Search engine rules are changing constantly, causing it to be sometimes difficult to keep track. To make things easier, we have broken the process down into 10 steps.

THE KEYWORDS FOR YOUR SUCCESS:
Find keywords and phrases that are effective for your web site. Selecting keywords should be the first step for anyone wanting to build a high ranking web site. Start out by making a list of single words and phrases that you think will be used in a search to try and find your subject matter. Start off with about 100 words and or phrases. You will refine this list later.

Always try to list your keywords as phrases (two or more words). There will be a lot more sites listed under single keywords, so phrases with two or more words in them will give you a better chance of coming up against fewer sites and maybe even rank higher.

Put your keywords and key phrases in order of importance. The reason for this is because some search engines only take a limited number of keywords and you want to be sure that they are used.

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PAGE TITLE:
Aside from the content of the web site, the web sites title is without a doubt, one of the most important optimization tools.

Search engines put a lot of weight on the words in the page title. Placing this tag first and making your main (first) keyword the first word in your title, will give you a very powerful boost in ranking.

Don't forget that this the first thing that people will see when they see your page in a search result, so make it good! keep it short and appealing -- let it sell your site.  

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META TAGS:
Metatags are meant to help search engines categorize web sites.

There are several META tags, but only three of them are really important: the description metatag, the keyword META tag, and the title tag. These tags are important when planning a search engine strategy, but just simply including them will not guarantee that your site will get good placement in the search engines.

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OPTIMIZING WRITTEN CONTENT:
The actual content of your web site is another important factor in your search engine strategy.

The search engine spiders are basically 'blind'. They cannot see pictures, Flash or any other graphics. Having sufficient text on all pages for the search engines to index will increase your chances of better placement.

Search engines also look for keyword density in the text of your pages. This means that it is a good idea to use as many keywords in your content of your page.

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CHECK FOR SPAM:
Search engine spam is the use of unethical methods trying to improve your sites position in search engine ranking.

Here are some things to avoid doing:  

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DESIGN / LAYOUT OF YOUR SITE:
Your site should load fast, and look clean and pleasant. Navigation should be accessible on all pages and you should not rely on the 'back' button to navigate your site.

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KEYWORD RICH DOMAIN NAME:
The right domain name can have a huge impact on your search engine rankings.