Keyword optimization therefore involves selecting the right (relevant) keywords; facilitating web crawlers (spiders) to easily find and index the relevant contents in the web pages by including important keywords in the anchor text of metatags; and ensuring inclusion of relevant keywords in header tags. Keyword optimization is crucial for the success of both search engine optimization (SEO) for organic searches as well as for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

The first practical step to get leads (keywords which can then be expanded) for keyword optimization is to try and think as customers searching for the product category would do. However, researching keywords manually is not a practical option when a large number of keywords and phrases are involved. Fortunately, online keyword research tools are available commercially on the Net, such as, for example, ‘WordTracker’ or ‘KeywordDiscovery’ etc, which can facilitate the process of keyword optimization. Continuous testing of keywords and phrases to ascertain their relevance in a dynamic market is also important for any successful keyword optimization process.

Meta tags, in certain cases, also influence the way the site appears in the search results by specifying which titles (HTTP headers) should be sent first before the actual content when the HTML page is served to the client server from the web server. Properly designed Meta tags improve site rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs) and often cause an increase of traffic to the website.

There are several types of Meta tags, the most important and commonly used being the Keyword and the Description Meta tags. The Keyword Meta tag informs search engines about the keywords of the site by including some (about ten or so) of the most important keywords selected. The Description Meta tag, about a couple of lines long, contains textual information about the site content for search engines and, along with the Title tag, is crucial for improving site rankings. There is even a Meta tag (the ‘Robots tag’) which can instruct spiders about which pages to index (and which not). Each website page should have its own Meta tags to improve site rankings since search engines consider each page of a site separately.

Landing page has other important functions. Getting customers interested in your product or service is the first objective. If a person has searched for keywords relevant to you and has reached your landing page means that you have done half the job. Making them to buy is another kettle of fish altogether. The landing page should be so designed that a visitor is enticed into making a purchase and that too immediately. If a person or customer decides to buy some other day, you have lost the battle of wits. A landing page will be performing its task effectively only if there is a purchase.

Landing pages should be designed keeping search engine optimization in mind. Keywords should be spread evenly over the entire page and should seem natural and not forced. Search engine algorithms are pretty smart and can penalize you if the keyword density is not natural. As far as possible we must ensure that the language can be understood by humans since it is they who would be purchasing your product or service. In our enthusiasm to manage a better page rank we sometimes forget that the ultimate aim of a landing page is to sell

The first reason is obviously back links. If you are constantly writing and commenting on forums, you can provide back links to your own site. This will bring additional traffic to your site but more important it will attract search engine bots. Back links increase your search engine ranking.

The second most important reason is that social media sites like    Facebook, MySpace and Twitter provide fresh content every day and therefore attract search engine bots. By linking to these sites you will increase your exposure to search engines.

Your sites search engine ranking depends on many factors. Social media are an important part of your SEO strategy. Moreover, posting on forums is free. You must find the right forums to post your comments. By creating sufficient back links you improve your overall search engine ranking.  Sites like Youtube are a favorite hunting ground for search engines. By posting a small video on this site with relevant keywords can do wonders to your site visibility. Ultimately, you are looking for traffic and social media sites can do this job effectively. By focusing exclusively on keywords and site optimization you are   likely to miss out on some great opportunities.

Twitter is another site which can ramp up your traffic spectacularly. By cleverly associating your tweets with some happening news can be rewarding. You must create a Twitter strategy specific to your needs. Tweeting can be monetized well, if used  in combination with your other social site activity and website.

Keywords may be of various types. One classification may be single-word, multiple-word, and theme-based keywords. Another may be in terms of the type of search they predominantly support depending on how potential customers key in their search terms i.e. broad-match, phrase-match, exact-match, or negative match. Still another may be a target-market specific classification such as ‘business-specific’, ‘service-specific’, ‘geographic’ or ‘general’ keywords.

Pick keywords with the aim of generating adequate volume of qualified traffic; helping visitors in their buying-decision process; and finally, helping to convert prospects to customers. Generally, keywords selected should a judicious mix to take care of broad-match (usually single-word) and phrase-match or exact-match (usually keyword phrases) searches; the former to generate traffic and the latter to filter and channelize quality traffic. Picking ‘business-specific’ or ‘service-specific’ keywords, when applicable, help facilitate the visitor’s buying decision while ‘power’ or ‘action’ words, such as, say, ‘buy now’ used in keyword phrases can help conversions. ‘Geographic’ keywords can also be very useful for websites (and online businesses) catering to a localized or geographically delineated market. Online keyword research tools can greatly help to effectively pick keywords.

The affiliates come together using search engine techniques. Each affiliate is an independent marketer who sells products and services. Usually a landing page or sales page is used to describe the service or product. It is important that the landing page is properly optimized for search engines. In addition traditional marketing techniques are also used for selling.

An affiliate gets a commission on every sale. This process is fully automated and once a client makes a payment, the affiliate gets his share. This payment may be scheduled daily, weekly or monthly as convenient to both parties.

Affiliate marketing needs powerful search engine optimization. In other words an affiliate must understand optimization techniques well if they want to be successful. This is the reason why we must understand what affiliate marketing means and how SEO fits into the overall scheme of things.

Affiliate marketing is also promoted by some dedicated sites which provide all the tools necessary for deploying    affiliate site. These sites usually charge a commission for handling affiliates and providing facilities.  Article submission sites are also used as part of SEO by affiliates.

An understanding of SEO is therefore essential for affiliate marketers.

Considering the advantages, link building to other sites should be actively pursued once a website is operational (internal linking should be addressed at the website design stage itself). Link building normally takes the form of ‘Link Campaigns’ to persuade other website owners or site managers to link to the site by providing correct information about the site and its contents. This can usually be best achieved by embedding the links in specific keywords or phrases i.e. including the right keywords in the anchor texts of the links. This also increases quality traffic and improves conversions.

Many websites include a ‘Link-To-Us’ function; an HTML link-to-us coding which can be copied and pasted in the webpage source code of the site wanting to link in. The essential point to remember for effective link building, however, is that other websites will consider linking to the site only if they feel that it is worth their while. Hence, firstly, the website content has to be informative and useful and secondly, the linking process should be simple; one that needs the least amount of work for linking to the site.

‘General’ keywords help to draw in large volume of website traffic (visitors). However, many of these visitors are often at a preliminary stage of their buying decision process and not yet ready to buy. Hence, the potential for conversion of the hits (visitors clicking on the website) is low. On the other hand, people who key in specific search terms (keyword phrases more precisely describing the product, including long–tail keyword phrases of 3-4 keywords) are at an advanced stage of their buying decision process. Hence specific phrase-match or exact-match keyword phrases have a greater conversion potential (though lower volumes) and improve the ROI of the website.

‘General’ keywords are needed to draw in traffic volumes and increase site visibility but most of the traffic may be unproductive (low conversion). Specific keywords are needed for conversion and ROI but traffic volume is low. This is an unavoidable trade-off and a judicious mix of ‘general’ and ‘specific’ keywords needs to be arrived at through keyword research for the success of a website.

Since link building is a huge part of SEO, it is necessary to create suitable links with other websites. Buying and exchanging links is now a big market.

Driving traffic purely through search engines is no longer an optimal solution. With the phenomenal growth of social sites like Facebook, MySpace and others, it is now necessary to engage ourselves with them. By participating in various forums, it is possible to drive relevant and focused traffic to your website.

Video sites like YouTube have gained importance. It is possible to create a viral marketing campaign using popular videos which are initially hosted on video sites. You can generate a humungous amount of traffic with videos.

In SEO circles it is said that content is king. Search engines love content. Your search engine ranking is likely to get a boost if you provide good quality content on your website. You must remember to use appropriate keyword density to attract search engines. Search engine bots look for any change or additional content when crawling through websites. Static content does not enthuse these bots.

Driving traffic to your website requires thrust from several angles. SEO alone is unlikely to make your site wildly successful. Social sites should be leveraged to boost traffic to your site. In the final analysis, it is the quality and quantity of your content which will determine whether your site attracts traffic. Everything else can only assist in adding to the numbers.

You must submit your website separately to Bing to get registered.  Keyword searches work differently in Bing and the search algorithm is a secret like in Google. Since the competition is less severe in Bing, the chances of getting a higher listing are better in Bing.

SEO for Bing is not any different from Google. It is also based on keywords and therefore the content on your website need not change dramatically. In fact, since you are submitting your site to Google as well as Bing, the content has to be suitably modified. You must take care that in the process you don’t lose a good ranking in Google.

The presentation in Bing has been altered and is different from Google. Microsoft claims that this has been done after in depth research and analysis. Many experts confirm that the Bing interface is better   suited for human physiology. Despite all these claims Google still seems to hold a psychological edge. But it would not be a surprise if Bing with its pedigree comes up trumps in the search engine market. You must remember that there is enough space in search market for more than two players.  It is therefore advisable to do due diligence at this stage. Who knows how the search market would evolve in future?