By Joshua Strebel | www.obuweb.com

Search Engine Optimization is really about doing one thing, building relevancy for your website. Sites that have top rankings, are deemed to be the most relevant for that search term. The search engines look a few things when determining relevancy, here is a quick list to get the beginner SEO started.

1. Choose 2 or 3 “keyword phrases” describing your product
or service. Think of a phrase someone would use to search for
a website like yours. “Phoenix Web Design or “Metal Buildings“. Try to strike
a balance between being too broad, or too specific. Too broad and
you will be buried among the competition, Too focused you limit
your audience.

2. Use relevant keyword phrases and use them throughout
your web site Title, Description, Keywords, Links, and Copy. This
is called “Keyword
Density“. Be mindful not to overdo it, write for the human first.

3. Use the H1-H6, P tags to organize content into logical sections. Open a section with a keyword title in a H2 tag, and discuss that topic within a P tag below.

4. Obtain quality inbound links (IBL) with keyword rich anchor
text to your site. Search Engines love links,
your web site is given “points” by the quality of links
to your site. Anchor Text is the linked text that is actually
highlighted. So Professional Web Design is
the Anchor text of a link pointing to http://obuweb.com. You
may approach other sites to offer a “link exchange”, or buy links on other sites. Relevancy
counts, so try to avoid Viagra links unless you deal in pharmacy/medical
products. High profile IBL’s also greatly enhance your
search engine positioning. A link from Amazon.com to your
site is tops, while a link from joestrouthaus.com is not
given as much wieght.

5. Participate in online forums, or discussion boards, and BLOG. This will help you
get your name/website out there, say something useful and add to the community. By participating on a positive level you will build incoming links and audience.