Often, when we speak to new clients, we’re asked for Search Engine placement guarantees. We have to explain to them that Search Engine Optimization is about working smarter with the Search Engines and not by just adding keywords and submitting your site to every Search Engine and directory possible.
This article is for website owners who want to separate the hype from the basics. This article is written from years of experience working with (against?)the Google PageRank algorithm – what I’ve found works and what just wastes a lot of time and effort.
Rule 1: Relevant Inbound Links.
If you’re going to rank highly with Google, you can’t have enough relevant, quality inbound links. I know, you’ve heard it before, but now it has a lot more to do with HOW you obtain inbound links. The links you acquire from other sites are the paths to your website for search engine crawlers and visitors alike. Links that are relevant to your website, and have a high Page Rank themselves, increase your website’s value with Google and links from weak sites detract from that value and credibility.
Be selective in reciprocal linking. Both reciprocal and one way links can work, if you are prudent in selecting the links. Be sure to submit your website to the relevant sections in the major directories.
The best approach is to build a ‘link baiting’ website that attracts links due to the current, interesting information you provide. Active Blogs, Press Releases, and submitting articles to eZines … these all help to attract quality, inbound links to your website.
Rule 2: Know Your Competition.
"Rank" is the relative position of a website in the Search Engines’ natural results. How competitive is the keyword or search term you’re trying to rank highly for? If there’s little competition, anyone can get you 1st page search results. It’s the competitive search terms that draw large amounts of traffic that are difficult to rank for.
How well you do in the search engine results is a function of how much hard work you’ve done in relation to your competition and the keywords and search terms that you’re most likely to rank highly for - AND that get enough traffic to satisfy your business model.
Analyze your competition's keywords, links, keyword density, and design - but be sure to never plagiarize – don’t copy your competition, improve upon it!

Rule 3: Ranking Highly with the Right Keywords.
Ask yourself what keywords and search terms your ‘most likely customers’ will use on the major Search Engines. Many businesses make the mistake of simply attempting to increase traffic to their site rather than making their primary goal to attract internet visitors that provide the highest ‘clickthrough’ or purchase rates. You can have 10,000 visitors per day, but if they don’t buy or ‘clickthrough’ they’re just a statistic. High ranking for the right keywords (keywords used by your target audience) is imperative. Make sure the keywords you choose are attracting the best audience possible – based on your business model, of course.

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