Search engine optimization is the best way to get traffic to your website. When your site shows up as a top result on Google you just about guaranteed a ton of traffic. The only problem is, everyone knows this. So there's a lot of competiton. Be prepared to spend plenty of time and plenty of money getting that top postion. For those who see it through to a first page ranking or better yet a top overall ranking it's well worth it. One of the hardest things about search engine optimization is knowing where to start.

All search engine optimization needs to start with good keyword research. You have to know the words and phrases people are likelty to type into the google search box when looking to find a product or service like yours. If you don't take the time to identify which of these keywords drive the most targeted traffic you'll be aiming at the wrong target, or worse - no target at all.

A good way to start your keyword research is with the Google Keyword Tool. The Google Keyword Tool let's you type words you think people might use to find your website and spits out words and phrases other people used to find those same products and services. It even provides you with a rough idea of how frequently peopele are searching for each term. One you've entered a few suggestings and combined that with some of Google's suggestions you'll unlock all kinds of keywords you've never considered.

Now just because a keyword is frequently searched for doesn't mean it will be profitible to try and get a good ranking for that keyword or phrase. All too often I hear people complain they're not getting good search results. I ask them which keywords they're targeting and they're far too vague. For example_ I remember an air condition repair company who targeted keywords like "air conditioning". The chances of a small local air conditioning shop being the most relevant result for everyone who's typing in that term around the world isn't realistic. I suggested the company target the same phrase but include some of the words associated with the geographic area they service. So now instaead of targeting a very broad term like "air conditioning" they're targeting something more local like "Long Isand Air Conditioning". The idea here is to be specific but not so specific nobody will every find you.

Another problem with picking keywords to target is the cost. Sometimes you may be in a business where you're targeting a broad term like "mortgage". Even though you may be able to earn a commission from selling and referring mortgages on a national level it might not make sense to go after the term because of the stakes involved. A term like "mortgage" is going to have far more value to a big bank or a national mortgage company than someone who is making a small commission for each referral.

You can avoid wasting your time chasing keywords you cannot afford to pursue by using the keyword feasability formula. This formula takes into account some positive assumptions for your clickthrough rates and conversion rates so it's not a perfect science. It will however give you a general idea of what getting a top ranking for a specific keyword is worth. Here's the formula.

Take the total number of searches and multiply it by your expected clickthrough rate. Keep in mind a good clickthrough rate is only going to be around 3%. Take your resulting number and multiply that by your conversion rate. Keep in mind a good conversion rate is only 3%. Take the remaining number and multiply that times the average profit you can expect to make from each conversion. What you have left is a total amount of money that keyword could potentially bring in on a given month for your business. If that number is much smaller than the reasonable cost to get a first page ranking for the keyword it's probably not a good idea to pursue it.

Here's a sample of the keyword feasability formula.

Bob has a landscape construction business in King County. He finds out the total number of searches per month for King County Landscapers is 4000. Assuming he's on the first page he'll get about 3% of that traffic to his site. Meaning... they'll click through to his website. That means Bob can count on about 120 visitors per month from that keyword. Bob then captures lead info on his homepage, sends follow up emails, and does a good job of turning 3% of his leads into paying customers. This means Bob will pick up 3 new customers from this keyword term each month. Each customer is worth $800 to Bob's business. That means Bob can afford to pay no more than $2400 per month to pursue this keyword phrase.

The first step to search engine optimization is keyword research but the first step to staring a next generation online business is to make a website. You can create a website for free at WebStarts.com today.