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Google
The SEO Game - Do you play it?



Most people do not think of SEO as a game. Let me take 5 minutes of your time
and explain how SEO is simply a game of Chess.



I remember as a teenager learning how to play Chess for the first time. Man
it was complicated. Each piece moved different ways. You couldn't take shortcuts
and get the game over with. You had to really think about your moves and watch
your opponents moves as well. With each move they made, you had to analyze
your next move and even the best plans of attack had to be readjusted constantly. The
game was always changing depending on who you played against. But once you
understood the game, once you understood all the components of the game, you
were hooked.



The same goes for SEO.



The First Step to playing the SEO Game is understanding the game.



Read the rules of the game. Understand what is allowed, what is not allowed, and
things you must avoid. Research how people will find you. Know what your
keyword/keyword phrases are. Who will be coming into your website? Who will you
be marketing to?



Google Rules and Guidelines can be found at

http://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html

Yahoo Guidelines can be found at

http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/deletions-05.html

MSN Guidelines can be found at

http://search.msn.com/docs/siteowner.aspx?t=SEARCH_WEBMASTER_REF_GuidelinesforOptimizingSite.htm



Setting Up Your Chessboard (or website)



Set up your website correctly from the start. Make sure all the pieces of
your website are were they belong. For instance, place your Title tags and Meta
tags into your headtags. Create clean style web pages from the start. Move your
javascripting and css off the page and into their own file so that the search
engines can get to what is important right away.



Playing The Game



In Chess, the rook and the bishop do not move the same way on your
chessboard. Understand how each piece of the game moves and works and use them
to help you win the game.



The same is true for your SEO. For example, many people do not use their head
tags correctly. They try to stuff as many keywords as they can think of into the
Meta Keywords tag. This will not get you far in the game. Try to be focused in
your keywords. Use 3-5 keyword/keyword phrases at most and never use the same
word more then 3 times.



Make sure you are using all the pieces of the game. Title tags, Meta Tags, H1
Tags, Content, Links, Relevancy, etc. Some people think when playing chess that
the pawns are really of no use. You can lose them, you can keep them, no big
deal. The same can be said about Meta Tags. However
when playing against Yahoo or MSN, they will take advantage of your pawns. More
so then when playing with Google. But why would you not use these pieces in a
game? Why would you not take advantage of every single piece and make each one
as important as the others. Would you have a better chance of winning if you used each piece of the
game instead of only a few?



Know who you are playing against.



The more information your have


about your opponent and how they play can
greatly increase your chance of beating them. The same can be said about search
engines. Understand how they work and how they find sites. Knowing your opponent
can help you to win. But also keep in mind that as time moves on, your opponent
is getting stronger. They are constantly changing their game to keep up with the
new breed of chess players. You may be able to beat them today, but in 6 months,
they may have a new strategy. Keep a close eye on them and change your game to
adjust to theirs.



Keep in mind that your opponent will never tell you how they are going to
play the game. There are secret strategies that only they know. Many will guess
as to what those are, but nobody will ever know their strategy 100%.



Do Not Take Shortcuts Just To Get The Game Over With



The same can be said about using spam techniques to get your site listed
quickly and to the top. Spam techniques may work for a short time but once you
get caught, you are banned from playing the game. Google states this about spam,
"Trying to deceive (spam)
our web crawler by means of hidden text, deceptive cloaking or doorway pages
compromises the quality of our results and degrades the search experience for
everyone. We think that's a bad thing."



Basically spamming is a way of cheating the game to win faster. Remember
chess is not a quick game. It takes time and patience. No one wants to play with
a cheater....NO ONE.



Capturing the King - CHECKMATE



Content is King. Content is the way to win the game. Without capturing the
content, you will lose the game. Each of the search engines look for relevancy
within your page. If you state that your page is about red dogs with hats, and
you have a page written about blue cats with shoes, it does not work. Keep your
pages focused. If you are writing about red dogs with hats, write about those
red dogs with hats only. If you also have red dogs with boots, then give them
their own page and write about them boots separately. Keep the pages focused and
on track.



The title tag would be about the red dogs with hats. The meta tag keyword
would be about the red dogs with hats. The meta tag description is a nice 250
character description about the red dogs with hats. Use a H1 tag high on the
page that has red dogs with hats. You can use css tags to make the h1 tag match
your site. Then write clear, focused, original content about the red dogs with
hats. Start out with 3 paragraphs and mention the red dog with hats once in each
paragraph. Watch your rankings. Add additional content if necessary but do it
slowly. Make notes of all the changes that you make. If something does not work,
go back and undo it.



Keep adding fresh and unique content to your site. Do not let your site go
into stalemate.



Once you look at SEO as simply a game, it makes it that much more exciting to
play. And it's even more fun TO WIN!



About the Author

Shawna Fennell is the owner of 1 Choice 4 YStore. A company dedicated to
helping Online Stores. Please visit
http://store.1choice4ystore.com For free advice and tips on SEO, Marketing,
Design, and much more. You can also sign up for daily tips at
http://blog.1choice4ystore.com