There’s a lot of information out there on the Internet about search engine optimization. Some of it is really good but unfortunately much of the information is either totally inaccurate or just plain wrong. I’ve taken the time to sort through much of this information and provide you with the strategies that get actual results.

Having had the opportunity to work with so many web sites, I’ve been able to witness first hand the value of different SEO techniques. Some appear to good to be true and often are. Others seem mundane but have an immediate impact on search engine rankings. I’m going to share the most effective techniques with you.

The first search engine ranking factor has to do with the anchor text of all inbound links to your website. Google and other search engines use the anchor text from other sites linking in to determine what your site is about and what it should rank well for. If websites link in only using a URL, and not your keywords in the anchor text, email them and ask them to update your link. The link should always appear with your most important keywords.

The second most important aspect of search engine factors is to include your keyword or keyword phrase in your title tag. This is important not only for search engines to identify your page but it becomes what is displayed in search engine results lists. In addition to the title tag, make sure to include your keyword and keyword phrases in both the description tag and keywords meta tag.

The third factor of search engine importance is link popularity. How many websites are linking to yours? More importantly, what is the value of those links? This answer is usually a function of Google Page Rank. Page rank is comprised of a large number of factors but essentially provides a weight to the value of each inbound link. The more links you have a greater value pointing to your web site, the higher your link popularity.

The fourth ranking factor to consider is the variety of domains linking to your web site. If you have hundreds of inbound links from a single web site, they carry less weight than only a few inbound links from separate and distinct sites. The key here is that different sites are essentially placing their vote. Focus on diverse link building strategies among many different web sites.

The final ranking factor is keyword use in root domain. Although it’s possible to use subdomain or dedicated pages to get your keywords in a URL, nothing beats having them in your root domain.

All of the top five ranking factors will work for you. I have personally seen them dramatically improve rankings for even the smallest web sites. Make sure that you address each factor. In combination, these factors have the most impact. By addressing the top ranking factors for your web site, you’ll be able to add additional search engine optimization techniques to ensure top placement over the long term..

Michael Fleischner is the Author of SEO Made Simple: Strategies for dominating Google and offers SEO training for small and medium sized businesses. Make sure to get free search engine optimization and Internet marketing support at the Internet marketing forum

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