Steps for Building a Successful Online Business – Web Page Optimization

If your online business consists of a website promoting products or services, then your business depends upon getting traffic to your site.

It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to sell if no one ever finds it. You must continually work to get traffic to your site on a daily basis.

I’m going to detail the steps I take to build my online business, and how you can do the same.

Step One: Web Page Optimization

SEO, or search engine optimization is important for your website. Specifically, I’m going to talk about web page optimization.

This first step is THE most important step that you can take to build your online business. Your website’s survival depends on it! Skipping this step is futile for you and your business.

If you want to succeed, then make sure you do this FIRST.

Make sure you optimize your web pages for the search engines, importantly your homepage. Don’t worry, it’s not rocket science. Just follow the steps below, and you’ll be well on your way.

1. Keyword Research

Web page optimization begins with keyword research. Find and pick keywords that people search for that are relevant to your site.

Here’s what I mean by this. If you sell dog toys on your site, then keywords you might choose are “dog toys,” “dog accessories,” etc.

The more relevant, the better. These are keywords that people actually search for in the search engines to find your site.

2. Keyword Tools

It helps to know how many times a certain keyword phrase is searched for. Keyword tools can be very helpful for determining the best phrases to optimize your site for.

Here’s a good list of keyword tools: Google’s Keyword Tool, Keyword Discovery, SEO Book Keyword and Suggestion Tool.

They are all free to use and will give you a pretty good idea on how many people search for a given term.

You want a good amount of searches per day for each keyword phrase, at least 200-300 a day. Here’s where it gets tricky.

You don’t want much competition for those keywords, either. Once you find a few good keywords, do a search on Google for that phrase in quotes.

If you want to rank for online business, then do a search for “online business” including the quotes, and see how many pages are returned.

This will give you an idea of how much competition you will be up against.

3. Keyword Placement

Web page optimization is achieved with proper keyword placement. This requires you know a little bit about HTML.

Don’t fret, it’s not a big deal. If you don’t know much about HTML you can take a look at this Basic HTML Tag Tutorial.

There’s more on HTML on that site, so have a look around and learn something new. Okay, back to web page optimization.

Make sure to place your keyword phrase between the <TITLE> and </TITLE> tags of your page. Only put one of your phrases in the title, as Google will give more emphasis on it. If your page has a Header tag, described as <H1> and </H1>, then put it between them as well.

If you’re not sure about this, then check the HTML source code and see. If you need an HTML editor, you can grab one for free called Nvu.

Also, if you want, create a Header 2 tag, <H2> and </H2>, and put your keyword phrase between them as well.

Make sure to use your keyword phrase throughout the content of your page. Sprinkle it here and there, but make sure to use it at the beginning and end of the content. This is very important.

Okay, no it’s not rocket science, and yes, web page optimization is work. Building an online business isn’t easy, but with a little work and effort it can be achieved.

Remember, this is the first and most important step to building your online business. If you want a more in-depth look into SEO I suggest you grab a copy of the 3 Steps To Search Engine Success.

I have seen this ebook firsthand, so I know the kind of value that it contains. It’s simple and easy to follow. It would be a wise investment for someone that needs to learn how to optimize their site.

In part 2, I will discuss the next step you should take in building your successful online business. Keep in mind that this first step is the foundation for the next steps to come, so DON’T skip this step!