by Aysha Iqbal

Created on: January 24, 2010   Last Updated: March 20, 2010

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the act of optimizing one’s website with the sole aim of reaching a high search engine ranking in order to make their website more visible to their targeted audience. The Internet has opened the doors from all parts of the world to website owners. The key is to determine how not to get lost within the masses and to provide the information specifically to those who would be the most interested and benefit the most from it.

To create a website that is optimized for search engines one must ensure the following

1. Correct and effective placement of keywords

2. Quantity, Quality and Relevance of incoming and outgoing links

3. Link Popularity

4. Page Importance

5. Page Reputation

There are an unlimited number of SEO tools out there that website developers could take advantage of and ensure that their website is as optimized as possible. There are in fact many firms who are offering effective SEO services for a fee.

However, not everyone has the desire or ability to put in a high investment to ensuring that their sites are optimized. Fortunately, there are several free online SEO tools that these individuals could make use of and create websites could gain a high search engine ranking. Here we would look at a few of these free online SEO tools.

 *Google AdWords Keyword Tool

This tool enables one to obtain ideas for new keywords that would be applicable to the website that they are creating. By entering a keyword or phrase that they feel best describes what they are aiming to optimize, this tool would provide a list of similar keywords and a measure on how these keywords and phrases fare amongst competitors in the same field. This would give the website developer more ideas on which keywords would fare better and which would capture the attention of users and search engines better.

 *Wordtracker Free Keyword Suggestion Tool

Wordtracker provides a free basic service that generates the top 100 results and a count of how many times each of the related keywords have been used in searches. Starters could use this free tool or their 7 day trial services and optimize their website.

 *Keyword Density.com

This free online SEO tool enables website developers to determine if their pages are keyword rich and allows them to compare their keyword density with that of competing websites.

 *LinkPopularity.com

Link Popularity can be defined as a ranking score based on the number of links coming into the website. The more links into the website, the better the ranking. LinkPopularity.com is a free tool that would allow one to know who links to one’s website and verify Google, Yahoo and MSN reports on the link popularity the site has earned.

 *SearchEngineWatch.com

In an ever-changing field, where one must always be well equipped with the changes that occurs in the industry, one of the best free online SEO tool is information and updates. SearchEngineWatch.com is a useful resource that helps ensure that you are always informed of the latest developments and changes in this very new and evolving field of Search Engine Optimization

With the aid of these free online tools and the knowledge of how search engines operate, website developers could maximize the asset and create websites that are optimized for search engines.

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