A recent post from the Google Webmaster central blog by Brandon Falls of the Search Quality Team said that ever since the search giant released their original Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide targeted at new webmasters late last November 2008, that they have continued create additional localized versions in order to cater for international users. His post went on to say that they were now pleased to announce that the SEO Starter Guide is now available in 40 languages, which apparently covers 98% of the global Internet audience.
According to the Google Webmaster Central blog they hoped that webmasters around the world would use the SEO guide to improve the crawlability and indexing of their sites in search engines and in so doing, help them provide even better and increasingly relevant search results.
Brandon also said that the Google team would like to thank everyone for their continued feedback on the guide and said that they would be taking notes on what users liked and what users thought was missing in order to produce future updates and possibly even a more advanced version for seasoned webmasters.
As of Friday 05 June, the SEO Starter guide is now available for download in the following languages:
Since keyword positioning can make or break a business, surviving algorithmic hiccups through SEO defense is the first step in securing long-term visibility and survival for your keywords.
Ensuring your website can survive a Google shakedown (relevance audit) is paramount if you have ever seen one or a series of your main keywords responsible for 40% or more of your traffic take a temporary hiatus.
With the various types of ranking predators (your competition) looking to siphon your traffic at a moments notice, relevance is the prize and those who amass hordes of content or links can sway the algorithm through the fresh content or link factor.
Attention is market share online and once that attention is acquired through devouring keywords, your site has to perform to maintain its position. Click through percentages, user engagement time, rss popularity, bounce rates and multiples of algorithmic diversity are measured to determine which sites gain authority and which are essentially brushed under the rug for specific keywords and phrases.
Just getting in the top 10 is a feat for most competitive phrases, staying there requires that you constantly reinforce and fortify key relevance points that pertain to the topic or market.
This is a basic list of key things that are critical to having a successful online business. This article is more for the person who is new to online business rather than the seasoned professional.
1. Design
I really can't stress enough how important a professional-looking design is for attracting sales. Quite frankly, many people will just not trust a site that is poorly designed.
You want your customers to feel that every aspect of your business is taken seriously so they can feel secure and confident that you will not rip them off. Presenting your business in a sloppy or ugly manner
is just not the way to build that confidence.
2. Usability
This ties right in with design. Make sure the design of your site allows for easy navigation for your customers and makes the process of checking out as hassle-free as possible.
Make sure that they can find anything that they would be looking for easily. Remember that your competition is just a few clicks away, and they can just as easily go elsewhere.
3. Marketing
Obviously marketing is of tremendous importance, perhaps even more so on the Internet, than in the physical world. Unlike a brick and mortar store, where it is easy for people to drive/walk by and see you, you cannot stand out on the Internet without a great deal of effort.
Thankfully, there are many ways to help you get found like search engine marketing, social media marketing, email advertising, PPC, banner ad campaigns, etc. The more Internet marketing methods you utilize, the greater chance you have of being discovered by potential customers. Just make sure your site is presentable when they get there.
4. Reputation
As many others and I have discussed repeatedly, it is important to manage your online reputation to the best of your ability. Search for yourself on search engines, and be careful of what information you put out there about yourself.
This includes social media sites, blog comments, forum posts, and anything else your name may be attached to. It is also good to find out what others are saying about you, and to do your best to counter any negativity by any means necessary.
5. Price
Just as your lack of usability can drive customers to your competition (which is again, only a few clicks away), so can your lack of competitive pricing.
It's one thing if you are offering your goods/services at the same price as everyone else, but if they are higher, most customers will just as soon go elsewhere than pay more to go with you unless you truly offer something extra that they're interested in.
You will do well to remember the above five points when starting an online business. Just because you finally have a website, does not mean that you will automatically get those online sales.
If you have ever wondered what a Wiki is, or how it works and what difference it would make to your life, wonder no more.
I have used this to explain the concept of a Wiki to people and it's amazing to see the penny drop, I can lietrally see a light go on in peoples heads after seeing this video.
Commoncraft provide several other videos just like this one which explain geeky and convoluted concepts like social media the same way, this is one to bookmark and revisit on a regular basis.
SEO Tips 
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