SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization”. It is the process of optimizing your website during the development process with the correct keywords. Keywords are words that relate to the industry that customers use when searching for your website. For example if it is a travel website, Keywords could be hotels, airline tickets, etc…
The goal of SEO is to get qualified leads and prospects to discover your business when they are searching for products or services that you offer in the search engines. Google is the most widely used search engine but it’s certainly not the only one. There’s Bing, Yahoo!, AOL and others.
How to SEO
When it comes to SEO, a few important tactics can greatly improve your presence in the increasingly crowded online space. If you’re attempting search optimization on your own or more wisely hiring an SEO expert, it’s important to be informed with certain SEO fundamentals before proceeding.
Search engines try to provide the most relevant results to a searcher’s query. Whether it’s an answer to a simple question like, “what is the weather?” to more complicated queries.
After reading this article, you will gain a better understanding of what you need to know before beginning an SEO campaign and what your role is if you decide to outsource this valuable marketing strategy
Using the Correct keywords is key
A number 1 listing on Google can be totally pointless if it is for the wrong keywords. If the wrong people or too few people search for that keyword then your SEO efforts will be in vain. The keywords that you choose are the most important factor that decides whether you succeed or not. If you target the wrong keywords, you’ll waste a lot of time, energy and money.
BE CAREFUL: Think twice before you start.
Many webmasters think that they already know the best keyword for their websites. If they haven’t done some research, they are usually wrong. There are several reasons for that:
- You know your business much better than anybody else. You know the special terms that are used in your branch and you know what you should search for when you’re looking for products like yours.
- Your customers don’t know as much as you. They don’t know your terminology and they might use totally different keywords. For example, a recent study found out that many people search for the keyword “nose job”. If you optimize your web page for the keyword “rhinoplasty” then these web surfers won’t find your site.
- Have you considered the intention of the searcher? Just because a keyword is used very often on search engines it doesn’t mean that you’ll get many customers. People who find your website through a special keyword might not be interested in purchasing.
Manage Your Keywords Wisely
The key to pleasing both search engines and visitors is to have quality content on our website that includes keywords your target market would be using in the search engines when looking for a solution to a problem your business can solve.
To do this, you want to run your keywords and topics through a tool like Google’s Keyword Planner to make sure the topics and keywords you have chosen have enough search volume and potential traffic to make them worthwhile.
Be sure to take into account the relevance of the search to your audience.
The narrower the topic focus, the lower the traffic typically. This is often offset by the accuracy and interest of the audience.
Do not Spam the keywords!
This also means using different versions of the same words over and over again within your content. You could use a site like similar synonyms for this. Google loves NEW content. Keep in mind that websites are liquid so this is where your blog plays a major role in effective SEO.
Why Content Marketing Plays a Big Role in SEO
First let’s look at what SEO feeds on. And that is content (text, images, videos etc) found on your website. Good content is useful across all marketing mediums and forces you to think through your message from a topic and keyword perspective. Your initial instincts may be correct, but you might be missing things that could gain additional website traffic, potential relationship opportunities, or new market segments to your business. Therefore, proper due diligence is paramount in order to map your target audience to the keywords, topics, and phrases they’re using in and around your industry.
How to write Content
Make your content as value-driven as possible and then optimize it for search engine bots without sacrificing the quality of your content. Too many people skimp on content but it’s one of the major anchors that tether you to Google’s relevancy algorithms. Being authentic is important but do so while factoring in the reason why you’re creating the content in the first place with marketing, branding, lead generation and of course SEO in mind.
Thin content with errors, or duplicate content and spun or spam content can really hurt you.
Instead, the content not only has to be lengthy, but it has to be well-written, keyword rich and highly engaging where readers are spending a good amount of time digesting and consuming that content.
Content Creation for SEO Success!
As you create content, you’ll want to make sure each page is optimized for:
- Page speed
- bot crawling
- responsive
- user friendly
Ideas for new content can be gathered from questions your own clients often ask or visit online forums and social media to find questions around your industry, products, and marketplace for more inspiration. Check the competition with content ideas to ensure you’re on par with your competitors when it comes to covering topics and questions in the industry concerning your company.
What Search Engines Are NOT Looking For
Search engine spiders only have a certain amount of data storage. If you’re performing shady tactics or trying to trick them, chances are you’re going to hurt yourself and your business reputation in the long run. At the end of the day, focusing on quality content that can be easily found by your target audience will benefit all of your marketing and sales efforts. Spend a lot of time on the things above and the rest will fall into place.
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