There is a need to implement basic as well as advanced SEO (or search engine optimization) techniques to achieve desired results when looking to build traffic to your blog or website. It is therefore important that you understand the different SEO tips and techniques you can use to your advantage in bettering your business through online means.
1. Commit to the SEO process
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a long continuous process that requires a lot of dedication and commitment. Search engines change their algorithms often and thus the tactics that worked perfectly last year may not work half as well this year. That being said, you may want to hire a pro to stay on top of things.
2. Patience
You need a lot of patience when dealing with search engine optimization. SEO is not about instant gratification, you might have to wait for months before you record any significant results. This is especially true when you are a small business and new to online business.
3. Know the SEO Company you hire
If you go with an SEO company, you should ask many questions before hiring an SEO company to get the best results. Ask about any risk and go a step further by researching the company and their SEO methods. Not all of these firms are legitimate, and some may do things that could get your page wiped completely from search results.
4. Learn SEO
If you want to do it yourself, then you will have to learn everything involved in search engine optimization. Fortunately for you, the internet has a wide range of information that will be useful to your learning process. There are also printed books that will assist you a great deal in understanding SEO.
5. Have website analytics
It is important to set clear and realistic goals before you start. This will be made easier by having web analytics programs that will track and tell you whether your efforts are working or not. Google Analytics is the standard.
6. Have a great website
Search engine optimization efforts are aimed at taking your website to the top spot, and if you don’t have a great site, it probably won’t stay there long. Improve your website if you think it is not among the top ten best sites in your line of operation.
7. Site map
Search engine spiders will not index a website that they cannot crawl. The site map will go a long way in helping search engine spiders find all the important pages in your website; this great for indexing. Make sure you limit your site map pages to less than 100 links, to be on the safe side, make them 75 links for each.
8. SEO-Friendly URLs
Use your main keywords in your URLs, but take care not to overdo it. Files with more than three hyphens look spammy, and fewer users will click on them. You should, however, use hyphens in file names and URLs and not underscores as the former are treated as spaces.
9. Keyword research
Keyword research is very important at the start of any search engine optimization project. There are paid researches and you can use one if your budget is not all that tight. The numbers in these tools should be avoided as what really matters is the relative volume of a keyword to another.
10. PPC account
The best way to getting actual search volume is through PPC accounts. This process might cost money but if you have the budget, it is a process worth the investment. If you do not want to wait ages for natural results of your Search Engine Optimization efforts, then this is a good option to speed up the process by bringing in “visitors.”
11. Unique meta description and title in every page
Page title is a very important factor in on-page SEO. You cannot easily rank highly for a term that is not part of your page’s title. Meta tags are not used by search engines in rankings, but they will encourage users to click on your listing, which is also important as you also need the traffic to get ranked highly.
12. Put your users first
Though the SEO efforts are aimed at pleasing search engines, remember that the spiders will just crawl your pages and not buy a product or sign up for anything. You should first write interesting and informative content for your target audience. You need keywords in your text but this does not mean stuffing them in the content. Keep your content readable.
13. Unique content
If you are in the retailer category, you will need unique descriptions for all your products. The descriptions should incorporate the keywords you earlier researched so as to get an edge over your competitors.
14. Keywords should be used as anchor text
Spiders get to know what the linked page is about through anchor text. This means that any link that only says “click here” will not assist in search engine visibility.
15. Intelligently built links
Start with foundational links such as trusted directories. Seek links that belong to authority sites in your line of business. If you treasure local searches, seek links from sites in your geographical areas making sure that they are trusted. Do constructive analysis of inbound links to your competitors to determine links that can be acquired. Create great unique content continuously and use social media to popularize links.
16. Press release
You can get great exposure by simply developing a good relationship with media covering your line of business, and this is especially handy if you want to get links from trusted media sites. Only have press releases when you have information that is newsworthy, as this is a great way to open new doors of exposure. If you put out a release for everything, you are being spammy.
17. Start a blog
Search engines are in love with blogs because of the highly unique, fresh content along with highly-structured data. This is therefore a great way to get a better ranking on SERP (search engine result pages). You should be active in your blog and discuss issues pertinent to your business. People are also attracted to the content in the blog, and you can use it to popularize your links and increase website traffic.
18. Use social Media Marketing
Social media is a powerful marketing tool and should not be ignored in search engine optimization efforts. A lot of people use social media to communicate and search for businesses and products. Create an interesting profile and market your links using unique and informative content. Post your links and with time you will be getting increased traffic and search engines will make the necessary rank adjustments.
19. Study your direct competitor’s SEO efforts
If your competitor is sitting at the top spot on SERP, there are SEO reasons behind this. Analyze their efforts and use what you think will take you higher in terms of search engine ranking. Keep in mind, however, that what might work for another website might not work as effectively for you.
20. Local listings
Signing up for Yahoo and Google listings will go a long way into beating your competitors. Local searches come with a map, and you should get into this map for more exposure. Have your clients rate your services on the listings so that you can stand out. Not a lot of people do this and this will be beneficial to your website in search engine optimization issues.
This article is written by Sara Carter who likes social networks, google android, cyberdefender and psychology.