic, it will be much easier to get high rankings for keywords such as "mp3 download" or even "mp3". If you want to successfully promote your web site on the Internet, you have to choose the right keywords. If you target the wrong keywords, your web site promotion efforts will be in vain. It's important to start with multiple word keywords to make your web site relevant to a topic.