Sunday, March 1, 2009

Why Internet Optimization Is So Much Fun

By Simon M Skinner

SEO, or search engine optimization is something which a lot of people find intimidating ? after all, the name sounds like something which isn't going to be a whole lot of fun. However, it doesn't have to be an ordeal; once you learn a bit about SEO, you might find that SEO can be a lot of fun. Search engine optimization is essentially the practice of using keywords (the words people type into Google or other search engines) in the text of your website, articles and other material online. Let's put it this way ? say that you have a website which sells camping tents. If you want people to be able to find your site easily by using search engines, you'll want to optimize your website for the words and phrases which people use when searching the web for camping tents.

SEO doesn't have to be terribly complicated and you can have fun doing it. The secret is to look at optimizing your text as something fun rather than a chore. Once you practice a little and gain some skill at it, you'll find that it's something you enjoy doing. So what can you do to make SEO fun? Make a game of it. Here's how ? start by just writing down everything you'd like to say on your website. Don't worry too much about your keywords yet, just write! After you get your first draft down, go through it and identify all of the keywords and key phrases you've already included. Next, go back and try to work in other keywords which you didn't include the first time. One trick is to try replacing pronouns like "it" that refer to a keyword. Make sure that your text still makes sense though!

This is because while you can have a lot of fun with SEO, it is possible to overdo it. People really don't want to read something which is overcrowded with keywords. A good rule of thumb is to keep your keywords to 1-2% density. What does this mean? It means that you should have one or two keywords per 100 words of text. For instance, if you have written a web page or article which is about 400 words long, your keyword should be in there about 4-8 times. Try making a game of it and see if you can "hit the target" on your first try. With some practice, this will become second nature and you'll be producing search engine optimized content with the best of them.

SEO isn't completely effortless, but with some practice you'll find that you know something a lot of other people don't ? that SEO isn't as hard as many think and can actually be fun to do. Just remember to keep your keywords balanced and you'll be able to get a better ranking for your website while writing content that people will actually want to read. - 15433

About the Author: