To succeed in SEO, you need long terms plans to build, execute and continually develop an SEO strategy. In this article by Jill Whalen, she emphasizes the ongoing nature and lack of quick-fixes for search engine optimization, stating that achieving and keeping high rankings can only be done through long term efforts.

Key SEO tips provided include:

1. Thoroughly research your keyword phrases using the paid versions of Wordtracker or KeywordDiscovery. Keyword research is completely and utterly the key to everything that is search marketing.
2. Make sure your site is not made up of graphics alone, as these cannot be read by the search engine spiders that come a-crawling. (This is especially true of graphics that look like text -- these are often used when a particular font is desired.)
3. Be sure to use natural, easy-to-understand language that conveys the message of your website and includes keyword phrases you'd like your site to rank highly for.
4. Make sure your Title tags and link anchor text all jibe with the visible content on the page.
5. Be patient! With Google's aging delay in place for new sites, patience is more important than ever. It's most likely going to be a good 9 months before you start seeing much (if any) traffic from Google's natural results. Don't be discouraged, but instead use that time to constantly make your site better than the other guy's

View the complete article: No Quickfixes Where Search Engine Optimization is Concerned