Once you have compiled your final list of keywords and phrases, you're ready to begin strategically incorporating them into your web pages or optimizing your web pages for the search engines. Depending on the overall popularity of the keywords and keyword phrases that you have selected for targeting, the following tactics may be enough to earn you search engine rankings that you can live with.

HTML and Meta Information

To maximize your site's chances of being listed in response to search engine queries, you can add special code to the underlying HTML (HyperText Markup Language) source code for your pages. The source code for a Web page is the set of HTML commands that actually make the words, images, links and other content appear the way they are supposed to in a Web browser window.

TIP: Every Web page has HTML source code and, as we've already seen, most Web browsers let you take a peek "behind the curtain" of a Web page to study the source code. To do so with Internet Explorer, choose the "View" and "Source" commands. Using Netscape Navigator, choose "View" and then "Page." 

META is an HTML instruction, or tag, that contains descriptive information about the contents of a Web page or Website. Many search services use computer programs that scan a Web page's META tags in the course of indexing that page's contents. 

While you should include information in META tags to give yourself a better chance of being indexed more effectively, you shouldn't obsess over them. Fact is, few of the top search services actually still use them. 

The important elements of your Website, as far as search engines go, are all included in the <HEAD/> section of your page HTML. These elements include the <TITLE> tag, along with your META Description and META keywords. 

Most META tags use two attributes, NAME and CONTENT. The NAME attribute identifies the property and the CONTENT attribute specifies the property's value. Your wording in these three META tag areas is key to your search engine placement, so  you'd best spend some time in selecting the best words you can use to describe your site.

TIP: Want HTML-free page building, low cost, high quality Web hosting, hassle free, by-the-book promotion and guaranteed top search engine placement and monitoring? Check out Ken Evoy's masterful, one-of-a-kind marketing and e-commerce bundle at Site Build It!

Web Site and Page Titles

Never underestimate the power of a good Title!

The title of a web page is extremely important - most search engines rely on it quite heavily when determining a page's relevance to a particular search query. Not only is it the first thing Web surfers see when they land on your site, but search engines will display your pages according to their titles, so they're one of the most important elements in enticing targeted traffic to your site. 

The best titles describe the subject of a Web page or site in a clear and meaningful way, piquing curiosity and compelling readers to hang around and explore your site further. 

TECH: The title of your web pages is determined by the title META tag in your html code. The tag looks like this: <TITLE> your site name </TITLE> and the title appears in the gray bar at the top of each page.

In selecting your <TITLE> bear in mind that keywords in your <TITLE> tag are given more importance than any other keyword placement in determining your ranking.

Important title optimizing strategies:

• It's a good idea to include your most important keyword once or, if possible, twice, in your title, along with another generic keyword or synonym. Make sure you use keyword or words in a meaningful way. 

• Your keyword or words should reflect the overall theme of your site. Don't make your title simply a list of keywords or you'll pay a price.

• Steer clear of hype or salesmanship in titling your site. Remember your title appears as the link in search engine listings, so make sure it's compelling enough to "get the click."

• Search engines generally index between 60-120 characters of your title, so it's a good rule of thumb to limit your title to 80 characters or less. You won't be penalized for too many characters, but anything over the limit will be chopped off, so make sure to get your most important message in at the beginning.

• If you can think a of good title that begins with an A or B, it might help your ranking a bit, as some search engines and directories still factor alphabet position into their listings. 

• If your company name isn't a recognized one, its a safe bet it won't be used in a keyword search, so leave it out of the title. You have to choose your characters wisely.

• Remember that all your key pages have titles (not just your home page). The name you choose for every one of your pages should be well thought out, should describe what the page is about and should, where possible, be based upon your primary or "most profitable" keywords.

TIP: Beyond its job of grabbing the reader's attention, your title also plays an important role in determining the relevance of your page to the reader's search parameters. Specifically, the keywords in the title often receive greater emphasis than other keywords on the page.

META Description

The description of your page in the <META> tag is every bit as important as the summary description in the main text of your page. Not only do many of the major search engines support the <META >description, it also happens to be what Web searchers will see indexed when your listing pops up. The wording in your description will ultimately determine whether a searcher clicks on your link or not, so it should be written with as much care as a costly classified ad. 

A good description succinctly summarizes the main selling points of your page, without hype or exaggeration. Each search engine differs in the description length they allow, some allow 150 characters, others up to 300, so it's best to play it safe and stay somewhere in between at around 150 - 200 characters. Again, put the most relevant information, your #1 benefit, up front lest you get cut off.

One advantage to using a <META> description is that you can provide the exact wording you want to use, rather than having a search engine extrapolate the description from the main text of the page. 

TIP: Some search engines look for complete statements, so always try to end your summary statements with proper punctuation. Phrases without punctuation are considered ambiguous; phrases with punctuation are considered relevant.

For search engines, relevancy of text is determined by:

• How a word relates to other words

• The proximity of one word to another.

• The position of a word within a page.

• Whether a word is presented as part of a complete statement.

• How many times the word is used in the page.

TIP: You should not repeat your Title in this tag, or readers will see the same phrase twice in your listing. Also, it's a waste of your valuable keyword allotment.

Keyword META Tags

This is simply a listing of the keywords you have selected, enclosed in META tags. Your META tags for each page you register with the search engines should include your primary keyword or words, the one's you've used in the title or as the title. You can and should include a few general keywords as well, as most searchers tend to use word combos including generic and specific words, but don't dilute the power of your primary keywords by throwing in too many synonyms.

Some webmasters try to exploit this listing by repeating top keywords over and over in the hopes of achieving a better ranking, but I'd advise against this. For one thing it no longer works very well, and for another, its very risky. 

In fact, most search engines consider it a form of spamming and, if you're caught, you might well be permanently banned from their databases. For another, if you have to resort to keyword loading in order to get a good listing, it indicates that you don't think very highly about the content of your site. 

Above all, the keywords you use must reflect the content of the specific Web pages they are being used on! For information on selecting keywords, see Building Your All Important Keyword List.

Let's be clear about one thing: search engines don't follow any rules, they make the rules, so there's no sense in second guessing them. Most search engines allow you to vary the form of your keywords, using different tenses or creating pluralized and capitalized versions. You can also use the same word in combination with other words as long as the words you use accurately reflect the actual content of your page. Most, but not all, search engines, allow up to seven variations of the same keyword, but don't use the same keyword over and over anywhere on your pages. 

Rather than loading up your META tag with keywords, you should make every effort to insert them as often and as naturally as possible in your content. And, as the <META> tag keyword list is normally used in addition to the keywords that the search engine gathers from the main text of a page, rather than simply repeating keywords that appear in your main text, you might want to concentrate on related topics or variations of your primary keywords. 

When it comes to the ranking of your site, having a <META> tag keyword list does give your site a definite edge over sites that don't use meta-information, but a keyword list will not make or break your chances of securing a top listing. So you are best off simply selecting the best words you can and getting on with the business of promoting your site.

TIP: Just as the length of your keyword description is important, so is the length of your keyword list. Generally speaking, you should try to limit your list to fewer than 1,000 characters. 

Location, Location, Location

Just as important as the words you use is the location in which you use them. When ranking your Website, search engines generally pay most attention to the written content on the top of your pages, so devote the most time to these. 

If you have a headline at the top of your page, and you should, make sure that it contains several of your keywords or phrases. A good rule of thumb is to use your primary keywords as naturally as possible in your Title, your headlines and your first few paragraphs of text.

TIP: Some Search Engines use the the first words of your text in lieu of your META Description tag, so you should always begin a page with your hardest hitting copy. Ken Evoy recommends the following strategy: Take your META description tag and chop it into two pieces... part for your headline and part for the opening paragraph of your body copy. He devotes over a hundred pages of his popular Make Your Site Sell treatise to search engine positioning, revealing the latest tips and strategies that will optimize your chances of ranking in the top 20. 

In an enlightening article he wrote in the September edition of his "Internet Home Business Marketing Newsletter" (subscribe at http://www.smithfam.com/news/current.htm), Robert Smith recommends using your keywords and keyword phrases most effectively in the various areas of your Web pages:

Title: Use your keyword phrase as the first word in the title;  use it twice in the title in combination if possible. The longer the title is the less effective your keyword will be. Several search engines look to your title to establish your keyword density. Your title can range from a single word up to 12 words is OK depending on the specific search engine.

Description: Again use your most important keyword early in the page description. Keep your description short, 25 words is good 20 words is better. Use nouns (person, Place or thing) as keywords if possible, nouns usually carry the most weight. The search engines don't want to waste the user's time reading listings, they want to send you as directly as possible to the information you seek.

Keyword List: Using your keywords in your keyword Meta tag is not as important as it once was. For example you will find that many top sites in Alta-Vista don't use Meta tags, they index the entire page and determine ranking. Be careful not to use keywords that are NOT to be found on your page. Use your main keyword in 3-6 phrases. The search engines will remove pages that overuse a keyword. You may use several spellings and in combination in other phrases.

Headline: Your headlines, especially your first headline and your biggest headlines are usually an accurate description of your page's content. Use your important keywords in them. 

Body Text: When you proofread your page look for opportunities to work in your keyword or phrase. The first paragraph is the most important place on the page to include your keywords. The first paragraph may be a more important in ranking than the Meta tags.

Image Alt Tags: You can make the images on your page work for you by simply including an <ALT="(here you insert your keywords)"> tag in your <IMG SRC="image"> tags. As many search engines index every word on your pages, using <IMG ALT> tags can boost your density rating. This technique is often overlooked however the results can be very helpful.

TIP: If you are using an image or a logo, make sure it does not load higher on your page than keyword text, as this can seriously undermine your positioning.

In his Affiliate Masters Course (click and send a blank email to receive) Ken Evoy points out two more places where you should include your keywords. They are:  

Link Tags: Include your keywords in all hyperlinks. This is easily done in your navigation bar links, but do it with the links in your body copy as well. Instead of simply saying "click here" for instance, say "click here for more information on web page optimization"

File or Domain Name: If you include your primary keyword in the filename of your html page, it might add a relevancy point or two with the engines. For instance, if your page is about "web page optimization" as this one is, entitle the file "web-page-optimization.html."

Keyword Density

Keyword Density is the percentage of keywords divided by the total number of words on a page. This is another part of most spidering engines' algorithms to determine relevancy. So not only must you use your keywords in all the right places, you must also make sure you're not drowning them out with superfluous wording. Most engines like a density of around 5% to 10%.

While it's generally true that the more content you have, the higher you ranking will be, there's a big difference between content and lots of words. Running on and on about a topic just because you have the space to do so will actually do your site more harm than good. Not only do you run the risk of alienating your readers with your excess verbiage, but if you overcrowd your keywords they'll lose their effectiveness and you'll undo all the work you've done in selecting and placing them. Far better to choose one or two words or phrases to concentrate on per page. If you use more your keyword density will be reduced overall with each additional word. 

TIP: A good way to make sure you have an optimal density percentage is to use the Page Critic of Web Position Gold and target the page for Excite. This search engine seems to have the most in common with most other search engines when it comes to keyword density. Better yet, target each search engine individually by using doorway pages or sites.

• Links FROM prominent, relevant sites to you.
• Your interior pages linked from your front page to establish a "theme" for your target keywords.
• Keywords in your title
• Keywords in your link titles.
• About 5%-7% keyword density in your text