If you are not paying for traffic via advertising then you are relying on search engines to bring people to your site. In today's world of search engine optimization you need to provide people with dynamic information. Gone are the days of slapping in keywords into a meta-tag and blasting key phrases on a static page.

Traffic Navigation

Traffic (intro)

- Content

- Non-Internet Marketing

- Return Traffic & Email Mktg

- Links from other sites

- Discussion Boards

- Search Engine Promotion

- Pay Per Click

Search engines take their jobs seriously. The big boys know that if they are going to stay big, they need to provide the top links (and top traffic) to the most relevant sites possible. They are constantly updating their web crawlers to make better evaluations and rankings. Their programs pull apart web pages, analyze content, compare to previous content, check to see if other people think your site is valuable by links and traffic, and a host of other criteria to see if they will bless your site with a good ranking. These updates may mean that "tricks" that work today may be penalized tomorrow.

The best thing you can do is to avoid using SEO "tricks". Instead, think about each page and add information that will be helpful for your visitors. Include your key words and phrases into rational text. If your new content reads like you over did the use of keywords, then you probably did.

If you are looking for a web management tool (either straight content or e-commerce based), make sure it includes the ability to easily add and update content. For e-commerce consider a periodic featured product and write something about it. Then change your featured product once a week or month.

If possible, add a section for self help in your area of expertise and periodically add new linked pages.

Be patient. Search engine optimization does not happen over night. Keep at it and make use of SEO professionals if your budget allows. Search engine Optimization is not a one time deal.

Here are a few quick tips:

• Update your home page often (consider once a week)
• Add new pages on a regular basis
• Archive old articles
• Use Key Phrases
• Become an expert in your site's area of focus and share that expertise
• Use good grammar and spell check
• Consider professional help, both experts in your field and experts in SEO