Traffic Witch

There are two basic types of search engine optimization that needs to be considered whenever you are trying to rank for a specific keyword or keyword phrase. Off-site optimization, or links coming into your website from other areas are by far the most important part of the process. Not to be ignored, however, is the onsite optimization and making sure that you structure your page properly. There are several different things that need to be considered as far as this is concerned and the rules are constantly changing. Here is some information that will help you, regardless of where the rules take you.

The first thing that you are going to read about onsite optimization is keyword density. Some people are going to tell you that it is necessary for you to hit a precise percentage but I’m going to let you in a little secret. As long as you are including the target keyword phrase on the webpage, the percentage does not matter as much as it used to. Of course, it never hurts for you to check the percentage to make sure that you are not over or under doing it but as long as you include it on the webpage naturally, the onsite optimization is good. Stuffing the key word in where it does not belong can put you at risk of being dropped from the SERPS altogether.

Another important part of onsite optimization is the various ways that you are going to include your keyword phrase on the webpage. For example, including it in the title tag of the webpage is one of the most important parts of onsite optimization. It should also be included toward the top of the body of the page, perhaps in a larger font. If you are able to naturally include bold, italic and underlined text on the webpage with the keyword phrase, that may also help you in the search engines. Again, this is something that should not be overdone but if you are able to do it naturally, it can be a real help.

A newcomer onto the scene as far as onsite optimization is concerned is called latent semantic indexing. Basically, this is the case of the search engines becoming smarter and recognizing that your page is about a topic, even though the exact keywords may not be included on the page. It is important for you to keep LSI in mind whenever you are optimizing your webpage. Write naturally, and include related keyword phrases to your main topic whenever possible.

The real secret to onsite optimization is making sure that you keep everything flowing and natural, including your keyword phrases where possible. Do not overdo this process or you will have a difficult time with some of your off-site optimization, such as natural linking. Make sure that your webpages are optimized for the reader, and the search engines will reward you for your efforts.