Keyword Density

Here's where it really gets interesting. You've already got your quality keywords listed in your meta tag. And that's great. But if you really want to draw the search engine spider's attention, you'll need to take the best keywords (or phrases) and incorporate them into your content.

How many times you do this depends on several different aspects. For one thing, you shouldn't just "stuff" keywords here, there, and everywhere. They should actually be compatible with the text itself.

And just like with the keyword meta tag itself, you don't want to overdo it. Generally, a good rule of thumb is for density (or optimum word depth) to fall within a five to ten percent ratio. So, for every 100 words of text, you can safely include anywhere from five to ten relevant keywords.

There are even online tools you can use to check the density of your keywords. One of them is Keyword Density Analyzer at www.keyworddensity.com. You can submit two URL addresses at once and then type in a specific keyword for those pages.

Now. Are the title, meta tags, and content the only opportunities to take advantage of keywords? Absolutely not. You can include keywords in headings, subheadings, and even image tags (<img src="anyimage.gif" alt="financial computer software">).

Of course, the last one probably won't carry a great deal of weight, but you get the general idea. The important thing is to increase the frequency of keywords without overdoing it to the point that you anger the all-powerful search engine spiders.

Plus, with directories like Yahoo and DMOZ, you're dealing with live people so the risk (or benefit, whichever the case may be) would be even greater.

Keywords are a powerful tool. Use them wisely and you'll reap the reward with good solid search engine placement. Abuse the privilege and you're facing a tough hard climb to the top. Assuming, of course, that you haven't gone so far as to be banned from search engine listings altogether.