Search engine placement has been big business for private companies. Feeding this frenzy is the belief being promoted that search engine is something you cannot do yourself.

Search engine placement is something that you can do if you agree to spend the time and make the effort necessary to accomplish it. There are certain things you can do right now that will help your site so that you see the results. This is particularly true for the sites that use "spiders" or automated software that indexes your site along certain parameters and methodologies.

More and more search engines and services are turning to spiders in their never ending quest to index as much of the Internet as possible. Because of this, they are an important source of potential traffic that you must use to your benefit. With Google, Altavista, Lycos and more all using spider technology of one type or another the hints in this article can help you get on the right track.

Do it yourself first!
One of the problems of using a third party for your search engine placement is that you will never understand what it is they are doing for you or, in some cases, not doing for you.

This puts you at a serious disadvantage to your competitors because you are always dependent on another company and never have full control. Also, it puts you in the position of having to pay for these services each and every month or every time you need to improve your site's performance.

This is not to say that you shouldn't use the services… far from it. Commercial services can be a fantastic help. However, you must understand the process yourself first so that you can control when and how you use those services. Spending 20 hours reading and learning is never wasted and will help you in the long run.

DO use an important keyword(s) in your Title
Most search engines use a ranking system that gives weight to the Title of your meta tags. Too often we see examples of sites where the Title is either forgotten or is simply the name of the company/person who owns the site.

For example, "Joe Manoe" or "Joe Manoe, Agent". This does very little for the search engines other than potentially increase the searchability of the words "Joe Manoe".

The key is to use 5 - 10 words in your Title that you want to be found for. Instead of using your name you are better served by using words like "Real Estate Agent for Naples, Florida" or "Naples, Florida Real Estate Professional for Resale Homes".

By using these words you are expanding the potential sources of traffic to include the terms "real estate", "Naples, Florida" and "Naples real estate". Though there is more required to get you to that point where you are ranked high for similar terms, this is step 1.

DO use your meta tag description wisely
In your meta tags you can insert a description field. Most spiders use this within their ranking system and so it is important to both ensure that you have a description and that you modify it to maximize your search engine success.

The first key to your "description" is to use keywords you want to be found for. The description field can be longer than the title but it should have the same keywords that are in your title.

The second key to your "description" is to ensure that the key words you are repeating from your title appear in the first half of the description. This eliminates the problem with some spiders limiting the number of words they include in a description.

DO treat each and every page in your site as it's own web site!
Here is perhaps the greatest secret in history. Each and every page in your site is a potential avenue for traffic and interest. You have to treat it this way.

Spiders will index almost each and every indexed page on your site over time. Each of these pages will then have the chance to be found. This means that you should create unique meta tags and information for each of those pages and tailor that page so that the information is targeted to the theme of that page.

For example, the tags on your listings page should be different from those on your homepage. The tags on your homepage should include references to not only your listings but also to your calculators, local information, etc. On the other hand, the tags on your listings page should be focused on that information first and foremost.

DO treat your first sentence as the most important sentence in your life
Most spiders not only review the meta tags on any page but also analyze the content of the page for indexing. This is important because some spiders are using only the first sentence to include in the description of your listing.

As such, it is important that your first sentence include your important keywords and information. Generally, a good piece of advice is to use virtually the same information as the "description" field in your meta tags. Assuming that you have targeted that information, the description should be perfect as your first sentence.

For example, on a listings page your meta tag description might be "Real estate house listings for Naples, Florida including prices, descriptions and pictures." The first sentence that your users see might be "Browse through my real estate house listings for Naples, Florida and …"

DON'T use frames in web design!
A large number of sites are using frames in their design. The only problem is that a number of major site spiders do not index these sites very well. In fact, the use of frames is probably the biggest problem in search engine placement.

DON'T be impatient!
The greatest threat to your success is not being patient. Search engine placement is a long term job and will require you to be able to contain your frustration. The process involves you making necessary changes, you inviting the search engines to your site, the search engines going through your site, and the search engines indexing your site.

This entire process can take up to 3 months or more depending on which search engine you are targeting. The key is to trust your own work and to understand that getting traffic to increase can be difficult.

DON'T expect to be at the top of every engine
False expectations lead to true disappointment! Nothing could be truer in search engine placement.

When you visit the sites of commercial search engine placement services pay careful attention to their claims. You will notice that all reputable firms will only give you guarantees that you will be so high in so many engines. The reason for this is simple; with so many search parameters and technologies being used you cannot expect to be among the top links in all of them.

Understanding this is vital to your success. If you can manage to get in the top 5 of any major search engine for a popular search term that you want, you will be doing great. If you can do this for 2 engines, even better. For 3 or more, good luck but don't hold out hope. Keep your expectations in check and you will be more successful both in reality and in your own mind.

Conclusion
These steps are all worthless of course unless you submit your site to the search engines for indexing. Once you have your site cleaned up for presentation, then go ahead and submit each page of your site to the major search engines. Go to each engine manually and submit the page for best results.

The one point to remember is to never send more than one or two pages in each day so that you aren't seen to be spamming the engines. Also, if you are well positioned in a search engine already, do not resubmit your site again as it can have a negative impact on your current high ranking.

Following these guidelines will undoubtedly help you both understand the process of search engine placement and control it. Once you have come to understand the process feel free to use a commercial service. You will be shocked to hear that many of their recommendations are the same as what you have been doing already.

Ron Thibeault is a retired real estate lawyer and contributing Editor to ThinkRelo.com. His extensive experience in real estate law gives him valuable insight into the needs of clients, realtors and all other players in real estate transactions.