Decide on a topic for your site. Choose a subject with which you are familiar. It can be something related to a job you have held, a hobby you enjoy, or simply an idea about which you are passionate. Surf around the web to see how the topic is handled on other sites. Try to come up with a unique spin on the subject. How can you make a site that is different and better than other sites already out there? Give yourself lots of time to ponder a good idea--the best ideas are going to take a little time to develop.

You will want your site to appeal to a broad range of people, so that you can generate as much traffic as possible. If your subject is very broad, make sure you focus on a specific sub-topic, so that you don't have to compete with hundreds of identical sites. And if your subject is very focused, be sure to relate it to something of general interest.

Maximize the popularity of your site by tying your topic in with the most-commonly used search terms on the web. Visit a site such as The Lycos 50 or Search Engine Watch and browse the lists. How can you incorporate one or more of these words into your page? For example, if you have a site dealing with crafts, include a page that shows instructions for making a Pokemon costume, or include a holiday section, so that people searching for "Christmas," "Halloween," and other holidays will find your site. Of course, you have to realize that these lists change constantly, so you'll want to leave flexibility to change your site to accommodate the more-trendy topics.

Although you will see that pornography-related words make up a good portion of the most popular term lists, be aware that advertising sponsors will reject sites with pornography or illegal content (like warez).