How to do SEO? What is SEO? How can I learn SEO?
These are the sorts of questions that are asked several times every day. The answers that are given however, are not surprisingly, somewhat varied.One person tells you to do this, another tells you that you have to do that. Another tries to sell you links, another promises number 1 ranking. You wonder who to believe and wish it was simple to just find a solution that works and doesn't cost the earth.Truth of the matter however is that THERE IS NOT just 1 simple solution or magic trick that will solve all your SEO rankings forever. Instead, the art of SEO requires ongoing sustained effort. You are competing for a place in the organic or "natural" rankings and so your position today is not going to necessarily be your position tomorrow. Nor will you be guaranteed of having the same ranking in weeks and months to come.
So what can you do to maximise your SEO ranking without spending all of your earnings?
Well maybe the first question SHOULD NOT be "how can I get to number 1?" Maybe your first question should be "How can I make sure that the right people find my website?"To answer this question you must first start off asking the RIGHT questions.1. Who is my customer? 2. What do they want to purchase from me? 3. What do I want to sell? 4. Who are the customers who actually bring profit to my business, and what products or services do they purchase that makes my business successful?Make a list of all the keyword phrases that are used to describe these customers and the products and services that they buy. For example if your business is advertising and marketing, and your best and most profitable customers are small business owners purchasing business cards and pamphlets, then you would list keyword phrases such as:
- small business printing
- business cards designs
- business card prices
- pamphlet printing
- business card packages
- print advertising, etc
This becomes your master keyword list. From there you create different combinations of keyword phrases, by asking yourself questions such as "what information are they looking for on my website", "is it general information", "is there a specific solution with steps", "are they looking for tools, guides, tips for something they have already purchased", "what questions can I answer to persuade them to buy from me".
Optimize your site content for search engines by WRITING FOR SEO
With your most important keyword phrases, use one for each page and try to include the phrase 3-4 times inside the page content. Ensure that the content reads well, don't sacrifice quality of your content for the sake of keyword density.Use the exact keyword phrase, and keep the words in the same order. Add plenty of good content, as longer copy allows you to include the keyword phrases more often, without it seeming like you are "keyword stuffing".
Where do I need to add keywords?
Add keywords to:[check_list]
- Title tag
- URL
- Headings and Sub-headings (H1, H2-H4 tags)
- Call to action (CTA) links and other page links
- Main body text content, from top to bottom
- ALT tags for images
[/check_list]
Get quality links to your website pages
Crucial to being found on the major search engines is to have LINKS on other websites that point to your website. These links must be quality links, NOT a bunch of links that you pay for, but genuine links from other blogs and websites.Google uses these links as an indicator of your site's popularity. People link if they think that your content is worth sharing with others- whether for a positive experience or a negative one. Of course you want the quality links from people who are finding your website valuable. How can you increase these links? [check_list]
- By writing content that is helpful and compelling
- By letting people know you exist
- By networking on social media and engaging customers so that they link to you
- Participating in online forums that discuss topics around what you do and know
- Leaving comments on other blogs that are related to your industry, but not competitors
[/check_list]Although some people believe that social signals don't influence search engines such as Google, it makes sense that they do, as the more links from Twitter, Facebook and G+, the more obvious to Google that your content is likely to be valuable. And the more valuable it is seen to be, the more relevant it becomes to search.
How to maximise SEO for Social sharing
A very simple starting point is to include social buttons on every page of your website, including blog posts, press releases, emails and more. Choose the social channels that your customers use. The obvious one to include is Google+ as Google is the number 1 search engine.
Create content people want to share
People like to talk about experiences they enjoyed, new things they have learnt, interesting information they have found. It makes the sharer look like they are in the know, as well as making you look like you are an authority on a subject. So be sure to offer plenty of great relevant information in a variety of formats including case studies, survey and research data, thought provoking posts, whitepapers and downloads, videos and more.
Wrapping it all up
To conclude this short summary on how to use SEO for your website without having to pay through the nose, the MOST IMPORTANT aspect for SEO, is to write your content for SEO. That is, to identify how you are being searched for, by profiling your ideal customers, then determining keyword phrases that are most relevant to your ideal customers and also what you want to sell. Add a keyword phrase onto a page and optimise that page by adding the keyword phrase into the content, the URL, the title, the heading tags and more.[dtwd-tweet text="Like this post, share it on Twitter" hashtags="SEO"][dtwd-related-posts-sc title="Looking for some more interesting reading? Try these:" count=3]
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