Search engine optimization is made up of two different disciplines that must work with one another to be truly successful. The two areas you need to master including on page optimization and off page optimization. Web sites that are successful at both can achieve search engine optimization success.

Any powerful SEO strategy is a combination of having the write strategy and applying necessary elements of that strategy in the right order. The same can be said for SEO. To win at the SEO game, you need to be willing to focus on on-page optimization before off-page optimization. This means that you are concentrating your efforts on navigation, web site design, and Meta tags. Beginning with on-page optimization ensures your success over the long term.

Let’s start with looking at your URLs. Many people believe that the only way to get number one rankings is by having your main keyword in your domain name. For example if your keyword is sneakers, you should have a URL that includes your keyword of sneakers. Sure, this would help but its only one of a number of factors considered in search engine optimization. Not to mention the difficulty of finding a good URL that includes your keywords.

It is true that including your keyword phrase in your URL is beneficial even though it is not the end all be all. This is especially true with search engines like Yahoo and Bing. A good strategy to deploy is to use a sub-domain strategy. This means setting up sub domains from your main site that include the keyword you’re optimization for. It would look something like this: sneakers.yoursite.com where your site is the name of your main web site.

If you’re aren’t quite sold on a sub-domain strategy, there is an alternative. The good news is that the second domain option is just as effective and just as easy to implement. Essentially you want to follow the same strategy of determining which keywords you want to promote. Once you’ve done so all you need to do is set up a separate page on your site. It would look something like www.yoursite.com/keyword where keyword is the keyword phrase you are promoting and yoursite is your domain name. This promotes your specific keyword and keeps it close to your home page.

After optimizing your URL, its time to focus on other on page attributes. One of the most important is page load time. This is a function of the overall size of your page, scripts, use of CSS, etc. and requires a good deal of experience from a programming perspective. Your best bet is to have someone with SEO experience review your pages to make sure that you are applying SEO best practices from an on page perspective.

If you’ve done a good job at on-page optimization, then you’re ready to start focusing your effort on off-page optimization. Off page optimization comes down to generating links to your web site from a number of sources. These sources could be authority web sites, blogs, directories, or social media web sites like Facebook and Twitter. The thing to keep in mind is that off-page optimization is an ongoing process that requires ongoing effort.

Begin your SEO efforts by focusing on on-page optimization. This creates a very strong foundation that you can build on for years to come. After that foundation is set, focus on off-page optimization techniques. These tactics can vary over time but should always include some type of link building effort. As you create more inbound links, your search engine results will continually improve.

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