SEO 101 – The Basics of How to Get To the Top of the Search Engines

 Search Engine Optimization (commonly referred to as SEO) is one of the best ways to get traffic to your site. The best thing about SEO is that the traffic you get is free! It is also a permanent way to build traffic unlike PPC. If you manage to get top ten listings in a major search engine like Google, you can get hundreds or even thousands of visitors to your site.


Depending on your site’s subject matter, for example if you’re a restaurant you should be able to start earning a significant income purely from the popularity and driving traffic from your site. For example, if you have a site on schools you might be able to drive a lot of traffic but not earn a significant income.

On the other hand, if you have a top ranking site on Google for the keyword phrase “web hosting”, you’ll be able to earn at least millions per year from that site alone. However, to get into the top 10 in Google for the phrase “web hosting” is extremely difficult, you would need to be a search engine pro to do it - even then, it might take you two years to get there with a team of 5 people working around the clock. It is much more difficult than most people think. Not to mention very costly. So it should be left up to the experts.

A profitable site will be based on a good keyword phrase, a good topic (or subject material) and be different enough to stand out from the competition. If you can combine these elements successfully you’ll increase your chances of turning a profit from your site.

I’m going to focus on SEO for Google because it’s the largest (and the best) search engine which will generate the most traffic, especially if you can master all of the right optimization methods. Google has a very complicated system for determining which sites make it to the top of the search engine. There are many factors involved and there is no precise formula. A further consideration is that Google often changes its formula so you can’t rely on it being the same from month to month. However, there are a few key factors which are unlikely to change dramatically:

Keywords phrases should be one of the most important considerations when you are optimizing your site (remember that for each page of the site you should concentrate on one or two keyword phrases).
Keyword phrases (which you want to get to the top of the search engine for) should be well researched. There are many methods to do this. Your time would probably be best spent by hiring a professional who is adverse in the process.

Key factors for getting to the top of Google:

• The keyword phrase in the title of the page - you should have the phrase in the title of the page.
• The keyword phrase in the text of the page – you want the keyword phrase to be up the top of the page, preferably as high up the top of the code on the page as possible. You also want the phrase repeated a few times on the page. Don’t worry about how many times, just at least 3-4 times and more if you think it fits in naturally with the content of the page.
• Links into your site from other sites, links within your site, links to other sites, links into your site from other sites are all important factors in driving traffic to your site. (This is probably the most important factor for getting good search engine listings. You need to have good links coming into your site from other sites.)
• You want those links to be from popular sites that also have lots of links coming into them. Google uses a Page Rank system which is a rough measure of how many links are coming into your site. You want links from sites that have good Page Rank. Creating 50 of your own sites and interlinking them won’t increase your page ranking.

How do you get links from other sites?

• The main ways are to: Create a great site that people naturally want to link to, Get an affiliate program so people can link to your site and get paid, swap links with other sites, get listed in directories such as dmoz.org and buy links from people who have sites with a high PR (Page Rank).
• The most important consideration with incoming links is that you need to have the keyword phrase in the link that directs traffic to you your site. Getting listed in directories such as DMOZ (Open Directory Project) can also help you significantly in getting a good search engine ranking in Google.

- Optimizing your site too carefully –

If it’s obvious that you have optimized your site for Google (for example, if all your incoming links use the same keyword phrase) you may be penalized. Google looks for sites that are more ‘natural’ in their structure, so if all links look the same this won’t look like an organic site to Google robots and you may be penalized for it.

So that’s the basics of how to get to the top of the search engines. We’ll have a look at the more advanced stuff later on. It takes a lot of time knowledge, dedication, and usually expertise to get there but once you master it, SEO is a fantastic way to get traffic and make money on the web. SEO is key for your Website Marketing Campaigns. Having a crisp website design may not be enough to get your viewers attention. You need to stay up to day, optimize your website code, generate relevant content on a consistant basis and follow webstandards. Magic Logox is a digital marketing solutions company that develops dynamic websites to be Search Engine Friendly, with integrated custom blogs, digtial catalogs, ecommerce features and more. To learn more about Magic Logix digital marketing please visit http://www.magiclogix.com/.




This Blog was written by Steve Parker - Business Development and Sales Manager of Magic Logix

Section 508: Web Standards for Accessibility Overview

Accessibility is an important part of our society that provides an equal opportunity for everyone to obtain information easily. In regards to technology and information, Section 508 is an amendment that was passed in 1998 in the US Government’s Rehabilitation Act. The amendment was created to set standards for the accessibility of information technology on a national level. All federal agencies must now abide by this amendment, by only providing and purchasing services and products that are compliant to Section 508 standards. In the industry of Advertising and Marketing, or more specifically website development, abiding by web standards is crucial in order for a web developer to truly optimize a website to its fullest potential. Standards are necessary to apply to web development in correlation with section 508 in order to improve the standards in advertising and marketing, technology, and open up more opportunities for more people to gain important information.


Ideally the industry aims to make all information presented on the web available to more and more users. One advantage of the standards is that it gives people with disabilities an equal opportunity to access information. As technology continues to evolve, we can see the advantages in overcoming obstacles and bridging communications gaps through standards and best practices. As technology improves in one area, such as the rise in mobile devices and smart phones, it must also improve and be compatible in web development. Section 508 also allows web developers to develop their sites to be accessed not only on multiple desktop browsers but mobile phones, iPods, iPad’s, and any other user agents and technology created to access information via the web.

One example of making the standard applicable is utilizing the Alt Tag (alternative text). This allows a description to be tagged onto an image or graphic. Whether the image is there for a decorative effect or if it is important with text in the image itself, it is always important to add the Alt Tag within the HTML code. It is important to add the Alt tag to each image, video file, plug-ins, audio files, graphics, charts, etc. The description should be brief but to the point, describing the image or the purpose of the image. This is important for anyone that cannot view an image or if the image was not displayed properly on the screen, the descriptive text will still be displayed. This is only one standard included in Section 508 web standards. To learn more about Section 508 Standards visit the World Wide Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative. Other standards can include procedures for electronic forms, animations, data tables and client-side image maps, multimedia presentations, frames, scripting, color conveying information, and more. It also includes web standards, software standards, information documentation, and support.

Magic Logix is a digital marketing solutions company that develops Section 508 compliant websites. As a company we adopt web standards in all forms of marketing, ecommerce shopping cart solutions, and more. Magic Logix is a GSA approved company that works with the federal government, abiding by section 508 and the web standards of W3C.

Section 508: Web Standards for Accessibility Overview

Accessibility is an important part of our society that allows equal opportunity for everyone to gain information easily. In regards to technology and information, Section 508 is an amendment that was passed in 1998 in the US Government’s Rehabilitation Act. The amendment was created to set standards for the accessibility of information technology on a national level. All federal agencies must now abide by this amendment, by only providing and purchasing services and products that are compliant to Section 508 standards. In the industry of Advertising and Marketing or more specifically website development, abiding by web standards is a very important for a web developer to truly optimize website to its fullest potential. Standards are necessary to apply to web development in correlation with section 508 in order to improve the standards in advertising and marketing, technology, and open up more opportunities for more people to gain important information.


Ideally the industry aims to make all information presented on the web to be available to more and more users. One advantage of the standards is that it allows people with disabilities equal opportunity to access information. As technology continues to evolve, we can see the advantages to overcome obstacles and bridge communications gaps through standards and best practices. As technology improves in one area, such as the rise in mobile devices and smart phones, it must also improve and be compatible in web development. Section 508 also allows web developers to develop their sites to be accessed not only on multiple desktop browsers but mobile phones, iPods, iPad’s, and any other user agents and technology created to access information via the web.

On example of making the standard applicable is utilizing the Alt Tag (alternative text). This allows a description to be tagged onto an image or graphic. Whether the image is there for a decorative effect or if it is important with text in the image itself, it is always important to add the Alt Tag within the HTML code. It is important to add the Alt tag to each image, video file, plug-ins, audio files, graphics, charts, etc. The description should be brief but to the point, describing the image or the purpose of the image. This is important for anyone that cannot view an image or if the image was not displayed properly on the screen, the descriptive text will still be displayed. This is only one standard included in Section 508 web standards. To learn more about Section 508 Standards visit the World Wide Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative. Other standards can include procedures for electronic forms, animations, data tables and client-side image maps, multimedia presentations, frames, scripting, color conveying information, and more. It also includes web standards, software standards, information documentation, and support.

Magic Logix is a digital marketing solutions company that develops Section 508 compliant websites. As a company we adopt web standards in all forms of marketing, ecommerce shopping cart solutions, and more. Magic Logix is a GSA approved company that works with the federal government, abiding by section 508 and the web standards of W3C.