Steps for Building a Successful Online Business – Web Page Optimization
If your online business consists of a website promoting products or services, then your business depends upon getting traffic to your site. It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to sell if no one ever finds it. You must continually work to get traffic to your site on a daily basis. I’m going to detail the steps I take to build my online business, and how you can do the same.
Step One: Web Page Optimization
SEO, or search engine optimization is important for your website. Specifically, I’m going to talk about web page optimization. This first step is THE most important step that you can take to build your online business. Your website’s survival depends on it! Skipping this step is futile for you and your business. If you want to succeed, then make sure you do this FIRST.
Make sure you optimize your web pages for the search engines, importantly your homepage. Don’t worry, it’s not rocket science. Just follow the steps below, and you’ll be well on your way.
- Keyword Research – Web page optimization begins with keyword research. Find and pick keywords that people search for that are relevant to your site. Here’s what I mean by this. If you sell dog toys on your site, then keywords you might choose are “dog toys,” “dog accessories,” etc. The more relevant, the better. These are keywords that people actually search for in the search engines to find your site.
- Keyword Tools – It helps to know how many times a certain keyword phrase is searched for. Keyword tools can be very helpful for determining the best phrases to optimize your site for. Here’s a good list of keyword tools: Google’s Keyword Tool, Keyword Discovery, SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool, and Wordpot. They are all free to use and will give you a pretty good idea on how many people search for a given term. You want a good amount of searches per day for each keyword phrase, at least 200-300 a day. Here’s where it gets tricky. You don’t want much competition for those keywords, either. Once you find a few good keywords, do a search on Google for that phrase in quotes. If you want to rank for online business, then do a search for “online business” including the quotes, and see how many pages are returned. This will give you an idea of how much competition you will be up against.
- Keyword Placement – Web page optimization is achieved with proper keyword placement. This requires you know a little bit about HTML. Don’t fret, it’s not a big deal. If you don’t know much about HTML you can take a look at this Basic HTML Tag Tutorial. There’s more on HTML on that site, so have a look around and learn something new. Okay, back to web page optimization. Make sure to place your keyword phrase between the <TITLE> and </TITLE> tags of your page. Only put one of your phrases in the title, as Google will give more emphasis on it. If your page has a Header tag, described as <H1> and </H1>, then put it between them as well. If you’re not sure about this, then check the HTML source code and see. If you need an HTML editor, you can grab one for free called Nvu. Also, if you want, create a Header 2 tag, <H2> and </H2>, and put your keyword phrase between them as well. Make sure to use your keyword phrase throughout the content of your page. Sprinkle it here and there, but make sure to use it at the beginning and end of the content. This is very important.
Okay, no it’s not rocket science, and yes, web page optimization is work. Building an online business isn’t easy, but with a little work and effort it can be achieved. Remember, this is the first and most important step to building your online business. If you want a more in-depth look into SEO I suggest you grab a copy of the 3 Steps To Search Engine Success. I have seen this ebook firsthand, so I know the kind of value that it contains. It’s simple and easy to follow. It would be a wise investment for someone that needs to learn how to optimize their site.
In part 2, I will discuss the next step you should take in building your successful online business. Keep in mind that this first step is the foundation for the next steps to come, so DON’T skip this step!
P.S. If you found this useful please leave me a comment 
as you’ll be rewarded with a backlink. It’s what makes SEO work!
Tags: online business, web page optimization
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Filed under: online business • Search Engine Optimization
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Hi Alan – Well you’ve inspired me to put some effort into SEO – mostly I just forget about it because it drives me crazy trying to cover all the bases. Look forward to your next part..
Best Regards
Phil Eugene
[Reply]
Twitter: AMater
says:
Hi Phil,
Yes! SEO can be quite frustrating and time consuming. The next steps that I will be detailing will build upon SEO, and I assure you, if you follow them, the efforts will pay off.
Thanks for reading!
[Reply]
Hi Alan
This is an area that just drives me crazy. Not that I don’t understand, it just seems like being at the casino. If you stumble upon the right combination, you’re a big winner. If not, pull the lever one more time. I have asked this in the PPG forum, but guess everyone was too busy (and I won’t repeat myself) but what about your blog as far as meta tags and descriptions. Or is that just all controlled with your articles and tags?
Thanks for your post and I downloaded all the material.
Leon Bowes
[Reply]
Twitter: AMater
says:
Hi Leon,
With a Blogger blog like yours, the only thing you can really do is add meta tags to the template and make sure to have a good title in the Settings with your keywords. Other than that, your posts and tags have to do the rest.
Unfortunately, Blogger isn’t nearly as SEO friendly as WordPress. That’s why I switched.
Suzanne should be able to help you over in the PPG. I just proofread her new SEO ebook she’s coming out with, and she knows her stuff. I actually learned a couple of things from reading it.
Hope that helps.
[Reply]
Hi, Alan:
Thanks for Part 1 of the SEO overview. As marketers, we can never hear those recommendations often enough – it is a constant responsibility to keep up with our SEO.
Like Leon, I find it is touch-and-go sometimes, too! You think you have it sorted out, then something else comes up that needs to be changed or learned.
GT Bulmer
StarrBizz.com
[Reply]
Twitter: AMater
says:
GT,
SEO is constantly changing, and as marketers, we have to keep changing it with it. Some of it is just trial and error when it comes to web page optimization.
Test, test and test some more
[Reply]
Alan,
SEO is a very important area to work on when building an online business. I am looking forward to learning more in your future posts.
Alan Thomas / Simple Work From Home Opportunity
[Reply]
SEO can be a lot of work but is worth it in the long run. Good article thanks.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Order Management Software,
You’re right, the time and effort put in will always pay off in the end.
Thanks for visiting and contributing.
[Reply]
Since I am using word-press I still have some problem using those tags that you are talking about in this post. Even a meta description I had some issue using it because the theme that I have does not support tagline for whatever reason. My question is when using those tags do you put on the top of the post for each page?
.-= Arold Augustin´s last blog ..Live Art Galleries =-.
[Reply]
Alan Mater
Twitter: AMater
@Arold Augustin,
Hi Arold,
I recommend downloading and installing the All-in-on SEO plug-in for WordPress: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/.
Also, I like to use the Simple Tags plug-in as this makes tagging your posts for different words very easy, and it provides a lot of useful features: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-tags/.
Both of these should help you out tremendously. Let me know if you have any questions about either one.
I’ll soon be posting about all the WordPress plug-ins I use and recommend, so stay tuned for that.
[Reply]
I have actually done all of the on page optimization that you describe. You always provide the reader with useful information in your posts. Thank you so much.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah Johnson´s last [type] ..Samsonite Silhouette Spinner
[Reply]
SEO works has become a must. When SEO was a very new concept I never thought it’ll bring such a great impact. I had to learn about optimization and I’m still learning
SEO is like a big ocean and it looks like it’ll take me forever to become well versed in this subject.
[Reply]
Twitter: soeace
says:
I would have to agree, SEO, though it is hard is a must in creating success online. It doesn’t matter if you run a local company or a internet marketing site, SEO is key.
Successful Online Business´s last [type] ..Is There A Right Way To Do Keyword Research?
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