If you want to your new web-based business to be successful, future clients simply have to know that you exist. While there are some traditional methods that work, like advertising, search engine optimization (or SEO) will be one of the most important factors in getting your message out there. More than eighty percent of Internet users use search engines to find websites, so you definitely can’t leave them out of your plans for success.

Search engine optimization, is designing your site so that search engines are more likely to place you near the top of their search results. The goal is that when someone types in your product or service into a search bar, YOUR site is one of the first they see. While you may want to hire an expert to look at your site, there are several aspects of SEO that you can think about when you’re designing your own site.

First, make sure that you have a great web page! Being on top in any search engine is going to mean nothing UNLESS you have a great site for people to visit. This will also make the other steps a little easier.

Second, find out what key words you should have associated with your site. A keyword is simply a word or phrase a web-user might type into a search engine. You need to find out what keywords people are likely to type into an engine’s bar when they are looking for your services. An obvious way to do this is to simply think about what your website is about. If you are selling secondhand shoes, the words “Secondhand shoes” can make up a suitable keyword.

You can’t just figure it out on your own-no matter how smart you think you are. You will be much better off to do some research and find some statistics as to what keywords people are looking for every day. There are some free tools (and some not-for-free tools) that you can use online. Make a list of the keywords that will be the best focus for your SEO.

Third consideration: optimize the HTML of your website. The titles, headers, and meta tags you use in your website can be the biggest influence on searches. If your most important keyword isn’t even in the title of your homepage-you have a big problem. Change the title or subtitle right away! Also make sure that your meta tags tell the search engines which keywords you want them to focus on (not all engines use these, however). If you don’t know how to change your title or meta tags, look for HTML references online.

The fourth thing to do is make sure that all those keywords you found are in your website! If you did the first thing I suggested you already have a great website with all sorts of information in it. Make sure that your keywords are mentioned in your website more than once. Don’t be too repetitive, but if you mention “secondhand vacuums” in your website frequently, a user typing that phrase into an engine is more likely to see your site near the top. In other words, if you mention your keywords more, the search engines will think that they are more important to your content.

If you’re going to try and optimize your own site, these steps will be a good launching board. A few small changes might make your site more prominent compared to competing businesses.