Search Engine Optimization for Dummies

“If we build it, they will come.”

Unfortunately, in the field of Web sites, that’s an unfulfilled dream. Having a Web site does not automatically guarantee having traffic, even if you register the site with appropriate search engines. Whether you’re an e-tailer who wants customers, a business that wants clients, or an organization that wants to get your message out, Search Engine Optimization For Dummies explains the rules of the game with information on:

• Spiders—not the yucky kind, but the software that grabs Web pages, and then,,reads and indexes the information
• Search indexes or engines, search directories, non-spidered indexes, and pay-per-click systems
• The eight search systems you really need to impress and how to get your pages into them
• Keywords and how to choose them strategically and use them often
• Submitting to the directories, including the biggies (Yahoo! Directory and the Open Director Project) and second-tier directories
• Using shopping directories for e-commerce sites, complete with a list of nine popular ones and CPCs (cost per click) for various types of merchandise on various sites

Written by Peter Kent, e-commerce consultant, popular speaker, and critically-acclaimed author, Search Engine Optimization For Dummies helps you build a search engine- friendly site (or fix an existing site) and build traffic, showing you how to:

• Use effective Web site structure and text, including filenames, directory structure, title tags, descriptive meta tags, keyword meta tags, and an HTML navigation system,
• Avoid things search engines avoid, such as frames, invisible navigation systems, including those created with Java applets, Java Scripts and Macromedia Flash, cluttered sites overloaded with HTML unrelated to content, and more
• Bulk up your site with content—original or recycled
• Use specialized search systems to attract valuable, highly targeted traffic
• Use link popularity to boost your position and your PageRank

Complete with a tear-out cheat sheet and information about Web sites you may want to hit for even more information, Search Engine Optimization For Dummies will help you make the Web site hit list.

Peter Kent is an e-commerce consultant who specializes in search engine optimization. He has written nearly fifty books and founded an e-business service provider.