Starting an SEO campaign from scratch can seem like a daunting task. This is especially true in the “new world” of search engine rankings. Algorithm changes such as Google’s Panda and Penguin have changed many of the basic SEO fundamentals. It’s no longer acceptable to create as much content as possible – no matter the quality – or use manipulative links to get clicks. Search engines such as Google are looking for high-quality content and links that get people to stay on a site – and that’s only part of the equation.

If you are launching your SEO campaign, the best bet is to work with professional search engine marketing specialist such as eVisible that can craft an effective campaign and implement the tactics. However, there are many steps that you can take yourself to get your SEO campaign off the ground. Here are five steps that any small business internet marketing professional can do to get immediate SEO traction:

Start a Pay Per Click campaign. While you will want to do keyword research to give you guidance on which keywords to target, you can also do your own testing on a small scale. By investing in small test runs of ads using different keywords, you can see which ones generate clicks and which ones generate more sales – which is always the most important thing.

Build links. You can do this by researching the web pages which have links that are ranking near the top of Internet searches for your targeted keyword. By creating and using a simple email template, you can easily and quickly reach out to hundreds of website owners and start building high-quality links.

Create a Facebook fan page. Facebook fan pages are about more than just increasing your social media presence. They are also an effective tool for SEO purposes in their own right. After all, many Facebook fan pages will come up within the first page of Google and other search engine results.

Get active on Twitter. Just like a Facebook fan page, official Twitter accounts also can rank very highly on Internet searches. And like with Facebook, it’s important to make your Twitter profile as active, complete and dynamic as possible to send the right social signals.

Write great content. If you are an expert in your industry, you can use this knowledge to boost your SEO by writing powerful content. Think about how you can address problems your customers might have and how you can write to grab their attention.