by Gene Patterson

Created on: September 09, 2010   Last Updated: September 22, 2010

SEO for beginners:  SEO 101 Audit Course  -Welcome to the Wild World of SEO.  Class is now in session.

It is easy to get confused about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) if you are new to online marketing and trying to learn "SEO for Beginners".  It sounds difficult but it really is not that hard to learn.

Good SEO equates to ranking high on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).  This usually means being on the first page of Google.  Getting this achievement is huge.  It means a TON of

traffic to a site for the appropriate search term.  The following are the best practices for good entry level SEO.

♦  Importance of Keywords and Key Phrases  ♦

Repetition of keywords is essential to a good SERP ranking.  A keyword or key phrase should be repeated in an article and make up 3-4% percent of the words.  This article for example is targeted toward the Key Phrase "SEO for Beginners".  A single keyword is usually too hard to actually rank on so what you often want to do is create a Key Phrase or a “long tail keyword” that will be 3-4 words long that will narrow your focus and make your article rank. 

♦ URL and Domain name  ♦

The first thing you are thinking of when you make a site, blog or even article title is URL and Domain name.  The importance here is that you get a HUGE benefit from having your main keywords in your article Title and URL.  This is the reason a URL named lowcostinsurance.com (made up) will beat out an insurance giant like Geico or Allstate if it is promoted correctly.  All because of the power of the URL/domain name.  Additionally, your URL should be as brief and memorable as possible.  Specific enough to rank and also catchy.

♦  Content is the King  ♦

The saying “Content is King” is very old, but it is very true.  Good content is what people are looking for.  If you make good content, with good use of keywords and other SEO tactics you will steadily increase visitors over time.  There are no buts about it.  When it comes to content both quality and quantity come into play.  Having a lot of things out there will increase the chances of articles being found, undoubtedly, but having it all be “quality” is even more important.  If you have a choice between three sloppy articles and one exceptional one, it will always be better to go with the

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