In this article, we’ll cover five simple SEO techniques which you can use to increase your website’s search engine ranking. In the course of my work I analyze the SEO performance of many websites, especially those of my competitors. One thing which I see very often is that website owners don’t use these techniques, despite how easy they are to use and how effective they can be.

While these techniques will not get you to the top of the search results on their own, they can go a long way towards getting you there. You do need to keep in mind that there is no single factor that can get you into the #1 slot of the Google results; it happens by using several techniques in concert including how relevant your content is to your keywords, your external and internal links and the design of your site.

Keep reading for the five most important SEO techniques which you have to have to get your search engine ranking on the rise. While these tips are written largely with novice webmasters in mind, you would be surprised how many websites which have been around for years do not use all of these techniques.

Title Tag. your title tag is inside the “HEAD” tag in the HTML code of your page, before the “BODY” tags which denote the beginning of your content. What you put into your title tag does not show up on the page itself; instead, the information here is for the search engine bots. Your title tag needs to include the title of your site or the particular page and should also have the most important keywords used on the page. For instance, if you were to make a web page using this article, the TITLE tag would start with “Simple SEO Techniques – Improve Your Website’s Search Engine Ranking”.

Description Tag. Search engines use this tag in determining their listings, or at least Google and Yahoo are known to. This tag should include a brief description of your site and if possible, incorporate your primary keyword – about 20 words works well here.

Keyword Tag. Many search engines do not use this particular tag; Google, for example, ignores this tag. While it is not used by all search engines, you should include it anyway. It won’t hurt and it can help you with some of the smaller engines. Be sure to include the name of your product or your brand or even your own name in this tag.

Formatting. Text in bold, italics or which is underscored is seen as of greater significance by search engine and helps the crawlers to figure out how relevant your keywords and content are to each other. Make sure to put titles in bold and if it won’t detract from the look and feel of your site, underline them.

Writing style and content. Do not write for spiders: write for your readers. Always write for humans and you won’t go wrong. If your page content reads well, and has good vocabulary relating to the topic, then it will have a better chance of a higher listing than if you stuffed it full of keywords. Too many keywords is bad SEO, and could result in a poor listing for your page – if it is listed at all.

These are the five most important SEO techniques to improve your search engine ranking and as it happens, also the easiest. There’s really no excuse not to employ all five of these, but many do neglect to do so – don’t be like them. Use these methods on every page of your site and you’ll improve your search engine ranking and grow your audience.