Search Engine Optimization: Increase Your Search Engine Ranking Using Content Optimization

By: Mary Smith
Published: Mar 6, 2009
Updated: Mar 14, 2010

Search Engine Optimization: Increase Your Search Engine Ranking Using Content Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) promises to deliver quick results while making shortcuts in an effort to achieve a good page ranking on Google, Yahoo and MSN. There are Web sites that actually sell advice from experts to help you get an increasing rank, but often these experts forget that their human too. Most people who buy advice from SEO experts might get results while others who don't use the method can achieve better success.

I'll give you an example of a friend who owned a sports Web site. Initially, he built a Web site to offer NFL, MLB and NBA game scores. He spent a lot of time on content, writing about teams and coaches, hoping to a achieve a high ranking on search engines. The site was trying to compete with large companies such as ESPN which is merely impossible.

A year later, he became tired of trying Search Engine Optimization practices which didn't help. The Web site received about 20 hits a day and that was adding to the frustration. He also purchased a program to help him rank pages and keywords, but that didn't help his search rankings either.

Search Engine Optimization will follow unique Web sites and content.

While watching a football game, he got excited about a new idea for his Website. He started posting injury reports and the latest news about the teams. This is one example of putting content first, keywords later.

Most people make the mistake by building their sites based off primary keywords from search results. A Website domain name that doesn't contain any keywords can achieve a similar high ranking than one that does. It's all about the content.

My friend saw instant results when he started focusing on injury reports and team news. Moreover, his Website was beating ESPN on injury report keywords. The unique content, without any Search Engine Optimization, gave him about 50,000 visits per day.

Never try to fool the search engines, they know more than you think.

Search Engine Optimization works for some, but it shouldn't be used to get higher rankings. Most people make the mistake by buying domain names based on keywords. Instead of focusing on the keywords first, why not worry about them later? Always focus on what content you can write and then everything else will follow.

If you build it, they will come. However, stay original and be unique. Compose content, check for spelling errors, and stay honest with the search engines.