3 Steps for Guaranteed Search Engine Optimization

Keywords: How to use them and where to put them.

Watch out for consultants and programs that still focus on old ideas. The Meta keywords are not nearly as important as they once were. The most important placement for keywords, in order, is: URL, Page Title, Description, and h1 Tag. The reason title and description are so important is because search engines use this information when displaying their results. Most search engines will make the keyword matches bold, which will increase the number of clicks per impression.
Using the keywords in the URL is also known as search engine friendly URLs. Most content management systems use post numbers in the URL, sampledomain.com/post_id=39, something like that. Users will not be searching for post 39, so this structure does not help your website.

Website Links: Understanding internal links vs. backlinks.

Internal links are found within your website linking related/important pages. It’s important not to just copy/paste the URL and avoid the words “click here”. When you create a link, make sure you use keywords. Linking related words a page will help users and search engines understand where it is they’re going when they click.
Backlinks are links from a different website to yours, but the same rules apply. Make sure the text uses appropriate keywords and link the correct page. The quality of the page where the link is found determines the quality of the link itself. There are a lot of link exchange scams out there so be careful. It is important to focus on quality over quantity. Think of it like someone recommending a movie. The better you know and trust the person, the more valuable the recommendation is to you.
While it is important to design a website that search engines like, keep it mind it’s more important to design one that users like. If you dedicate all of your resources to SEO/design and neglect your user base, you could end up hurting your ROI. Make sure your users always come first.

Report and Analyze: Easier than it looks.

Google’s webmaster tools and analytics make this process easier than ever. These elements are essential when trying to determine why some parts of the website are generating traffic and others are not. Also, this is a great way to test multiple landing page designs. Make sure when using a SEO consultant or web designer, they use/implement these tools.
If you are in need of SEO consulting services, please contact me anytime. I would be happy to answer any of your questions and maybe even write an article to help you along the way. Always make sure your users come first.