The old SEO tricks just don't work anymore. Keyword spamming and invisible phrases are not only looked down upon in the world of internet marketing, they can actually get your pages banned! This may sound like bad news, but it's actually a great opportunity for you to get Google to fall in love with your site…naturally.



The most important thing for you to remember is that 90% of a search engine's rankings are based on links and content. Keywords are still important, but your focus should be on including them in your text rather than in your META tags. Does this sound too simple to be true? The good news is that it's both as simple as it sounds and quite true. All you need to do is use the best keywords, get the best inbound links, and closely monitor your progress. Keep reading to see these steps broken down for you:

1. Use the Best Keywords

Use Google's database to help you determine which keywords and phrases you should use. Type a keyword or phrase into the database and see that you not only get a lot of data, but you also get a list of other keywords to consider using. As you're getting this information from Google, use very specific keywords and phrases. You'll be able to see very quickly which keywords will set you apart from your competitors.

Let's look at an example. Say that your webpage focuses on racing bicycles. Rather than just using the word “bicycles,” try the phrase “racing bicycles.” To get even better results, imagine the words a person might use if he were looking for a racing bike, like, “I want to race bicycles” You might find that the phrase “race bicycles” gets even better results than “racing bicycles.” As you're researching your top keywords, list them in order from best to worst.

2. Write the Best Content

Natural text algorithms can tell whether your writing is geared toward other human beings or toward getting higher search engine rankings, and writing geared toward humans is richly rewarded. Try this exercise to meet the criteria both of writing for your human audience and writing to fit in as many keywords as possible:

Call a friend and tell her exactly what you want visitors to your site to know. Then write down what you said as close to verbatim as possible. It would be even more beneficial to record your conversation if possible. Now, put your top keyword in the first paragraph, as close to the first sentence as you can get it. Then put your second-most popular keyword somewhere close to the top of the first paragraph. If possible, squeeze in your third keyword at the end of the first paragraph or the beginning of the second. Make sure you don't repeat any of your keywords more than three times on each page; otherwise you text will look contrived.

3. Get Links

75% of your success in SEO will depend on the quality of your inbound links. Once you've gotten your links, you need to monitor the status of your site and determine how the search engines see it. In the old days this was done by hand, but now there are plenty of good SEO tools that will do it for you.

While this is a simple process, some internet marketers may still find it time-consuming and an inefficient use of resources. In that case, consulting with an SEO expert or internet marketing consultant might be a good option. Such professionals would be able to do some or all of this work for you, or just help you get started on the right path. Either way, dominating Google will put you ahead of your competition quickly and easily.