If you have spent any amount of time learning about internet marketing or affiliate marketing, then you more than likely realize the importance of search engine optimization.  In this article we will discuss what search engine optimization (SEO) is, as well as some of the basics to SEO. In further articles, we will get into some of the more advanced SEO concepts.

In its simplest terms SEO can be described as the process by which traffic to a particular site is increasingly generated by search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN.  For example, when you go to google and search “online poker”, the top sites in the search results are very well optimized for the keyword “online poker”.

Before I go any further on SEO, I feel the need to set the expectation that SEO can literally be a subjective science.  Although the fundamentals of SEO are understood, many people will disagree on what is right and wrong, as well as what works and what doesn’t.  If you read any SEO forums or websites, you will quickly learn just how subjective SEO is.  Likewise you should you understand that no matter how much information we put into this book, mastering SEO can take months to years.

One of the most important pieces of advice I can give regarding SEO is the following.  Before you start trying to figure out algorithms and how to rank for keywords, you should focus on writing quality content that your visitors will want to read. Content is still king!  If you can build your foundation on quality updated content, the rest of learning SEO will be much easier for you.

Let’s start by familiarizing you with the most common key terms and acronyms you will here when discussing and researching search engine optimization.

SERPS – Very simple, this stands for search engine results pages.  Type any word into Google and hit search; the page you see is commonly referred to as the first page SERP.

Keywords & Key phrases – Keywords and key phrases are the specific words and phrases you want your website to rank well for in the search engines.

Spamming & Search Engine Spam – Historically most people think of spam as email spam.  Search engines can be spammed by rogue webmasters as well however.  SEO spam involves the webmaster using non conventional and unethical methods to misrepresent their websites and influence higher rankings in the SERPS.

Google Pagerank – Although google pagerank has lost a bit of it’s luster in the past couple years, it is still important.  Pagerank is a 1-10 measurement by Google that calculates an individual web pages relevance and importance based upon a number of factors.  Most importantly though the quality of the incoming links to that individual page.

Algorithm – This is a complex formula that search engines use to determine the rank of a particular website for a specific keyword or phrase.  Algorithms are constantly changing to ensure search quality, accurate SERPS, and eliminate spam.

Alt Text – This is the text that is shown when the cursor is held over an image.  It’s primary use is as a placeholder and will replace the image in the event the browser does not load the image.  It is debatable how important Alt Text is in SEO.

Anchor Text – This is the text that is written on the page that acts as the link and links to the final destination.  Anchor text is extremely important.  For example if I were trying to rank well for the keyword Poker Affiliate, it would make more sense for me to link like this Poker Affiliate than this click here.

Backlink – This is a very common term you will hear and it refers to any link from another page to your website or web page.  It is sometimes referred to an incoming link. If the links above were on a website, they would be backlinks.

Deep Linking – This is the process of linking to pages within your website from your homepage or other popular pages.  Deep linking normally is done for indexing and optimizing pages that would normally not be found from your homepage or common directory.

Meta Tags – There are various types of html tags used for SEO, these tabs help search engines identify what you page is about

Once you understand some of the concepts above, I encourage you to head over to Randy Ray’s site on Poker SEO. There is a wealth of knowledge here.  If you have more questions, you can also ask them in PAL’s Poker SEO forums.

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