The Dream: You wake up one morning and notice your website appears on the #1 spot for your chosen keyword. The traffic is enormous, the business is huge and you are rolling in cash. How? Well...

This will never happen to you or your competitors (luckily) but over time, it is possible for your website to achive top google positions by following a few simple steps which are known as "The Golden 5".

1. Keyword Selection for your website. Example Term: Hosting
The first step to successful SEO is always keyword research. Without it, you are like a bull in a china store. Bob and Jane are a loving couple who own a web hosting business and would like to do much better on google. Bob says they should optimize their site for the word "hosting" because According to Overture there are 1,426,822 searches bi-monthly for the word this word. Sounds like a lot, but because the competition for hosting is so intense, there is little benefit in its pursuit. Jane then suggests that they pursue the term "windows hosting" since thats what they specialise in. Jane is right, it's better to rank 1st for a more specific term than rank 50th for a generic term. Use http://nichebot.com to find search terms you feel are atainable.

2. Use your selected keywords in your website.
Use your nich keyword to use anywhere you can. But don't let the keyword density get too high or your site may become over-optimised. 5% is usually okay. Use the keywords intags, heading tags, etc...

3. Website Relationships
Like the loving couple Jane and Bob, your website needs a loving partner too. It's time to step away from the cheap "link building" campaigns. Google is now looking at how good a link is by calculating how long website visitors stay whilst at a link. It's time to start building solid business relationships with other websites.

4. Content is King!
Write relevant, interesting content for your website. Write some stories, articles, anything. Try for one new content page a week, more if you have time. Employ someone if you need to. For example, VroomVroomVroom a car rental company employ a journalist to write australian car hire and travel articles. Bob excitedly says to Jane "We should do this!" He is right, but by no means should you ever plagiarize someone elses work. This could lead to a total exclusion from google. It is easy to prove and not worth the risk. "Don't even think about it!" Jane warns Bob.

5. Use experts for your Hosting, SEO and Relationship building.
A wise entrepreneur once said that their key to success was to "ask questions". That means, don't be afraid to get help. Don't be afraid to use services that can get you to the top. The difficulty is that the Golden 5 steps can only get you so far. There are 1000's of factors that effect your website ranking. Bob and Jane both know that they can't win if they do it alone. Use your instinct when deciding from whom to seek free and paid advice. Bob, Jane and yourself can get started by seeking SEO advise at SEOChat.com - a great resource by SEO experts.

Good luck with your website and may the Golden 5 bring your website alive!

Richard Eastes
SEO Manager Datalian - Cheap Windows Hosting For Entrepreneurs