Choose a Topic
If you are starting from scratch and do not have a previously developed Web site to begin working on, choosing a topic for your Web site is the first step in starting a successful search-engine-optimization plan.
Increasing your Web site rankings for competitive topics is much more difficult than increasing rankings for less competitive topics.
Most general terms are very competitive and extremely difficult to rank for. Google provides free acces to its Keyword Tool at: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.
This tool is extremely useful if you are building out a pay-per-click advertising campaign.
Find Your Target Audience
Your target audience is the group of people that you are trying to reach through your online marketing efforts. Target audiences are often defined by demographics such as age groups, nationalities, or specific interests.
Make sure you speak the same language on your Web site that you target audience uses. Rather than waste time trying to figure out what that audience is later, try to define your audience early in the search-engine-optimization process.
You can use a tool like google Trends to discover trends in the popularity of different search queries: http://www.google.com/trends.
If you Web site users are turned off by the Web site design, they may not stick around long enough to read the content anyway. When you design your Web site, be sure to design it around the tastes of you target audience.
Set a Budget
Web Design and Web Development Cost
Web site design can not only affect search-engine rankings, but it also can directly affect your site’s conversion rates. The conversion rate of you site is the percentage of visitors that are converted into a sale. A difference in only a fraction of a percentage point can have enormous impact on whether a search-engine-optimization campaign is profitable or a drain on financial resources.
Keyword Research Cost
A quality keyword research and analysis tool is often on of the first investments that any search-engine-optimization specialist makes. The cost varies from $50-$100 a month.
Content Development Cost
You may decide to outsource content creating to skilled copywriters who write content at an hourly rate. These rates vary depending on the skill and experience of the writer. You should expect to pay between $15 – $75 per hour for content writing. To compete with other Web sites in competitive markets, your site has to contain a substantial amount of unique relevant content.
Set Goals
Search-engine optimization is not an exact science, and even if you follow best practices, there are no guarantees.
Process Steadily
Spread out your search-engine-optimization work over time or risk a penalty from search engines for trying to manipulate their ranking algorithms.
Focus on Natural Growth
The search engines what to see a slow, steady, and natural growth of your Web site.
Keep Up with Industry News
Unlike many other industries, search-engine marketing experts are generally not afraid to share some of their best secrets. Respected industry blogs like Search Engine Land, SEOmoz, pepperjamBlog and others are updated frequently. Customize a free newsreader like Google’s personal home pages to display the most recent entries of your favorite blogs.
