1. SEO Is About Everything in Moderation<br />There is no way to jump to number one or even to the first page of a Google search result overnight. It happens slowly. It’s easy to get frustrated, that’s why the structure and impact of an SEO campaign needs to be understood from the start. The best SEO strategy follows the search engine webmaster guidelines. The search engines expect websites to grow in strength over time, therefore SEO is a long term building strategy. It’s not a quick fix. While it may be tempting to use all of the SEO tools in your arsenal at once to try and see a quick jump in rankings, that’s a black hat tactic that could result in penalties. SEO is all about finding the right balance and moderation is key. <br />Keyword research is an important part of the research phase of SEO. The search engines don’t look at design or graphics to determine what your site is about and how it should be ranked, they look at words and text. This means that the words that you choose could make or break your SEO campaign. The keywords or keyword phrases are the words that a target audience uses to search for what it is that you offer. The keywords that you choose determine who sees your website. Missing important keywords will result in missing out on potential clients or customers. It’s tempting to try and game the system and “stuff” these keywords into your content. Don’t do it. A good guideline to follow is to write all of your content for your readers, your target audience. Then, go back and see where these words can be implemented naturally. Content that is keyword “stuffed” will read poorly and the search engines aren’t dumb. They will notice it and possibly flag your site. Use keywords, but don’t overuse keywords. <br />Link building is the second phase of SEO and it should be ongoing. The number of inbound, relevant links pointing to a website helps to determine its “worth” in the eyes of the search engines. Sometimes people get a little too eager about this step. They think, “We need to rank, maybe we will rank quicker if we get lots of quick links!” This is a black hat strategy. It may work in the short term, but you are probably setting yourself up for disaster. Links should build gradually overtime so that they appear to be natural. The search engines assume that a site will gradually gain links. If all of a sudden there is a huge jump it looks suspicious. Develop a link building strategy over a period of six months to a year. Optimize it as you go along depending on results, but overall, stick to it. A realistic goal is to build 15-20 quality links per month. There’s no need to go overboard. The search engines prefer sites that have aged, so with each passing day your site increases its chances of a better ranking.<br />Your website content should only include what’s necessary and will contribute towards increased conversions. The best websites are simple in design and layout. Leave out all of the unnecessary “fluff” like ads, photos, and other multimedia that don’t serve a purpose. Remember, all of this unnecessary content is also contributing towards your page load time. Only include content that will provide value to your visitors. Don’t create pages that don’t have any value just to have another place to plug in your keywords. <br />When implementing an SEO campaign, always remember that moderation is best. While it may be tempting to stuff your content with keywords and buy 1,000 links for $20, those aren’t the right strategies and they will likely result in repercussions down the road. <br />About the Author:<br />Brick Marketing is a Boston MA full service internet marketing company. For more information please call 877-295-0620 or visit http://www.brickmarketing.com. <br />