Getting started with Search Engine Optimization

 

If you are interested in making money online then you have probably done a bit of research online and have come across the term Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short. So, what is SEO and how can you use it to make money online? This article gives a brief introduction to SEO.

First of all, I should mention that any particular SEO technique most likely applies only to a specific search engine, Google, Yahoo!, or MSN. The reason being that different search engines use different algorithms to rank websites for particular search terms and as such different methods must be used for site optimization. For this article, I will focus on Google's search engine simply because it is the largest player in the market and the one most likely of interest to you as an online marketer.

So, let us move on to describing how SEO works and how to optimize your web site.

There are two sets of SEO methods that you must learn about. One is on-page SEO and the other is off-page SEO. The former is all about making sure that search engines can figure out what your site is about. You need to include specific HTML tags such as

Off-page SEO is all about link building, i.e., the process of getting other webmasters to link back to your site. There are many ways to make your site visible to other webmaster including living meaningful comments on their blogs and promoting your online property on social networking sites such as Digg. Article marketing is an excellent method for getting back links. There are a number of web sites such as ezinearticles.com which allow anyone to create and account and post their own articles .These articles contain a signature box that allows authors to create a link back to the site they are promoting. These are high-traffic and authority sites and as such posting your articles there will definitely improve your chances of making money online. Another method is to subscribe to article marketing systems such as Article Marketing Automation which distributes your articles to a large number of blogs participating in their network.

Finally, I should emphasize that making money online and learning Search Engine Optimization is not an easy task. It is not likely that you will master these techniques overnight earning thousands of dollars from the get go. It will take some time before you figure out the ropes. The best strategy for becoming successful online is to take your time learning how to create and promote web sites until you know enough to start earning a good supplemental income online. If you manage to create a vastly popular web site then it is not unthinkable that you will be able to quit your day job; but the odds of this happening are low (better than playing the lottery, however) and as such setting more realistic goals of earning a supplemental income will result in a more pleasant experience in your efforts to make money online.