August 21st, 2010 by Jon

In life it’s often the simple ways that are the most effective. This is as true of search engine optimization as it is of everything else, although professionals these days agree that it’s an ever more complex area of expertise. Algorithms used by search engines to determine ranking on results pages are growing more sophisticated, as sites seek newer and more innovative methods of achieving the search rank they need. These days, professionals who are worth the money they charge will not advocate the use of any methods likely to incur the wrath of the search engines.

Repercussions of using methods they disapprove of include filtration and penalties, and any punishment is guaranteed to be detrimental in terms of traffic to a site. Having said that the professionals are wise enough not to use so-called ‘black-hat’ methods, there are some techniques you’ll want to be aware of that they do still use. It’s useful to know what you can do for yourself and to have a basic grounding in the subject, even if you do still decide to choose from one of the many good quality SEO services available. Here’s a list of six basic and useful tips that you don’t need a professional to advise you about.

1. Be continually active. Don’t get left behind through losing your enthusiasm. Try to maintain a healthy degree of enthusiasm by reminding yourself of the importance of SEO in bringing traffic to your site. See traffic as the life-blood that will keep your company alive and make it grow. If you allow yourself to become passive about things like SEO link building, social media optimization and internet reputation management then you’re likely to be left behind in today’s highly competitive electronic market place. Sounds like common sense? Maybe, but it’s surprising how many companies allow their standards to slip and suffer the consequences.

2. Carry on using the link building strategies that work for your site. Too many businesses lose sight of the fact that a site that functions well and works from a good marketing perspective will feature good SEO by default. If you feel lost in a flood of advice about links, remember the golden rule that a useful, user-friendly site is what you want from every angle.

3. Be nice. It is a guiding principle that brings rewards in the field of SEO as in others. Methods which purposefully detract from competitors will not serve as well as good practise to promote a site. Attacking competitors can make you look unprofessional and petty, and it ultimately uses a lot of time and energy that could be much better spent. Be part of a community and contribute in a meaningful way if you want to earn the respect of users.

4. Practice your art. Don’t limit yourself by focusing all of your efforts on one site. Try to have many on which you work to improve the SEO. In practical terms this might mean creating useful sites that relate to your main one. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination as far as this is concerned, and through practice you’ll improve over time. You’ll learn which methods work best and in what ways. Similarly you’ll realise your limitations. New ideas will probably occur to you too.

5. Write. The importance of good quality original material on pages can’t be underestimated from an SEO or a general marketing standpoint. If you’re employing someone to write for you, think about contributing some of you own work as well. You’re likely to find that as a person with knowledge and experience you’re able to write well about what interests you. Get involved in commenting on blogs featured on other sites too. Don’t be lazy when there’s so much at stake!

6. Get engaged. Continuing from tip #5, as well as commenting on other blogs, use every other means at your disposal of joining in topical debate and conversation. Use social media and social media optimization methods to bring your voice to the fore on sites that receive enormous exposure. Put a face to your name by implementing a set of tactics to get heard.

We very much hope you’ve found our six tips useful. Maybe they‘ve reminded you of things you knew already. It’s easy to get lost in the woods when it comes to modern SEO. Remember that you’ve got the power to make things better through simple means.

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