2011 was a big year for search engine optimization. Here are some SEO tips to help carry you safely into 2012 and beyond.

1. Content to Ad Ratio – One thing we learned from Google updates in 2011 is that thin sites won’t last. If your site has too many ads in relation to content it could be considered spam. Keep the ads focused and to a minimum.

2. Thin Content – Similar to the above, thin content does not do well. Make sure everything you publish is link-worthy, meaning people should want to link to it from their own site. Don’t be afraid to go back and edit old posts. Once you fix up old posts, re-promote them and include them in post roundups for new visitors and subscribers to see.

3. Targeted Content – Do-it-all sites are no longer in. It’s better to have a website with content on one particular subject. If you want to cover lots of topics make sure you separate them properly.

4. Natural Link Profile – Search engines are getting smarter at spotting manipulation via backlinks. Keep your links natural, acquire them at a pace and sync any linkbuilding with other promotions to justify any large increases in backlinks.

5. Quality Backlinks – Thousands of article submissions won’t cut it. Go for quality in-content links over some of the more spumy alternatives. Less is sometimes more.

6. Local – 2011 was a big year for local SEO. Start integrating local keywords and marketing into your search engine optimization campaign and you will be greatly rewarded with more traffic.

7. Social Votes – 2012 is going to be a big year for social SEO. Search engines are now using social votes as ranking signals, so start building up your social networks.

8. Being Active – Show search engines you are alive and kicking. Be active on your blog, post to your social profiles and update your site on a regular basis.

9. Branding – Branding is extremely important. The stronger your brand the better you will do online. Big brands naturally attract lots of backlinks and social votes.

10. Trust Building – You should always be building trust with search engines. Many of the tips in this post will help you do that. For more website authority building tips check out my recent guest post on sem-group.net

11. Multiple Traffic Sources – Don’t rely on search engine traffic alone. It’s a great traffic source, but you never know when your website might take a hit in search traffic. Try PPC, banners, email marketing and more in addition to SEO.

Keep these SEO tips in mind and subscribe for future tips to help you in 2012.

Head on over the the contest page to read all the official rules and make sure you get your guest post in on time. Don’t forget to check out all the generous sponsors below. Good luck and get writing!

$500 Sponsors

RankPop.com Affordable SEO

$300 Sponsors

Daniel McGonagle Link Building

SEO-Peace.com Professional link building SEO Company

$150 Sponsors

Hesham Zebida Thesis Skins

$100 Sponsors

Scott Bradley Simple Weight Loss Tips For Entrepreneurs

Milan Matchev Health Directory

Jacob Share JobMob Job Search Tips

Ileane Smith Blogging Tips

Search Engine Marketing Group

John Britsios www.SEOWorkers.com

Magento Developer

$50 Sponsors

Vertical Measures Internet Marketing Services

Doc Sheldon’s Clinic Critical Thinking for the Discerning SEO

Whitney Michael Segura Greenhouses for Sale

Butch Segura Wholesale Greenhouses by EarthCare

Whitney “WeedyP” Segura Internet Marketing Blog by Whitney Segura

Ernest Segura Greenhouse Supplies @ OurCrazyDeals.com

Raxa Design Houston Internet marketing

Ana Hoffman – Traffic Generation Cafe Web Traffic

James Brown James Brown

Anwar Barake Wholesale Herbal Incense

Understand Technology with TechFume

The Tech Blog TechnoZeast

SEO Prize Sponsors

David Harry A full years membership at SEO Dojo, a value of $250.SEO Training Dojo

Lifetime membership to: My Blog Guest. MyBlogGuest.com is the free guest post exchange community where users meet to exchange guest posts and network.

Link-Assistant.Com SEO PowerSuite Enterprise (max. functionality license) SEO tools

SEMrush.com – the best tool to spy on your competitors ($210 value) www.semrush.com

3 month Pro subscription to Raven Internet Marketing Tools ($297 value) Raven Internet Marketing Tools

After many years of trying different hosts we have come to love one host in particular and they are HostGator.

Why HostGator Web Hosting

One of the obvious benefits of HostGator is its affordability, but being cheap in no way means their services are cheap. They are a high-quality host that provides web hosting to over 5,000,000 domains. Because of their large size they are able to have top of the line equipment, and still be able to offer hosting at a low price.

Many website owners overpay for hosting and that is why I recommend new clients start off with a very basic hosting plan. Then, when the time comes they can upgrade to a more powerful plan such as a dedicated hosting package. HostGator has plans for any size website, even the biggest. This means your web hosting can grow with your site and you won’t have to switch hosting companies later on, which is a pain.

HostGator has all the features you would expect from a top host such as a 99.9% uptime guarantee, unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth and even some great freebies when you sign up such as $100 Google AdWords credit.

With a staff of over 750 employees, you know you will be in good hands and if you need any help choosing a plan you can contact me and I will help. A good host is the backbone of your site, so go with a name brand you can trust such as HostGator.

HostGator Features

• Plans Starting at Just $3.96 a Month
• Unlimited Disk Space
• Unlimited Bandwidth
• 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
• 24/7/365 Technical Support
• $100 Google AdWords Credit
• cPanel – the #1 Used Control Panel in the World
• Hosting Over 5,000,000 Domains

Get 25% Off Today

If you order today you can get 25% off your total web hosting order by entering in this special coupon code below:

Coupon Code: GINOORLANDI

Click Here to Try HostGator Today