Basic SEO Guide

A Basic Tutorial on SEO
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization is the method of structuring your site so that you are better indexed in the search engines. The main components are the structure of your site and the content it holds. You want to understand how search engines go about ranking a site so that you can structure your sites accordingly. Basically, it all comes down to content and structure but there are also several other factors which I’ll discuss.

SEO Term Glossary:
Google Page Rank-
This essentially represents how well you’re indexed in google. It is a representation of the amount of relevant content on your site and the number of backlinks. A page rank of 10/10 for example would give you #1 ranking in most se’s for your niche terms.
Tool: Download Here – It is their full toolbar with the pr tool attached.
Alexa Page Rank-
This is what most webmasters use to compare their traffic to other sites traffic and also monitor their progress. The reason it’s such an ego booster(or bruiser) is because it compares how you rank compared against the rest of the internet. It details what percentage of the iu’s are you reaching, etc. It has it’s critics but everybody keeps an eye on it.
Tool: Download Here
Site Map-
A site map is exactly how it sounds. It allows both users and search engine spiders (also known as serps) to navigate your site easily. They are critical for correct indexing and there are a variety of plugins that make this a very easy process. My favorite sitemap generator is
Tools:
1. Wordpress Plugin for Sitemap Plugin
http://www.dagondesign.com/articles/sitemap-generator-plugin-for-wordpress/
2. Another One in case the first one is not available for download.
http://www.arnebrachhold.de/projects/wordpress-plugins/google-xml-sitemaps-generator/
3. General Sitemap generator (Up to 500 pages)
http://www.xml-sitemaps.com
4. To submit your sitemap to Google to ensure indexing
http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/siteoverview

Tools:
Tracking Tools
1. Google Analytics - Here
2. HitTail - Here
3. Crazy Egg - Here

Keyword Tools
1. Trellian SEO ToolKit (Paid)- SEO Toolkit
2. Keyword Discovery Keyword Tool (Free) - Here
3. Free Keyword - Here
Gives suggestions for keywords just as KeyWord Discover does.
4. Overture Tool - Link
5. Google Suggestions - Link

BackLink Generators
1. Blogger Commenter
I’ve found this to be the most useful backlink generator since Xrumer started leaving footprints. It automatically posts links to blogs that you list. The best way to get a list of blogs to a relevant topic is go to a well known blogger in industries and look at their “blogroll”. This typically has relevant blogs. Or, you can use Technorati to find blogs pertaining to a particular industry/keyword.

Information on Domains
Best source for domains:
www.1and1.com. Comes with free private registration.

Best place to check for available domains:
www.ajaxwhois.com
Domain Tier Information:
.edu and .gov domains are top tier. Google and other se’s love them.
.com, .org, and .net are all 2nd tier.
.info are third tier.

What should be in your domain:
Having the keyword term in your domain url equates for about 10-15% of indexing.
One way links from other sites and content control the rest.
Any backlinks from .edu’s, .gov’s, or any sites with a pr4 or higher are great for our Google Page Rank.