Brandon Cornett gets back to the basics of SEO with this post, outlining the three steps a Webmaster can take to help increase site traffic. "Essentially, you are going to write one page of quality Web content for each of your key phrases," he says. "When combined with other aspects of search engine optimization, this will greatly improve your online visibility and traffic levels." Spend some time building a list of keywords and key phrases using tools like Keyword Discovery or Word Tracker--as they offer insight into the actual terms that your target has been using to search …

"If you're looking for a simple way to enhance your users' engagement level on your site then I recommend you take a closer look at Google custom search engine." So says Manoj Jasra, a Webmaster and SEO who happens to use the Google custom search engine (CSE) on two of his sites. What's so great about Google's CSE? Well, Jasra says that it delivers the same search experience that a majority of searchers have shown that they prefer--combined with the personalization options to ensure that the engine fits in with the look and feel of your site. …

While heading or "H" tags are not the be-all, end-all for on-page optimization, many site owners are abusing them--turning them into images, including site search boxes within them, and otherwise diluting their SEO value. Stoney deGeyter lists the most common "H" tag abuses in this post, and also provides an example of how to integrate style tools like CSS into a site, without hijacking the "H" tags. "Hx tags are not a magic SEO solution and play only a minor role in the overall optimization of a page, but it's valuable enough to take the time to get …

Many smaller advertisers aren't prepared for the influx of leads that flow in after they've launched a new PPC campaign--and can end up letting valuable inquiries (and their ad dollars) go to waste. Kaitlyn Smeland notes that having a lead management plan mapped out from the start is crucial to maximizing search advertiser ROI. Smeland lists some steps a company can take to draft a quick lead management plan, starting with determining what a quality lead is. "Internally, a company must decide what constitutes a quality lead," she says. "Then those qualities can be incorporated into a landing …

Josh Catone noticed a Special K cereal commercial that urged consumers to search for the brand's name on Yahoo--and thought that it was odd that the company didn't end the ad with a plug for the actual Web site. "Has searching really become so natural that it is more effective to tell people to search for your site than it is to tell them to visit directly?" he wondered. His research found that for some brands, search is much more effective at driving traffic than a URL. For example, 7 out of the 10 fastest rising search terms …

Looks like we can expect ZIP code-targeted ads some time in the future, as Google is working on making ZIP code-based local searches more plentiful. Greg Sterling recaps a presentation by Carter Masian, Google's director of product management for local, during the "Google Factory Tour" earlier this week--and sheds light on the giant's ZIP code-based strategy. For general queries like "pizza" that likely have a local intention, Google has introduced a ZIP code prompt that shows up above the results (but below the related searches suggestions). Sterling says that this development is interesting for two reasons--one, because …

Got a prospective client with more than 100,000 pages worth of content that needs to be optimized and upgraded? Have no fear--William Flaiz has a step-by-step guide to taking on all that work and delivering stellar results. There are four steps to the process--address the client's needs, address their wants, and then throw things in that they didn't know they need. Lastly, take them to the next level. Flaiz' publishing client needed a SEO-centric site redesign, so the Avenue A / Razorfish team worked with them during the initial planning stages on factors like the selection of content …

While all Web site owners choose the keywords they optimize for based on their target audience, E-tailers have more work cut out for them because they have to optimize for consumers during all aspects of the buying cycle. MoreVisibility's Joe Laratro breaks search terms into three categories for online retailers--general keywords, shopping keywords and buying keywords, and instructs Webmasters to help them optimize accordingly. General keywords like "televisions," for example, can be tremendous traffic drivers, but "due to the range of intention among shoppers searching these terms, much of the traffic they generate may be untargeted …

Michael Arrington goes against the grain with this post that extols the (potential) virtues of Microsoft's e-commerce search cashback plan. Unlike many industry pundits, Arrington argues that combining a CPA ad model with user incentives is a solid strategy because: "It's a bold move that goes for Google's throat, and it will likely have a material impact on their search market share." Arrington says that it's clear that a pure technology play (like Ask's 3D improvements, Yahoo's Panama rollout, and even Microsoft's adCenter upgrades) is not the way to go up against Google's search juggernaut. Nor is simply …