Start to SEO

[Tinderbox]

I'm just starting out in SEO and would like some pointers as to where to start with things. I have a few sites that I've been passed to do some SEO stuff on and was wondering where people find the right keywords to optimise for.

[MaryAnneG]

Have you checked out the Beginner's Guide to SEO on this site?  You may find Chapter 5 particularly helpful - http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo/keyword-research .

[Getz.pro]

Google Keyword Tool

Google SEO Guide

Search SEOmoz for keywords and you will have a plethora of ideas

Other Blogs of Interest to a New SEO

http://searchengineland.com/

http://www.seobook.com/

http://www.davidmihm.com/

http://www.wolf-howl.com/

http://www.coffeekicks.com/

http://www.searchengineguide.com/

[Andy.Drinkwater]

Some of the tools here at SEOmoz will be of great help to you.

Start out by using Google Keywords to research the phrases you want to rank for. This will serve as a guide to helping you chose and find new phrases and to see how many searches are performed each month.

Using Open Site Explorer here will help you identify your competitors sites to give you an idea of where they go to get their links.

Install the SEOmoz toolbar to help you are you browse sites as well.

Don't just stop at SEO either and remember to think about usability of your site. How easy is it to navigate, do any images give off the desired message, etc. After all,what is the point of getting traffic only to lose it when they get to the site.

It is also important to look at your sites analytics to help you understand what people are doing there - look at Bounce Rates and Exit Pages to understand where work needs to be done.

There are so many pointers I could pop in here that it would take forever, but do have a read of the blogs and guides here at SEOmoz

Regards,

Andy

[CPU]

There is a whole Learn SEO section at SEO Moz and I would also recommend becoming aware of Google's SEO advice at:-

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769

and a PDF guide http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

Hope this helps!