Search Engine Optimisation is a cost-effective way of marketing your site and improving online traffic. Unlike advertising, you don't have to spend to improve your rankings in Google searches through Search Engine Optimisation. Here are some basic strategies to make Search Engine Optimisation work for you:

1. Select your keywords with care
   Search Engine Optimisation is not just about great content. It is about selecting the right keywords as well. The two must go hand in hand and cannot co-exist without the other, if one's SEO campaign is to be effective. After buying a domain name for your business, the next important step before you submit your site to search engines is to select relevant and useful keywords.
   
   Fortunately, there are many useful tools available online to help you choose the right set of keywords or keyword phrases for your site. You can try visiting http://www.goodkeywords.com/ to get some valuable ideas. If you're willing to spend, you may also tap sites such as Wordtracker.com and others which provide more features compared to the free online tools. For instance, Wordtracker lists down the number of searches for particular keywords and gives alternative keyword suggestions to guide webmasters.
   
   
2. Determine your niche
   With millions of sites littering the Internet, most sites have to compete with countless other sites to capture attention. You will have to fight your way to gain the recognition of users. To avoid fighting endless battles, try to to find your niche market. Search Engine Optimisation can do wonders, especially if you know the market you are catering to.
   
   Competing with established Web sites that possess outstanding rankings is a sure way to get buried in the rubble. It is far better to try to cater to another market with fewer competitors. By the same token, choosing common and popular generic keywords will not deliver the results you want because you will be competing with thousands of other sites who use the same set of keywords. Try to be more specific. For example, if you're selling delicious food for older people, don't use 'food' or 'delicious food' as your keywords. You will fare better if you select 'gourmet food elderly' or 'gourmet food age 50-plus.'
   
   
3. Practice correct keyword placement
   The importance of this one cannot be stressed enough. You may have the right keywords, but if you do not use them properly, these keywords will hardly help you at all. There are certain rules for using keywords in Search Engine Optimisation. For instance, articles must contain the right kind and the right quantity of keywords, but they should also be useful and make sense. It takes a seasoned SEO writer to accomplish this, but it can be done with considerable practice and patience.

  Following these simple strategies will help you accomplish your Internet marketing goals and improve your Web site's search engine rankings and marketability. Search Engine Optimisation is a reliable tool that can work wonders for you.