Title: 40:40:20 of SEO

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SEO, as we all know, is Search Engine Optimization. There are so many factors of SEO that it is impossible to fulfill all the factors and achieve a 100% in SEO. There is no such thing as "perfect" SEO. Regardless, what we can do is take note of the more important factors, and achieve that as best as we can. And a major part of it is the "40:40:20".

According to the analysis of numerous sites, the "40:40:20 " seems to be rather accurate across major search engines like Google and Yahoo. So what exactly is the "40:40:20"? The "40:40:20" is actually a ratio between "on-page" factors, "off-page" factors and page URLs, with 40% of search engine rankings dependent on on-page factors, 40% on off-page factors and the final 20% on page URLs. However, do note that the exact percentage ratio varies between search engines, though only slightly.

Keywords belong in on-page factors. You will need to have keywords, for every main page in your website, in the right places and with the right density. There should be keywords in the title, description and META keywords. An acceptable keyword density is about 2% to 5%. Some sites use a density as high as 7%, which is not advisable. An overly high keyword density is known as "keyword stuffing". Keyword stuffing might have a negative effect on a website's ranking with the search engines.

Off-page factors center mainly on links; links from within your site's pages and backlinks, which are links from other sites, that link to yours. It is a rule of thumb that to rank well, backlinks are a must. It is however, probably the most difficult to achieve. It is necessary to constantly get new backlinks, or your ranking might drop! One of the methods most used would be article marketing.

Your website and its pages' URL take up the last 20% of the ratio. Webpages with keywords in the URL rank better on search engines. Try putting your key search terms in the page's URL. This will have a significant effect on ranking.

Lastly, there are SEO tools available, for free on the Web. Ablewise.com, a classifieds website, has just come up with new SEO tools, too. Make use of these free tools to improve on your website's SEO, to cut costs.

About the Author: The author writes occasional articles of interest in finance, advertising and IT related topics.