Learn/10-SEO-Strategies-that-Work

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Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of best practices that can help your blog or website get the maximum possible traffic. SEO work is done both "on-site" and "off-site." On-site SEO means improving important parts of your site to make it more visible to search engines, while off-site SEO means finding ways to promote your site in other places - mostly, other websites.

There are "black-hat" SEO methods, or those that use shady or underhanded techniques, and "white-hat" methods, or those that are completely above board. I believe that the white-hat methods work better in the long run. You can read more about black hat versus white hat in our article, but in the meantime, let's explore a few essential white-hat SEO methods.

1) Get backlinks.

Links from other sites to yours - called inbound links - are important because they can get you direct traffic when people click on them. While NoFollow links are great for direct traffic, getting followed links can also help your site's SEO and PageRank.

Numbers 2 through 8 below will help your website get more links, and they will also help your site in general. For more tips and ideas for getting links to your website, read our articles about link building.

2) Constantly generate original content.

It's fine to run reprint articles from elsewhere from time to time on your website. You'll get best results, though, from creating as much original content as possible on your site. Search engines place a premium on original articles that are rich in keywords relevant to the content.

If you like to talk better than you like to type, a program like Dragon Dictate for Mac or Dragon NaturallySpeaking for PC can be a good way to generate content quickly. Just be sure to proofread!

3) Create your own business blog.

A blog can help you promote your main site, and create backlinks to your main site. It can also help your customers see you as more personable. For details on how to get started, read Business Blog 101.

4) Contribute to forums.

This is an off-site way of promoting your site. You simply go to forums related to your niche topic and answer people's questions. For example, an online pet supplies store owner could go to forums about pet care and answer questions about things like the best shampoo for dogs with sensitive skin, or how to protect white dogs from sunburn.

You will want to choose forums that allow you to place a link back to your own site in the signature that appears at the bottom of every post.

5) Get site reviews.

You can request reviews of your site on appropriate forums and get not only backlinks, but also valuable feedback on your site. Don't be selfish! Be willing to review other sites on your own site. If your company is an Internet startup, for example, you can ask for a review on {{{2}}} (visit).

6) Submit your site to directories.

This is not as popular as it once was, but it could still be worth your time to submit your site to some of the bigger and more important directories, especially those directly related to your niche topic. For example, {{{2}}} (visit) is a directory for the self-improvement field.

Some of the bigger, more important directories:

• {{{2}}} (visit) - A business directory for U.S. companies.
• {{{2}}} (visit) - A directory for local businesses.
• {{{2}}} (visit) - A large wiki website directory where you can create custom website profiles. AboutUs will change NoFollow links to DoFollow links (the kind of backlinks that help SEO) after an editorial review.
• {{{2}}} (visit) - A directory that allows business owners to add a variety of content, links, and a Twitter stream to their profile.
• {{{2}}} (visit) - Technology publication TechCrunch's business directory. Profiles are included in TechCrunch posts.
• {{{2}}} (visit) - Similar to CrunchBase profiles, VentureBeat's business profiles are included as widgets in VentureBeat posts.

7) Submit articles.

Another good use of original content is to make it available for republishing on other sites and in article directories. This will help you improve your visibility and gain strategic back links. You should require anyone republishing your work to include a link back to the original article on your site.

Here are some websites where you can submit articles:

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8) Update your site regularly.

Search engines are looking for new information. If your site remains static it will not give them a reason to return and index your pages again. You want search engines to crawl your site regularly so your pages can be included in relevant search results.

9) Provide RSS feeds.

RSS, which stands for "really simple syndication," provides a way for people interested in your content to be alerted every time you share new content. RSS software is widely available around the Web.

10) A sitemap

A sitemap helps people find what they want on your site, and also makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site, index your pages, and apply the appropriate rankings. For more info about creating a sitemap, read about HTML sitemaps or XML sitemaps.

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As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do to improve your site rankings. The idea is not to try to implement all of these strategies but to discover the ones that work best for you and then implement them in a consistent basis.