1. Update Your Site often - Not only does this encourage people to return to your site, but search engine spiders as well. Frequently updated sites also tend to have better search engine rankings than those that sit static with few updates.



2. Widgets Are Us ? When considering whether to start a site, make sure you rely on objective research. What you think might sell is irrelevant. Use research tools such as Overture or Wordtracker to make sure people are actually searching for your idea.

3. Keywords in Your Published Articles ? If you publish articles to promote your site, be careful! If you put your main keyword phrases in the articles, the listings in the article directory may outrank you site!

4. Keyword Research and Tails - When conducting keyword research, people often mistakenly focus on two word phrases. You should look for the tail phrases, which are three to four words. There is less competion for rankings, but still plenty of traffic.

5. The Boring Site Map ? Site maps may seem like a boring, unnecessary page of your site. In truth, they are critical. The site map is your safety page if you are doing search engine optimization. It is the page where search engine spiders can find everything.

6. Search Engines That Matter - There are tons of search engines out there, but only three matter - Yahoo, Google and MSN. They control most of the traffic on the web, so don't make the mistake of focusing on other engines.

7. Contextual PPC Advertising - Contextual PPC advertising allows you to put ads on other people's site. In general, you should not. The quality of the traffic clicking on your ads can be very low, to wit, you don't pick up much business.

8. The Holy Grail of Type in Traffic ? Regardless of the type of site you have, your ultimate goal is to get type in traffic. This occurs when a person types in your domain name instead of using a search engine. Amazon.com gets lots of type in traffic.

9. Perfect Internet Business - The perfect online business is whatever you love. It is going to take a lot of work, so figure out your interest and stick with it.

10. Spam versus Email Marketing ? Everyone hates spam, but online sites love email marketing. If you are considering it, you need to make sure you are in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act or risk going to jail.

Obviously, not all of these tips will apply to your site. Still, even a few can make a big difference, so try them out.