It is well known that 85-90% of all Internet users rely on search engines to help them locate the information they are looking for. However, only 7% of them look past the first 2 - 3 pages of the search engine's search results. Therefore those top few spots are incredibly valuable, and competition for them is intense.

If your online success depends on getting the right visitors to your website, then it depends on high rankings for the right search terms, or keywords, on search engines. A high search engine ranking is critical. If you think you can't afford to spend the time, effort and money it takes to get that ranking, then think again, the reality is that you can't afford not to.

If you want to be successful in an online business, you must make the search engines your greatest ally. Search engines are the best possible supplier of long-term, targeted free potential customers.

Good search engine optimization needs two vital ingredients

1. Content, Content, & more Content.

2. Links, Links & more Links.

1. Content for search engines is vital. It is fundamental to every legitimate search engine strategy. Good content is critical to a good search engine ranking because many elements of search engine algorithms insist on page content on web sites.

The type of content you provide for search engines should also be the type of content your visitors will appreciate.

Simply put, that means if you provide content for your visitors, then the search engines will follow.

Do your research for the correct keywords using a quality program such as keyword equalizer. Use these keywords in your Meta tag titles, and descriptions. Also use your keywords on your pages, in the titles throughout the body text. However, and this is important, be sure to use your keywords in such a way as to be valid to your readers. Avoid the deliberate overuse of keywords.

This is known as Keyword stuffing. It is unattractive and unappealing to your visitors. It does not provide them with the information they came looking for. If your visitors don't like your site they won't stick around, therefore it doesn't matter even if the search engines do. However, keyword stuffing may well get your site penalized by the search engines.

There is currently much ado about articles for content on the web these days. One of the best methods of including quality content on your pages is with good articles. Write your own, or visit Content Desk, - join up if possible, - to find high quality articles to use in your pages for fresh relevant content that will be appreciated by your visitors. It will also help enormously with your search engine rankings.

Joining a pay per click program can provide appropriate themed ads on your pages. This is a great way of obtaining fresh new content which helps your ratings, and your customers. For multiple PPC programs PPC Management is a very useful tool.

2. Links to your site are also essential.

Quality inbound links provide access to your site for visitors and search engines alike. However, these links must be relevant to your target audience. From a visitor's point of view there is no purpose in a link that is irrelevant to their topic of interest. They will probably not use it.

Search engines appear also to now be looking for relevant links, and tending to discard or even to penalize links that are irrelevant. Therefore, the type of links you provide for search engines should also be the type of content your visitors will appreciate.

Simply put, that means if you provide links for your visitors, then the search engines will follow.

If you limit yourself to exchanging links only with websites that have a theme highly related to your own, the traffic you receive from those links will be far more targeted and valuable to you. Not only do highly relevant links bring you more highly targeted traffic, but they also provide customer satisfaction for your visitors. Therefore they are far more likely to visit you again.

Many search engines are now giving link relevance greater weight in their algorithms, in preference to purely link numbers. A large number of inbound links from pertinent sites that are highly ranked by the search engines is exactly what you need. However, to get those links, your content must impress the owners of the sites you link with. Back to that - content, content, content.

Obtaining quality links is a time consuming, but essential, process. Using a quality program such as SEO elite will help you to quickly find quality topical sites to include in your link exchange program, and make this job much, much easier.

Another rapidly growing way of obtaining links that will be highly regarded by potential visitors and search engines alike is through an article submission campaign. If you submit articles applicable to your theme into quality article exchange vendors, such as Content Desk, they will be picked up by other websites looking for content, and distributed around the web. Include a few well placed links and have your biography link to your site or your opt-in page. You'll be amazed at how well this technique is working for many home internet business owners.

Pay Per Click is one of the easiest ways to place links and immediately begin getting traffic. Advertising in this way on the search engines not only provides you with highly targeted potential customers, but provides a link from other relevant websites that participate in the advertising program. This can assist your search engines rankings.

Be sure though to monitor your PPC campaign closely, as it can get expensive if left unchecked.

Remember that quality content and inbound links to your website are essential to your search engine ranking. However, the reason for providing both goes far deeper than impressing the search engines alone.

"The customer is always right". It is the visitors to your site that you need to impress.

Highly themed quality content, and links to other relevant and well regarded resources, is what your customers are looking for. Guess what? So too are the search engines.