There are “dummies” guides to everything these days and so there is no shortage of search engine optimization for dummies websites on the internet. All these sources do contain useful information of some kind (Google’s inputs are the best because theirs is be biggest search engine); the problem arises out of the fact that everyone has different ideas of how optimization should be done. There are, however, a few things that everyone agrees on and it is with these that any search engine optimization for dummies guide should begin. There are two simple steps that need to be followed to get a beginner on the road to search engine optimization.

Newbies often get carried away with the idea of using keywords – a tactic that can backfire on them because search engines are very sophisticated and will skip any sites that they feel are artificially stuffed with keywords to boost their ranking in the search results. First of all begin by ensuring that the content of your webpage is well written, concise and relevant – there is no point getting your webpage high in the results if people who come there are put off by the way your material is presented. Once you have the content of your site in place, use Google’s free AdWords program to help you find the most effective keywords for your site and modify your content so they are integrated into the text without seeming to be forced. A rule of the thumb is to keep your keywords and phrases as short and simple as possible.

When adding keywords to your content be careful about “stuffing” – the forced use of keywords just to attract search engine attention because engines can now spot this and then the websites are blocked out of the search results so limit your keyword density to around 3%. It can be higher if the keywords really fit in naturally into the text, but even then the normal limit is 7% keyword density. Make sure that you use the keywords in your page title and in the headers and sub headers as most search engines place greater importance on keywords used in these places. Also use keywords as links to other pages of the site as these are also noticed by the search engines.

Okay, you now know the first steps of search engine optimization for dummies but you need to keep on learning – things move fast in the cyber world and keeping abreast of the new developments in how search engines work will enable you to keep your site high in the search results.