Increase the Search Engine Ranking of a Content Page

Here are 10 important steps required to effectively optimize a particular content page with a keyword phrase(s) and increase your Search Engine Ranking in a short period of time.

1. Find out if your content page is indexed. You can do that by taking it’s page title and searching for it on Google. If your page is not indexed, then create and submit a sitemap to the 4 major search engines (google, yahoo, live, & ask). You can create a sitemap using the free tool found at xml-sitemaps.com

2. Check the page content to find which keyword phrases are available with the free tool at tools.seobook.com/general/keyword-density. Compile a list of keyword phrases that appear 2 or more times.

3. Find out the ranking that you are currently receiving with those keyword phrases. Use the Free “Rank Checker” software produced by SEO Tools. Download the software from tools.seobook.com/firefox/rank-checker. Export the data so that you can compare it to your future ranking results.

4. Find out how many searches the keyword phrases produce with adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. Choose the filter option “Don't show ideas for new keywords. I only want to see data about the keywords I entered.” The keyword phrases should have decent monthly searches but not be overly competitive. You could start with keyword phrases between 20,000 to 50,000 searches per month.

5. Eliminate the keyword phrases that are not producing any google search data and put your chosen keyword phrases in the keyword MetaTag for your content page.

6. Now choose a keyword phrase to optimize your content page. You can base your selection on its current ranking as shown by the “Rank Checker”, Volume of monthly searches as shown by the Google Keyword Tool or simply pick one that you would like to go after.

7. Now optimize your page with that keyword phrase using as many search engine markers as possible. The search engine markers to consider include the Page Title, Page URL, MetaTag Description, MetaTag Keywords, Headings, Anchor Text, Bold, Italic, Alt, and Content.

8. Perform a Google search of your keyword phrase and find out who is getting ranked on the first page. Find out the number of text links and the anchor text your competitors have pointing back (called backlinks) to their content page with this free tool from backlinkwatch.com/index.php. This information will give you an idea where to post your text links and how many text links you will need pointing back to your content page.

9. Create as many text links, with the keyword phrase in the anchor text, and point to your content page. You can put your text links in content that you submit to article sites, classified ad sites, directories, forums, social bookmarking sites, blogs, etc.

10. Regularly gather data using the “Rank Checker” and “Backlink Watch” and compare your results.

Important! Have fun optimizing and watching your content page increase its position.

Note: You can optimize the page content with other keyword phrases. However, don’t optimize too many keyword phrases on a page. The larger the content page the more keyword phrases you can optimize.

For smaller content pages, less than 400 words, it is safer to create a separate content page for each keyword phrase.