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This issue:

Get SEO Savvy: What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and why it's important
Gimme an Example : A demonstration of one aspect of SEO: content refinement.
Get Listed: Getting listed in local searches is is easy—and increasingly important.

1.Get SEO Savvy:
What SEO is, what it does

The basics: how search engines work, and what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) does.

Search engines are the way users and clients find your site. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of refining your web site to get better Search Engine Results Placement (SERP).

How search engines work:

Search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN crawl the Internet looking for web sites. They use a program called a spider (also called a bot, or robot) to search ("spider") the content of each site and index it. They spider web sites often—some sites many times a day—to check for updated content.

When a user does a search on Google, the search is broken down into keywords. For example, if I search for chicken sandwich recipe, it breaks up the search into the three words: chicken, sandwich, and recipe.

When you perform a query, search engines try to figure out what are the most relevant sites for your search. They get their results by using complex algorithms that factor in many different aspects of your website: the name of the page, the text in your headlines, and the links to your site, to name a few.

What SEO does:

Search engines are the way that most users find web sites (For KWD, more than 80%). The purpose of SEO is to get more traffic to your site. This is accomplished by refining the content on your site, using certain keywords important to your business. Finding the right keywords takes some brainstorming and research and is vital to the success of your SEO campaign. Some free tools for do-it-yourself SEO are Overture Keyword Selector Tool and the Google Keyword Tool.

Using a developed list of keywords, a site is optimized by modifying content and code, as well as developing links to and from other web sites. Successful efforts involve refining content, tracking search engine ranking, and updating keywords to achieve great results.

Before any campaign is begun, it's important to set some goals. Define what results would you like to achieve, how long you want it to take, and how many hours a day/week/month you will devote to helping your site's ranking. This will help you recognize what's working, and what is not.

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2.Gimme An Example:
Here is SEO in action

Here's a situation: consider that you have a cooking recipe site. A potential client is hungry and searches Google for a chicken sandwich recipe.

Remember the Chicken Sandwich Recipe keywords from above? We're going to optimize a recipe on your make-believe site. The first step of optimization is defining the keywords you want to optimize for. Using the Google Keyword Tool, I've found the top 10 searches related to Chicken Sandwich Recipes:

chicken sandwich, chicken sandwich recipes, chicken sandwiches, chicken sandwich recipe, chicken salad sandwich, chicken salad sandwich recipe, grilled chicken sandwich, chicken salad sandwiches, spicy chicken sandwich, buffalo chicken sandwich

Normally, the process would take more time to select appropriate keywords, however these are appropriate for this example. Using the keywords above, let's review the content below. Assume that the recipe below is on your site. The highlighted words are changes I have made to the content. Analyze the changes below—and keep in mind the keywords we are optimizing for!

Note: All updates are highlighted.

Grilled Tandoori Chicken Sandwich Recipe

This recipe is my Grandmother's favorite chicken sandwich recipe. It is healthy,super-easy to prepare, and delicious. Other recipes you might enjoy: Chicken salad sandwich, Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Sandwich Ingredients -4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound total) -1/2 cup spicy chili paste -4 Kaiser rolls split and toasted -4 lettuce leaves -4 tablespoons mango chutney

In large plastic food storage bag, combine chicken breasts and marinade. Let marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Remove chicken from marinade. Grill or broil chicken breasts 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through; brushing with additional marinade during grilling. Serve the spicy chicken breasts on rolls with lettuce, mayonnaise and chutney.

If you enjoyed the Tandoori Grilled Chicken Sandwich Recipe, please share it with a friend!

Some of the changes I made:

In optimizing the content above, I focused on these important concepts:

"Populate" keywords: Using the list of keywords from Google, I added content that use the keywords and key phrases, while keeping it easy to read. Don't over-saturate your content: if it doesn't read naturally, don't do it!
Add keywords to headlines: The previous headline was not bad…but it got better with an important keyword, "grilled." Headlines are given high importance in search engine results.
Create links using keywords: Links are a great way to optimize your site. Rather than "Click here," which means nothing and uses no keywords, the link could say "Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwich Recipe." This not only informs users where they're going, but it also let's you get some great keywords in there!
Make some keywords bold: Bolded words are given more importance in ranking, and help users find important words.
Make it personal: Mentioning your grandmother and giving users a chance to share the recipe with their friends are two ways this content became more likeable. All of a sudden, the user remembered that a person actually wrote the content. Being human is a great way to build user and customer loyalty to your site (and services).

These changes were are very easy to implement, didn't hurt readability, and will definitely help your website's ranking. If you have access to your website, test these tips out on your home page, and keep a change log with all the modifications you make and what keywords you used. Good luck, and remember—anything worthwhile takes time.

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3.Get Listed:
Get listed, locally

All major search engines have a local service. Getting listed in their local results is becoming increasingly important.

Web users are slowly discovering the localized mapping features that search engines have. At the moment, it accounts for a small percentage of site traffic (for KWD, it's about 7%), yet it's important to make sure you are listed.

Why it's important to get listed locally:

Let's say you own a Chinese restaurant in Lakewood,CO. When you search Google for "Lakewood,CO Chinese Restaurant," at the top of the results page, you will see something like the picture depicted here. Sample results from a Google search How do these restaurants get listed at the top of Google, above all other web sites? It's because of a feature called Google Local. Make sure that your business has signed up for Google Local,Windows Live Local Search, Ask.com's Ask Business Search, and Yahoo!Local Search. If you haven't, you could be missing out on a lot of business. Listed below are the links to sign your business up: