What is SEO?

SEO : Search Engine Optimization
"The process of selecting best keywords for a web site and the use of natural and adequate on-page optimization techniques along with other off-page optimization factors; making that web site achieve better position in the search engine result pages (SERPs) for those selected words."

Search Engine Optimization process can bring targeted visitors if it is done in a natural way. Please keep in mind that SEO can harm your web site, if it is done to modify search engine results. I mean we have to emphasize our plus points, we need not to target result pages by hook or crook.

Selection of Keywords
Keyword selection depends on these main factors:
1.) Number of visitors it will bring to my website.
2.) Work involved in achieving top ranking for a keyword.
3.) Bottom line: business we do if achieved.

Number of visitors it will bring to my website
We should think in natural way for example; I want to buy a ghagra (Indian dress), what I will search for?

Next do a simple research, do people really search for that keyword? I recommend collecting keywords related to your business just by plain assumption and write in a notepad.

Find out all related keywords / variations.
Now, use available keyword selector tools to find out number of search volume for each keyword

Work involved in achieving top ranking for a keyword
At this stage I will have a ready list of all keywords and number of visitors possibility if I achieve high ranking. Now we should sort our list in descending order, maximum searched keyword first next the lower one.

Here we have to figure out, how much I have to work to attain noticeable position in search result. To get an idea we can do simple search in search engines, we have some tools ready for this purpose what we can use. We should cross check this part with all authority tools and by doing simple searches in search engines before coming to a conclusion.

By end of this stage we should refine our keyword list, sort it based on difficulty in ascending order. Now select the keyword; "easiest to target" and "maximum visitors" on first place, next the difficult one. Create another list, and please don’t run off a keyword too difficult to achieve, it can bring very sweet gifts. You can keep them as last targeted


Business we do if achieved
Now; this is the most difficult phase. How I will know if you search for “kerala tourism”, you will buy a package tour to Kerala? A visitor searched for “tour to India” and bought a tour package to Kerala, so that keyword “tour to India” brings customer but can’t say, next visitor can simply close your website after checking some two lines of text and few pictures. So we should have enough data for analysis. After a very good intensive research we should create another list of keyword. Now it is clear, "the easiest keyword" which brings "maximum number of customers" and next keyword so on…

Bottom line is; keyword selection process is foundation for SEO

On-Page optimization
On-page optimization is second step of SEO where we deal with the pages itself
My opinion on the most important elements

Content
Magic can happen if and if we have a web page where, there is enough room for it. We should have good content, enough content related to our business / services / products we offer. We should write / describe our services / products / business in a way people can read and understand, then only they are going to use it

And yes make sure that you have your targeted keywords included in the content on your pages in a natural way.

Make sure that the text is original, if it is the same as on other web pages it can be caught by search engines as duplicate web page. Now a days search engines are smart enough to understand this.

Easy navigation
We should make sure that the search engine spiders can follow the internal links on your site. If I have a dynamic web site based on a database it is beneficial to use mod-rewrite to get the best possible benefit out of it.

If I have lot of pages on my web site and they are very deep down in the navigation tree of 3 or more clicks; than I need to use a sitemap and a link to it from each page of site. Sitemap makes is easy for search engines to find all pages

Please refer to this article for more details

Off-Page optimization

1.) Selection of resources; which is related to our website
2.) One way links; to website home page and internal pages
3.) Popularize your website on internet.