A Search Engine Ranking Tip: Build For Surfers Not Search Engines.

"Now, wait a minute. My business depends on search engine rankings and Google traffic. I must optimize my pages".

I agree that optimization is important to rank well in the search engines. But I would like to start this article by discussing the basic idea - as I understand it - behind search engine ranking and opimization.

I agree that a page should be optimized. Your site should be optimized to inform the spiders about the subject matter of your site. Before you dismiss this as nonsense, bare with me.

Search Engine Ranking And Back To Basics

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) started "honest". The Internet would level the playing field and give the little guy a chance to compete by ranking well in the search engines. The "best" content would rule the Internet. Then webmasters lost their footing.....

As a result we saw stuffed "alt" and "meta" tags and went on to crude cloaking, invisible text, interlinking madness, nonsense pages and so on -- all to rank well in the search engines. And nobody really knows where we are today. What works one month, is penalized in the next update.

The key is that nobody knows what "tricks" that will work next time - but we know one thing. Content is king.

I feel that SEO is what webmasters should do to make it easier on the search engine robots to understand what our page covers. In some ways, back to basics. Once in title, once in heading, early in first paragraph, sprinkle your keyword throughout the page and interlink with moderation. And, if you ask me, search engine rankings will follow.

Does It Sound Too Simplistic To Rank Well In The Major Saerch Engines?

"If I follow your advice, I will be ranked number 2000!" Frankly, if that is the case, you are competing for keywords out of your league. I do not expect to be ranked high for words like "credit card", "casino", "mortgage" or "buy books online". I am not there yet. But I know I have a shot at a less competetive keyword phrase. And as phrases bring more targetted visitors I am not complaining..

Sure, less visitors. But on the other hand they are more qualified. I know what they are looking for and I can give it to them in plain language. And most importantly, they will be able to find me!

The Content Method To Search Engine Rankings

So my advice on getting good search engine rankings is great content. Do not spend all your time looking for the next "trick". Even if you find it, the competetive advantage is more than likely gone in an update or two. But good content will always be good content. Build good pages and expand your site. If you believe search engines are in business to help people find good and relevant information, then the content method may be the way of the future.

And as an added benefit, you may learn that there is more to traffic than Google as other search engines and directories start listing your site and send you visitors. And as your site grows, your reputation grows with it. Now webmasters will be interested in linking to you. And as more and more web sites link to you, search engines take notice and improved rankings follow. And so it goes on. It truly is beautiful in all its simplicity.