As a member of the Top Site Listings team, it is not uncommon to field phone calls from individuals who are looking to increase their online sales by hundreds of percentage points. Nor is it uncommon to field that call from the person who heard affiliate programs are the best thing out there - and they want to know how they can triumph within the search engines.

Regardless of why you want to get into search engine optimization, you need to have a true passion for what you do. This passion goes much further beyond the common answer of "making more money" that I so often encounter.

First and foremost, an individual new to search engine optimization must understand what "SEO" is all about. Search engine optimization is a technology and science continuosly applied to a web site for the purpose of increasing search engine rankings. In plain terms - SEO is simply hard work that pays off when a site holds great positions for popular terms.

Why "Making More Money" is a Bad Answer
Okay, business is all about money. That is simply how the business world exists. But imagine for a second that the web site you want to optimize could never make a single cent. It could not help to grow your business. It only served as a resource and information portal - perhaps about a hobby, interest or fascination that you have and want to share with others.

When money is eliminated as a factor for success, you can define much more structured goals for any web site's optimization. Without the pressure of sales and conversion rates weighing you down - you see what the web site is all about. It is at this time that you can take an honest look at the people you want coming into your site.

Focus on Unique Content
An amateur SEO can be tempted to find another site doing very well for the same phrases - and pull content over onto their own with just a few changes. While you may think this is a great way to go out about building new content, you are inviting a number of issues. Two such issues include copyright violations and being dropped from a search engine altogether. And while you may think that you are immune to these factors, think again.

Creating content around niche topics is the easiest way to succeed in any search engine market. Do yourself a favor though, and create the content yourself at all times. Have others review it for editing purposes, but never allow yourself to take content from someone else. All it takes is one person to notice duplicated content, and your site (as well as your efforts) are as good as gone.

Lack of Knowledge Puts You At Risk
Remember that search engine optimization is an applied technological science. At the gas station, filling up your car - you do not light up a cigarette. You have learned, over time, that some things simply do not mix.

Search engine optimization, much like the lessons learned in life - have rules to follow. And, just as in real life - when you mix the things that do not belong together, you can end up getting seriously and permanently hurt.

A lack of knowledge regarding SEO practices and implementation methods are the cause of most damages. You should not include every word in the dictionary within your META Keywords tag - and if you do, you are subject to penalties. You should not have an abundance of keywords stuffed in every ALT tag either. Again, if you do - you are subject to penalties.

So who made up all of these rules? When did all of this happen? Over time, some HTML tags and attributes have been abused and practices such as those noted above have been found to devalue the SERPS. The search engines are constantly evolving, and the methods of making your site are becoming more time consuming and difficult to apply.

If you have decided that you want to optimize a web site, do yourself a favor and read up on resources available online. Typically, all resources are free and the knowledge gained can be invaluable. Once you have spent hours upon hours reading about how to optimize a web site - begin to ask questions. Using forums and community based sites to your advantage, begin to ask specific questions about your web site and how to go about optimizing it. While not everyone will agree on what works best, you will at least be invited to review ideas that you may not have thought of. Regardless of where you look for answers, remember that there is no stupid question to ask!

Submissions and Link Popularity
Once you have completely optimized every page of your web site, you are then left with the task of making sure that all of the search engines out there know that the pages are there. Visit every search engine you have heard of and used - and look for ways to get your site included within the search results. Engines label submission methods differently, though most say "Add Your Site", "Submit Your Site" or "Add URL". Regardless of how you find these submission tools - always perform them on your own without the usage of automated submission tools and services.

By conducting the submissions by hand, you are more knowledgeable of the process. If you ever need to resubmit or submit a new site - you know how to and where to look. Beyond that, search engines invite hand submissions and often penalize automated submissions. Throughout the optimization process, always remind yourself that if something seems too easy, there is likely a better way. Since all search engines are vastly different, it is tough to find single solutions (like automated submissions) that cater to all search engines.

With an optimized and submitted site up and online because of your efforts, it is then time to shift gears and work on getting links into the web site itself. Search engines like Google and Teoma use their ranking systems to locate preferred sources online within particular topics. If your site has 10 links based from keyword rich text - and another has just 2 - you will likely be ranked (much) higher in the search results. While the overall popularity of resources in terms of links is not the only way search results are composed - it is still a large factor in the success of any site.

Confidence In Your Optimization Work
If you have taken your time and thought about each step before you began working - then you should not have any reason to lose confidence in your work. While search engine optimization is not simple, it can be straightforward. Be mindful that while your efforts may be reflected within a couple weeks time, search engines may not reflect your efforts for up to a few months time. Search engines cannot go out and review every page every day, and they certainly cannot afford to update their search results on a daily basis.

With this in mind, it is helpful to patient and mindful of what you have already accomplished. A watched pot may never boil, but SEO work is never done. If you find yourself waiting for the engines to catch up to you, go out and get more links and build out more content. In the end, you will be handsomely rewarded with traffic and rankings.