You've read all of the articles and realize that a web site without traffic is a complete waste of money. You now have a web site and you are getting some traffic but you could use more. Plus, the people that are visiting are not buying into your offer because they are really targeted. You decide you need to get traffic: not only traffic but traffic that gets results!

There are multiple methods of generating web site traffic: banners, links, pay per click options and more. However, the best method and return on investment is via search engine placement without a doubt.

Search engine placement is perhaps one of the most rewarding yet most frustrating processes with respect to Internet operations. Unless you are paying for placement through any of the pay per click search engines, search engine placement is not only difficult (you are competing with every site in your industry) but also fleeting. You never know when that number 1 position will become number 1,000,000!

Search engine placement is a combination of keyword usage, text density, graphics use and word placement all wrapped into one huge ball of disappointment for the average user. The important thing to remember is that each and every search engine uses different criteria and sorting filters that will give different results for different pages.

So what can you do about this?

Keywords are Step One!
The first point to remember is that each and every method of search engine placement is an important step. However, probably the most mysterious of all of these methods is keyword selection and placement.

The world has changed from the first years of the Internet where loading your meta tags with hundreds of the same keywords made a big difference. Back then you could use one word over and over and the search engines ranked you high because they had no method to screen out "keyword spam".

Well, we have come a long way in a short time to the point where "keyword spam" is not only not helpful it is also detrimental to search engine positioning. If you have a good ranking on one of your site pages nothing will reduce that success faster than spam.

In today's world the important factor is to have keywords that match your content and that are tailored to the content of your site. The other point is that adding keywords that are not searched is typically a waste of time.

Finding the Key to Words!
There are multiple services that are available to you that will allow you to see which words are being searched as well as to determine what composite words are also available. One of the more interesting ones that we've run across is WordTracker keywords.

Most importantly, services like WordTracker let you find fringe type keywords that are related to highly searched terms like "real estate" or "mortgages". This is absolutely vital because you likely don't have the budget that top placement for these keywords demands.

The vital point for you is that most of these services allow for you to run free tests of their service which gives you a good idea of what options you have for keywords. This is not only fun but is also vital to the long term success of your web site.

Once you have the keywords, now it is time to use them within your site and in the meta tags.

(Part II of this series examines the use of keywords in your site and meta tags to maximize exposure and traffic)

Ron Thibeault is a lawyer with LeClair Thibeault and contributing Editor to St. Nick Studios. His extensive experience in business startups including ThinkRelo.com and commercial law gives him valuable insight into the needs of small business owners.