Sometimes terms come up as slang or "lingo" that you can just ignore, but when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) it really does pay to stay informed.

The term "Link Baiting" is yet another example of something that you should know about.  Check out this article that gives a very good definition with examples and then figure out whether you are up to leveraging the concept for your own purposes.  Not for the faint of heart.

If you visit Alexa.com you not only can check out a margin search engine (not Google, MSN or Yahoo), but if you notice the tabs you see one for traffic rankings.  You can then analyse sites for how they rank according to alexa and see something like this:

• Traffic Rank for cnn.com:  26 (5)
• Speed:  Slow (67% of sites are faster), Avg Load Time: 2.6 Seconds  (what's this?)
• Other sites that link to this site:  19,511
• Online Since:  22-Sep-1993

This is what you get for cnn.com, but for other sites that aren't coordinated (or registered with alexa) will have less comprehensive data. 

Play with it as the more you know these kinds of tools the more likely you will know where to look when you need something.

Also look into registering your site by filling in the information form on alexa.com.

Hosting a site isn't just about getting the site to work, it is also about ensuring you get the traffic you need to make whatever you are doing successful.

Now that Google has redone their ranking algorithms there are some things to keep in mind relative to the old reciprocal links game.  Namely it is important that you not add too many of these kinds of links too quickly, build them up gradually otherwise you will be identified by the search engines, as it will be seen as unnatural.  If this happens than you might see your rankings in the search engines disappear instead of rising. A good way to start is keep the number of new links to less than 10 in one month.

For years Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has been characterized by the effort to trick the seach engines with shadow networks or the more benign practice of trading links.  Google has implemented a new system called Jagger that now finally makes all this futile.  We have finally arrived at the age where the ranking of a site will be based on that site's content and the quality of that content.  If you want to get a high rank, start doing the real things that should improve your rank, namely publish relevant content, write articles with links back to your site, actually participate in online discussions about the topics you wish to be well ranked for...

This is actually good news (as you should be able to tell by my tone) since we are finally beyond the "get rich quick" mania that has been the mainstay of SEO since it's inception years ago during the Dot Com boom.

Write and encourage your community to write in your forums.  Do the things that will make your site worth visiting and the traffic will come.  A long hard road, but a fair one.

A key part to the success of any website is content.  If you are basing the business on traffic then the more content the better.  You can write that content yourself, buy it or you can design a site that causes your users to provide the content for you.

You have likely visited many sites yourself where you are welcome to share and contribute.  Each time someone does, whether it is to vent, rant or console, the site benefits by the addition of more content.  A big factor in all search engine ranking is the number of pages in the site.  If you can leverage the work of others, it can make the difference between having dozens of pages (or hundreds if you are prolific) and having thousands of pages.

Ultimately unless it is completely out of place, think about putting forums on your site.  It is the best way to get contributions without having to invent a new paradigm.  If you are hosting on a dedicated server then you likely have to find the software yourself, but on most shared hosting providers there is already software in place for you to leverage.

In searching the web sometimes you find a really comprehensive source and today we have a link that fits our seach engine optimization goal.  The company is in Australia and seems to always have a clear opinion on everything from coding standards to search engine optimization.

Check out what SSW has to say about the subject of Better Google Ranking.

When we talk about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) we have to start with Google.  It has by far the largest audience and therefore is the big fish if you get top rating for the search terms you choose.

Google, like most search engine companies, tries very hard to keep those of us on the outside guessing about what exactly they look for in a site that puts it at the top of their list.  But even so we know that their patented Page Rank is an important factor.  Page Rank is like a measure of the percentage of votes a site gets from other sites indexed by Google.  Most people think that votes should be given by users, but that is too easy and also is information that is not readily available to Google.  What they use is the number of links and the quality of the links to your site.  This is a gross oversimplification, but for this first introduction to the topic it will do (we will delve deeper in other posts).  This means that if you get linked to by a web site that has great popularity then it helps you alot, whereas a link from a family web site that is unknown to the world at large is relatively less helpful.

The easiest way to get to know Page Rank is to install the Google Toolbar and enable the PageRank function.  You will likely catch on quickly when you see that www.Adobe.com and www.CNN.com are highly ranked.  Most of the web sites you encounter will either be unranked ("no data" or "0/10") or will be in the 2 to 6 out of 10 range.  If you can get your websites to 5/10 you are doing quite well and you have a shot a top 10 position for moderately competitive search terms.

Many people will tell you that you can make money using the Internet and while they are correct, the details always seem to be a bit fuzzy.  There are many ways to leverage the massive audience potential of the Internet, but you have to remember that it is really just potential.  If you build a great website there is no magic that just lets people find it.  You have to either work very hard to get top position in the popular search engines, or spend a mint on advertising, or make the news of the site spread virally.  None of these is a pushover, but we will talk about all of them on this site over time.

Suffice it to say that the first option I listed, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), is the one most in reach of those of use without mint or special audience and so that is a topic you will see here often.

Ultimately we have done our jobs well if we can demystify the whole Internet based endeavor experience regardless of whether you are selling, informing, rallying or just sharing pictures of the new baby with friends and family.