Everyday businesses are being told about the need for SEO but what is it?
SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization. Wikipedia defines it as “the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. In general, the earlier (or higher on the page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search, academic search, news search and industry-specific vertical search engines.”
So basically the goal of SEO is to improve your rank in a search engine based on the terms that a user is searching. So a few things to understand from the get go is that SEO is not a one and done process. With the frequencies at which Search engines are changing the algorithms it is important to commitment to a longer term process. If you’re just starting out understand that patience is an important factor. You will not see results immediately.
1. Goals are important with any aspect of your business. SEO is no different you need to have them here. It is important to have analytics software so you can track what is and what is not working.
2. Be sure to have a site map or site index page. This helps search engines crawl your website and find all of your pages. Common practice is to keep site maps under 80 pages.
3. Use relevant Title and Meta description information. It’s rare to rank high for a primary term (2-3 words) without that term being part of the title of the page. The description is important because it appears below the link as a text snippet.
4. When creating your pages be search engine friendly. Minimize hyphens and underscores. Two max on hyphens. You should refrain from using underscores as they are not read the same as hyphens.5. Doing keyword research is important in determining the content for you site. You want keywords and phrase combinations that are being searched. The Key is VOLUME. A great place to start is Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool.
6. Use keywords as anchor text when linking internally. Links that say click here do nothing for search engine visibility.
7. Intelligent link building. Begin with the obvious and work your way out. Don’t spend lots of time worrying about your links on DMOZ or Dogpile. Submit once and move on. Always try seeking links from authorities in your industry. Or local search matters to you seek links from the trusted sites in the area. Link the chamber of Commerce, any local site directories and so forth. Also analyze the links of your competitors to see which ones you can also acquire.
8. As always and most importantly remember Content is King. Create great relevant content well be instrumental in your link building. This can be done by simply adding a relevant blog to your site. Search engines love the data that comes from blogs. Make sure to set your blog up at yourdomain.com/blog this will benefit your main domain.
SEO is an expansive topic, do some research on your own. Some great places to go are: Search Engine Land, or the article section found at Top SEOs.
SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization. Wikipedia defines it as “the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. In general, the earlier (or higher on the page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search, academic search, news search and industry-specific vertical search engines.”
So basically the goal of SEO is to improve your rank in a search engine based on the terms that a user is searching. So a few things to understand from the get go is that SEO is not a one and done process. With the frequencies at which Search engines are changing the algorithms it is important to commitment to a longer term process. If you’re just starting out understand that patience is an important factor. You will not see results immediately.
1. Goals are important with any aspect of your business. SEO is no different you need to have them here. It is important to have analytics software so you can track what is and what is not working.
2. Be sure to have a site map or site index page. This helps search engines crawl your website and find all of your pages. Common practice is to keep site maps under 80 pages.
3. Use relevant Title and Meta description information. It’s rare to rank high for a primary term (2-3 words) without that term being part of the title of the page. The description is important because it appears below the link as a text snippet.
4. When creating your pages be search engine friendly. Minimize hyphens and underscores. Two max on hyphens. You should refrain from using underscores as they are not read the same as hyphens.5. Doing keyword research is important in determining the content for you site. You want keywords and phrase combinations that are being searched. The Key is VOLUME. A great place to start is Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool.
6. Use keywords as anchor text when linking internally. Links that say click here do nothing for search engine visibility.
7. Intelligent link building. Begin with the obvious and work your way out. Don’t spend lots of time worrying about your links on DMOZ or Dogpile. Submit once and move on. Always try seeking links from authorities in your industry. Or local search matters to you seek links from the trusted sites in the area. Link the chamber of Commerce, any local site directories and so forth. Also analyze the links of your competitors to see which ones you can also acquire.
8. As always and most importantly remember Content is King. Create great relevant content well be instrumental in your link building. This can be done by simply adding a relevant blog to your site. Search engines love the data that comes from blogs. Make sure to set your blog up at yourdomain.com/blog this will benefit your main domain.
SEO is an expansive topic, do some research on your own. Some great places to go are: Search Engine Land, or the article section found at Top SEOs.
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