Having achieved numerous #1 rankings for a plethora of keywords within a competitive sector (eCommerce), I have been able to identify and understand the variables that positively affect the major search algorithms. That is what this article is all about, letting you in on the most important variables that affect your website from a search optimization standpoint.

Google, Yahoo, and MSN should all be three sources of substantial traffic to your website or your eCommerce store. To not try and execute some sort of SEO optimization attempt is literally missing out on thousands of potential customers that may have interest with your business or your product offering.

The following list outlines ten rules to follow when embarking on your SEO journey. Enough talk - lets get to work!

When just starting in SEO - Target words that are attainable and precise

Of course every business wants to be ranked #1 for the top 3 highest trafficked keywords, but in most cases it is the secondary tier of terms that can deliver your best profits. This rule becomes even more true if you are just starting your SEO execution and have a limited # of existing links that are inbound. By starting out optimizing for the 2nd tier of keywords, your success chances are raised and your speed to first page rank increases dramatically.

Understand the concept of keyword density and make sure your terms are in the right percentage range

Keyword density is the percentage of total words within the body of a page that is the keyword that you are targeting. For example, lets suppose your were a fishing products retailer trying to optimize your homepage for the terms "fishing supplies". Within the page, the term "fishing supplies" should represent between 5-10% of the total text. Go more than ten percent through un-natural writing and your page may be flagged as spam. Go less than 5% and your density may not be high enough. 5-10% has proven to be the "sweet spot" in today's search algorithm regarding keyword density.

Leverage "viral" marketing for your link building

One way links are more valuable than reciprocal links. Because of "link farms", the major engines have reconstructed their algorithms to place a higher value on one way links. Outside of buying these links which is also considered black hat tactics by Google engineers, the most effective way is to syndicate original content on via the internet to other content hungry webmasters. By crafting original articles that include your business URL, and by manually submitting these articles to content networks/article directories on the internet, when these articles are shown live by other sites you have a natural "one way" credit link for the content. These one way links make you seen as more of an authority within the engines and hence drive up your natural rankings.

Go after 2-3 primary keywords per page, no more and no less

Each page should focus on ranking well for two, maybe three keywords per page. By targeting tags and content towards a more specific keyword focus, success chances are increased and the content can be focused towards the keywords. Optimizing a page for 5+ terms is a waste of time and will just lead to poor rankings for the attempted terms.

Tighten up your title tags

Title tags are the single biggest ?on page? component to the major search engine algorithms. It is crucial that your tag be only the two to three keyword phrases that you are targeting within the webpage and that the keywords are replicated within additional tags and within the body of the text. Avoid commas within title tags and stick to a format that has worked tremendously for many retailers and brands. Use the ?|? key on your keyboard as it is a natural looking phrase separator that is easier to index than a title with commas. Take a look at the example below:

Title 1: Fishing Supplies, Tackle, Rods

Title 2: Fishing Supplies | Fishing Tackle | Fishing Rods

The second example is a more effective written title tag that will rank better within the engines. It is more specific to a user, easier to index, and repeats the keyword ?fishing? which is extremely pertinent to the theme of the page.

Include core keyword in the url if possible

Including a targeted keyword within a url string has become a vital practice of SEO as of late, especially within eCommerce where businesses are targeting to increase rankings of unique product pages for researching shoppers online. Most sites in the eCommerce sector however are dynamic, and generate URL's that include characters such as ??? or a ?&? that tend to limit crawling by web spiders.

A better practice is to implement a module within your platform that automatically generates static URL's (ie. an ?.htm? URL string) that includes your most profitable keyword. Look below for an example:

Old URL: www.yourcompany.com/category/641?product-632.aspx

New URL: www.yourcompany.com/category/dvd/sony-dvd-recorder-63754.htm

Notice the .htm at the end of the string and the mention of the product within the URL. By executing both your site will be more deeply crawled and more properly indexed.

Understand "anchor text" and why it is so critical

Anchor text is the text of your links on external site. For instance, using Trinity as the example, the link eCommerce Consulting on a link partner site will take a web surfer to http://www.trinityinsight.com. ?eCommerce Consulting? is considered the anchor text for that link. It is crucial that within content syndication and organic link building your business make sure that you're most vital and targeted keywords are represented within the anchor text that points to your website.

Make these changes and continue to add great original content to your site and see your rise in the search engines happen. More than anything you need patience as it does not happen overnight. Be prepared to wait at least 6 months to see any immediate impact, especially if you have just been recently indexed.