When the internet was just starting out, nearly anyone could create a website, promote it on the net, and sit back while the money rolled in. But these days selling products or services on the web is more competitive than ever and if you don’t have the right tools, the odds are, your online business will go the way of the dodo.

If you are serious about being in business online then you should start with buying a good search engine software program. The one I use and absolutely can not be without now is Market Samurai. It does all of what I am about to mention and much more.  In my opinion it is an absolute bargain for a one time payment of $149 since a lot of programs these days are subscription based. Combined with a directory and social bookmarking software such as Traffic Bug, you will be well on your way to getting some serious rankings.

What is search engine optimization?

As you might expect, search engine optimization (SEO) is implementing strategies or techniques that give your website a better chance of showing up on internet search engine results. For example, if someone does a Google search on “Nude Skydiving” for example and your website has been optimized for that particular keyword, it is definitely more likely to appear at the top or near the top of the search results page than a site that is not optimized for that keyword. And, as we know, customers are far more likely to visit a website at the top of the search engine results page than scroll through hundreds of search results.

What does search engine software actually do?

Good search engine software will provide you with a number of tools to optimize your site. It should, at the least, include: on-site optimization analysis, keyword search results and recommendations, comparison and analysis of your competition, monetize your site, generate content for your site, find and create back links and track the rankings of your site.

What is a keyword?

A keyword is a word or phrase that a search engine looks for when performing a basic search. Good search engine software will tell you how many times a day a particular keyword is searched for and how much competition there is for that keyword. This then indicates whether or not it is worthwhile starting a website or optimizing your existing site for it.

Keyword density is a very important factor as a part of your on page optimization. This is the amount of times the keyword you want to be optimized for is displayed on your page.  All search engines today measure keyword density as an important factor in helping them rate web pages. If your keyword density is too low, your page will lose ranking. If your keyword density is too high, then search engines may assume you are “keyword stuffing” and may dismiss your site altogether. The trick is to include just enough specific, relevant keywords to catch the attention of the search engines.

Another great thing about search engine software is that it provides you with up-to-the-minute information. Because, let’s face it, the internet is constantly changing. Google and other search engines constantly update their search algorithms which makes search engine results rarely the same from week to week. It is vitally important to stay up to date and buy a search engine software that is constantly updated to move with the trends of the internet.

There are a number of free search engine software programs out there that you can try but just be careful as some may not give accurate results. If you can find one like Market Samurai then that is as good as free in my opinion. The time and money that search engine software like this saves and the amount of information they give is invaluable.