There's more than one way to skin a cat (although I must admit that I don't know the one way that everyone else presumably knows), and the same is true for achieving natural search engine results. A search engine optimization company usually falls into one of two camps. A "White Hat" search engine optimization company will use a largely content-based approach and will not violate the terms of service of the major search engines. A "Black Hat" search engine optimization company will use a largely technology driven approach and often ignore the terms of service. Neither approach is invalid (as I have said many times before, there is nothing illegal about violating a search engine's terms of service), and both can achieve high rankings. But a search engine optimization company that takes the word "organic" literally believes that the "Black Hat" approach is anything but "organic SEO." ...

Content vs. Technical Loopholes - There's an "old" saying in the SEO industry that "content is king." This is not necessarily true. In my experience, good content is king. Study after study has shown that when people use search engines, they are primarily seeking one thing: information. They are not seeking to be impressed by fancy flash sites. ...

Attracting Links vs. Linking Schemes - As any search engine optimization company knows, inbound links are critical to the success of an "organic SEO" campaign. But there are different ways to go about it.

Firms that practice true "organic SEO" will look at the website itself and say "How can we make this site something that other sites would want to link to?" A search engine optimization company using "artificial SEO" will ask, "How can I get links pointing to this site without adding anything of value to it?" ...

Creating a Valuable Resource vs. Algorithm Chasing - Search engines change algorithms frequently, and for two reasons. One is, of course, to improve their results based upon their most recent user studies. The other, which is obviously related, is to remove sites that are ranked artificially high. Such updates raise panic in the SEO community - particularly among "artificial SEO" practitioners who have just discovered that their most recent and cherished trick no longer works (and may have gotten their clients' sites removed from the engines altogether).

"Organic" Revisited (AKA "One Step Too Far") - A search engine optimization company that takes a true "organic SEO" approach will actually take the Merriam Webster definition literally. A good website does have the characteristics of an organism and does develop in the manner of a living plant or animal. It builds upon itself. It learns how it should behave for its own benefit. Most importantly, it establishes its territory at the top of the search engine results. And as the organism thrives, artificial machine after machine fades into obsolescence.

1. Decide on a stand alone domain name www.myblog.com or directory of existing site www.mysite.com/blog. Sub domain is also an option blog.mysite.com. Avoid hosted services that do not allow you to use your own domain name!

2. Obtain and install customizable blog software - WordPress and Moveable Type are my favorites.

3. Customize blog look and feel templates - aka design.

4. Research keywords and develop a glossary - Keyword Discovery, WordTracker, SitePoint, SEOBook Keyword Research.

5. Optimize the blog:

6. Enable automatic trackback and ping functionality.

7. Create Feedburner Pro account and enable feed tracking.

8. Setup Google acount for Sitemap, validate and prep for future submission.

9. Identify authoritative blogs, web sites and hubs for outbound resource links and blogroll.

10. Format archived posts, related posts.

11. Enable statistics for tracking - Performancing, Google Analytics, ClickTracks.

12. Submit RSS feed and Blog URL to prominent RSS and Blog directories / search engines.

13. Engage in an ongoing link building campaign.

14. If podcast or video content are available, submit to Podcast and Vlog directories.

15. Submit blog url to paid directories with categories for blogs - Yahoo, BOTW, bCentral, WOW, JoeAnt.

16. Optimize and distribute a press release announcing blog.

17. Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads. If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.

18. Research and comment on relevant industry related blogs and blogs with significant centers of influence.

19. Post regularly. If it’s a news oriented blog, 3-5 times per day. If it’s an authoritative blog, 3-5 times per week, but each post must be unique and high value.

20. Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your blog - Google Alerts, Technorati, Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask Blogs and Feeds.

21. Always respond to comments on your blog and when you detect a mention of your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.

22. Make contact with related bloggers on AND offline if possible.

23. When making blog posts always cite the source with a link and don’t be afraid to mention popular bloggers by name. Use keywords in the blog post title, in the body of the post and use anchor text when you link to previous posts you’ve made.

24. Use social networking services, forums and discussion threads to connect with other bloggers. If they like your stuff, they will link to you.

25. Remember when web sites were a new concept and the sage advice to print your web address everywhere you print your phone number? The same advice applies for your blog.

Of course if you don’t want to do it yourself, you can always have a blog consultant do these things (and more) for you, but I realize that there are quite a few personal bloggers as well as small business bloggers looking for this kind of information. I hope it’s helpful.

Here are some of the most important factors that the search engines use in determining your rankings:
1. Web Site Content - Content on your site is one of the most important factors for successful search engine optimization. Your web site should provide valuable information on specific subjects relevant to your web site. Furthermore, your content should be updated regularly. It's not enough to just put up a few content pages full of information on your site and then never add to it. This is a continuous process that will help your search engine rankings if done correctly. It's also important that you don't try to trick the search engines by flooding them with multiple versions of the same page, repeating the same content over and over. Doing that will not help your rankings and will eventually lead to your site getting banned from the search engines.

2. Link Popularity - Inbound links are very important for achieving high search engine rankings. Most of the search engines today regard link popularity as one of the most significant determinants of your website's rankings. Here are some of the best ways to get inbound links:

On-Site Elements: -

3. Title Tag and Meta Tags - Meta tags help describe the page where they are placed. Though today the Meta tags are not nearly as important as they once were and are definitely not the only things the search engines look for when indexing your site, they are still somewhat important in deciding the relevancy of the page for a keyword search. Search engines focus on three primary tags to help them determine the relevance of a website for a particular search phrase. The Title Tag, Meta Keywords and the Meta Description...

4. Heading Tags - The heading tags are given more weíght than the ordinary text. The higher the H tag the more weíght it carries. You should make use of the heading tags to highlight the important keywords and headings of your page as well as the paragraph headers.

5. Bold Text - Bold text is given a little more weíght than ordinary text but not as much as heading tags. Make sure to enclose some of your keywords in bold tags when they appear on the page.

6. Alt Text - The alt tag provides alternative text when images cannot be displayed... This might happen if the users have set the browsers only to download the text and not the graphics, or if the images are too heavy to download for the user’s internet connection. Only include important keywords relevant to your site and the image and do not stuff keywords in them.

Off-site elements: -

7. Link Text - This is a very important factor in search engine optimization to gain higher rankings. The link text can be on pages within your site or what other web sites use to link to you. Either way, it is important. If possible the target page's main search term should be included in the link text instead of just the URL. Do not use identical link text for every link, but do include the target page's main keywords in the link text. Links carry more weíght when the text around them is relevant to the target page's keywords and phrases.

Following the above SEO information will help tremendously in your search engine rankings. Remember that the search engines are advancing all the time. Don't try to trick them because they will eventually catch on and that could mean the end of your web site. Stick to the basic techniques above and you will increase your search engine rankings without fear of being banned or dropped.

The following guidelines will help you to start seeing results in the search engines. Your first step is simply choosing the right keywords.

Choosing the Right Keywords - Often times, people make the mistake of optimizing for very general keywords like used cars or online marketing. Although these terms get lots of traffic, it is very unlikely that you will be able to rank highly for them. Then, even if you do, this type of traffic produces very low conversion rates because they are not targeted prospects. For example, if you are selling hiking backpacks, it would be much more beneficial for you to target the phrase 'hiking backpacks' rather than the extremely competitive keyword 'backpacks'. It would be even better to target the phrase 'camelbak commander'. This is a specific type of backpack and therefore will attract more buyers than searchers.

In fact, according to Jupiter Media Metrix, 28 percent of searchers will type a product name into a search engine. Nine percent type in a brand name and 5 percent type in company names. The more targeted your keyword phrase, the more likely they are to buy. A person who types in 'backpacks' may be looking for school backpacks or snowboard backpacks. This lends to useless, un-targeted traffic.

However, a person that searches for a specific brand of backpacks knows exactly what they want and they are much further along in the buying process. Once you have determined the best possible keyword phrases to target, you must now optimize your page for those specific keywords.

Optimize Your Page for Targeted Keywords - There are many factors that will determine how your web pages rank. However, one of the most important ones is that of a good title. The title tag appears at the very top of the head section. The words in the title tag will appear in the clickable link on the search engine results page (SERP). Your title tag should contain targeted keyword phrases that reflect the copy on the page. The most important keywords should appear near the beginning of the title tag, You must also keep in mind that this should be a compelling title that would attract searchers to want to know more.

Your title tag should focus on your primary keyword, but it should also deliver a message. Use your title to mention benefits, make an attention-grabbing statement, ask a compelling question, or anything else that would set you apart from all of the other pages competing against you. Your title should include the main keyword you are targeting on that page as well as entice visitors to clíck on your link.

Following the title tag are your Meta description and Meta keyword tags. - You have probably heard that meta tags are dead and for the most part that is true. However, you should still include them in your web site because they allow you to control the description of your listing in some of the search engines. Your meta description can make the difference in someone clicking on your link or choosing your competitor.

The meta description tag should be used for marketing purposes, enticing people to clíck on your link as opposed to one of the other 9 search results.

Meta keywords tags are a different story. Google pays absolutely no attention to this tag: a result of spammers. As for the rest of the search engines, meta keywords may be taken into account, but they are still of very little importance. I would advise that you use this tag for misspellings, technical acronyms and synonyms. Using this technique, you may be able to bring in some additional traffic for people looking for related, but less popular keywords.

Creating Quality Content - Next, you will want to focus on the visible content of your page. Many people online today are creating content that is written specifically for the search engines. However, I would advise you to optimize your content for your readers. Your readers are the most important. To rank for your targeted keyword phrases, you must include them within your copy, but you must first ensure that your content is appealing to your visitors. After you do this, you can then weave your keywords into your copy. You'll especially want to have your targeted keyword phrase in the very first paragraph of your text. Some other places you will want to include your keywords are in the image alt attributes and within your heading tags. Place all of your subtitles into header tags with your targeted keyword phrases.

Internal Linking - Creating quality content for your visitors is crucial. However, proper navigation and site structure can be just as important. The search engines cannot fully index your site if it is not properly linked together. Every single page on your web site should be no more than 2 clicks away from the homepage. Before you create your site, decide on which internal pages are the most important in terms of ranking. Once you have gathered 15-20 of your most important pages, you will need to place them at the side and bottom navigation of each one of your web pages. This will ensure that the most possible pagerank is transferred to those pages.

Each of these links should contain descriptive anchor text, preferably targeted keyword phrases that you are wanting to rank highly for. You should never make your web site visitors guess what's on the other end with a link that says, 'clíck here'. Be as descriptive as possible and your visitors will thank-you. One of the best ways to structure your site is through the use of hub pages. This is very similar to hubs on a spoke. At the center is your homepage. On the homepage, you have a link to each of the hub pages. The hub pages are basically small site maps that are built into the navigation. Each hub includes a set of information on a particular keyword or phrase. This is often referred to as content layering. You can layer your site through the use of sub-folders.

Inbound Links - Once you have finished optimizing all of the on-page factors, you must focus on some crucial off-page factors. To have a truly successful search engine optimization campaign, you have to go beyond on-page factors. Your overall link popularity is a crucial ranking factor.

Some of the best techniques for getting quality in-bound links are syndicating articles, exchanging RSS feeds, submitting your web site to directories, syndicating your podcast, sending out press releases, and simply having a link-worthy site. When you have a site that is full of wonderful, useful information, other sites will start naturally linking to you. You have probably heard that content is king on the internet. However, this is simply not true. QUALITY content is the true king.

In review, keep in mind that the most important places to use your researched keyword phrases are in your title tags, the visible body of your text, and in onsite and offsite links. Successful SEO takes time. If you continually put all of these strategies into action, you will begin to see the benefits in due time.

You should test all of your sales letters, landing pages, order forms, and web designs. Here are some of the crucial elements that you should test on every page along with some advice on best practices.

Keep in mind that nothing beats your own testing because different market segments will respond differently to your sales copy.

Headline - Simple changes to the headline have been known to produce up to a 1,900% increase in conversion rates. The headline is the single most important part of your sales letter. If they don't read past your headline, they will never reach the order button. An effective headline will capture your visitors' attention and draw them into your sales copy.

You only have about 8 - 10 seconds to capture your visitors' attention. To do so, your headline must hit your visitors deepest needs and desires.

One of the most powerful headlines is a question. Why? Because questíons irritate the brain and make your grey cells go haywire. Psychologically, questíons are extremely powerful.

Here are 3 quick tips for writing effective headlines:

DropCaps - Many people ignore the possiblity of including a dropcap on their sales page. However, through testing, it has shown to increase conversion rates. As online marketers, we have been left in the dark. Many offline advertisers and marketers have been using dropcaps for years.

One of the first people to confirm this technique was David Ogilvy. David Ogilvy wrote "Ogilvy On Advertising" and also produced advertising for brands such as American Express, Sears, Ford, Shell, Barbie, Dove, Maxwell, IBM, and Kodak. Ogilvy is quoted as saying, "The drop capital increases readership of your body copy by an average of 13%". This one simple change could boost your bottom line.

Colors - Psychologists have suggested that color impression can account for up to 60% of the acceptance or rejection of a product or service. Changing a few colors on your web site can instantly increase your conversion rate. When color is used correctly, it can send a number of messages to your readers. It can also highlight important points.

Color triggers a variety of emotions. To know which colors will appeal to your visitors, you must know your audience very well. This is where market research comes in.

McDonalds has already done much of the testing for you. It is certainly no coincidence that McDonalds uses the colors red and yellow. They did intensive research before determining that those were the colors that would attract the eye. Take a look as you are driving down the street. There are now countless numbers of businesses who use red and yellow in their advertising. Red is one of the most effective colors to use for your headlines and sub-headlines. Blue has proven to be the best color for links. However, like all of the other elements of your web page, you will need to perform your own testing.

As a web master, color is definitely something you will want to research and test on your web site. It could mean the difference between a sale and a lost customer.

Offer a Strong Guarantee - Guarantees help to alleviate any anxiety that your potential customers may have. Give your customers a rísk-free guarantee. Let them know that they can take their time consuming your product and that if it doesn't work out for them, they can quickly return it, no questíons asked. This may sound contradictory, but it's good business for you and for them.

Guarantees will increase sales. However, many people do not know that guarantees will reduce return rates as well. Therefore, they are a vital component of your sales letter. A longer guarantee creates fewer returns than a shorter guarantee. A 90-day guarantee will produce fewer returns than a 30-day guarantee.

If you are truly marketing a quality product or service, then you should not be afraid to back it up with a 100%, no questíons asked, lífetime money-back guarantee. In addition, it has often been found that people return a product less when they are allowed to keep some bonus items even if the product is returned.

Here are a few techniques that have often been found to be successful in creating a guarantee:

Listed below are some important topics to cover in a P.S.

Bullets - Bullets are captivating, short, sweet, and pleasing to the eye. Not to mention, all of the top marketers, historic and present-day, use bullets. Clustered bullets offer a burst of benefits. In your bullets, be sure to use the words, "you," "your,", and "yours," rather than "I," "us," "our," or "we." By using possessive words, you transfer ownership and allow them to visualize owning your product.

Here are some phrases you can use to transfer ownership:

Your visitors are able to connect and relate with your experiences. Instead of thinking of you as a salesman, they think of you as someone who has had the same burdens, troubles, and even some of the same hopes and desires that they have. By adding that personal touch.. that human factor.. you will have more fun in your business and increase your sales at the same time.

Background Color - The color of your background is a very simple change that can instantly increase your conversion rate. The most effective background colors include white, dark blue, grey, and black. Of course, you will want to test this out for yourself to see which works best for you. The optimal background color can change depending on your target market. Remember, nothing beats your own testing.

Add Your Picture, Signature, and Contact Information - Post your online and offline contact information on your web site so that your customers know that your business is solid. You should always have a phone-number on your site. What reason do people have to trust you if they cannot contact you? By adding your contact information to your site, you add an extra layer of credibility.

Don't worry about receiving tons of telephone calls, most people are too afraid to pick up the telephone and call someone new. However, for those that do, you will have the opportuníty to truly help someone and create a lasting relationship with your customer. By establishing yourself as someone who truly cares about your customers and takes the time to help them with any problem they might call in about, you develop a unique selling proposition that is extremely valuable online. Most online marketers simply aren't willing to go that extra mile.

Once you have implemented some of these strategies, test your sales copy on a small scale. Optimize your copy to it's fullest potential and then begin your major campaign.

Many online businesses do not test at all. They never optimize their sales letter, landing pages, or order forms. As a result, they are leaving money on the table. I do not want you to make the same mistake! Test Everything... Never Assume