Most people know that for your website to rank decently in search engines like Yahoo, you need to have a successful SEO strategy. Without a quality SEO strategy, you can never expect a website to come close to ranking on the first page, let alone the top spot in search engines. Although search engine optimization is a huge science, I discovered that there are four crucial components to consider when applying it to your website. By using these four essentials of a strong SEO strategy, you can ensure that your website receives a lot of traffic.

Four Crucial Components for a Profitable SEO Strategy

Step 1 – Keyword Research

Keyword research is step #1 in implementing a solid SEO strategy. Keywords are basically the words that search engines put into search engines. For example, “SEO strategy” would be considered a keyword that someone might type into Google. Google keyword is an amazing place to start. It will show you how many hits a certain keyword gets on a monthly basis. From here, you can set a keyword that (a) you will be able to rank for and (b) one that will be profitable. For example, trying to rank for the search keyword “SEO” would probably be very difficult to do. Try to make your keywords 3-4 words long; this way it will be much easier to get a high ranking for them. Make sure the keywords you choose get at least 4,000 impressions each month; otherwise, it’s probably not worth your effort.

Step 2 – Backlinks

Backlinks are without a doubt the most imperative component in a successful SEO strategy. A backlink is basically a link from one website to another. Search engines like Yahoo rely on these inbound links to rate the quality of a website, and therefore how high it will rank for certain keyword searches. Quality inbound links will perform better than quantity. A quality backlink is a link from a website that has a good reputation with search engines and is related to the keyword you are trying to rank for. For example, if you’re trying to rank for the keyword “iTunes clean up,” then a backlink from a post about iTunes will perform much better than one about volcanoes. To get quality backlinks, try using article directories similar to this one, responding on do-follow blogs, and getting involved in keyword-related forums.

Step 3 – Keyword placement

Keyword placement is another vital factor in a solid SEO strategy. Keywords help search engines understand what your website is about. When placing keywords, make sure they are related to the keyword you are trying to rank for and that they appear in your site title, site URL, headers, and text. However, make sure they don’t show up too often, or your website may look spammy.

Step 4 – Meta Tags

Meta tags include your site’s title, description, and keywords or tags. The title and description are what appear in Google. Make sure your description accurately describes what your site is about and includes some use of the keyword you’re ranking for. Your keywords or tags should include the keyword you are trying to rank for, as well as other words that may let search engines know what your website is about.

Although these steps are basic, they are extremely important for a good SEO strategy. Use them as a starting point and eventually you will get tons of traffic through search engines!