It is not easy to know what to do when to do it, and how much effort you should put into search engine optimization (SEO) at any given time. Why? Well, some would say that Google keeps changing how it ranks pages to either combat spammers or improve the user experience of its organic search results for searchers worldwide.
I agree with both reasons. I think Google wants more authority sites ranking highly in their SERPs because they want their users to find reputable sites when they are looking for information; on the other hand, I also think they want people who create unique (and preferably want these content creators to make money) content to rank well. Hence, they are not completely overrun with spammy results.
But what does this mean for the average business or blogger? How can we ensure that our site is doing as well as it can in the eyes of Google? And how much work should we be putting into Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
In my opinion, there is no simple answer to this question. Depending on your website, goals, and industry, you may need to do quite a bit of work to rank well in Google – or you may not have to do anything at all! It varies from site to site. However, I think everyone should be doing a few basic things to make sure their site is as SEO-friendly as possible.
In this post, I will go over several steps that everyone should take to improve their Search Engine Optimization and “game” Google a little better (in the absence of search engine-specific, well-documented keyword research tools). Some of these steps might involve spending money on various services; however, every step here will also be completely free.
Before we get started, Keyword research! You must know your target keywords before effectively optimizing your page for them. If you do not understand what people are searching for when they find your site – how will you know what content they want from you? How can you write relevant content if you do not understand what people are looking for?
Keyword research is essential, and I cannot stress that enough. You can use a variety of different methods to do your research (including the Google Adwords Keyword Tool, Google Trends, and even simply typing potential keywords into Google and seeing what pops up). Still, you must take the time to figure out what people are searching for when they find your site. Once you know your target keywords, you can start to focus on optimizing your page(s) for those terms.
Publish high-quality content
This should be a no-brainer, but it is still worth mentioning. If you want your website to be well in Google, you need to publish high-quality content – unique, well-researched articles that are worth sharing. The more valuable your content is to your readers, the better you will rank in Google.
Remember: Google values sites with original, helpful content more than it does sites with repetitive or poorly written content (although having pages filled with text is still far superior to having thin or badly written pages). Do not be afraid to take the time to write high-quality, informative articles that your readers will love.
Optimize your pages for your target keywords
Once you know your target keywords, it is essential to start including them in strategic places on your page. The most important place to have them is in the title of your page, but you should also use them in the URL, in the header tags (H1, H2, etc.), and the Meta description. You do not want to go overboard and stuff your pages with too many keywords – that can hurt your ranking – but including them where it makes sense is an excellent way to help Google understand what your page is about.
Use social media to promote your content
As I am sure you are aware, social media is a great way to get your content out there and seen by more people. If you publish high-quality content, people will want to share it on their social media profiles, which will help to increase your site exposure.
Additionally, social media can also be a valuable tool for Search Engine Optimization. By including links to your website’s pages on your social media profiles and actively promoting your content on sites like Twitter and Facebook, you can help to improve your site ranking in Google.
Get involved in the online community
Another great way to improve your website’s Search Engine Optimization is by engaging the online community. Participate in online discussions on forums, contribute to Q & A sites like Quora, Yahoo! Answers, etc., answer questions on LinkedIn or even start your blog. You can use all of these sites to promote your brand and help drive traffic back to your site.
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly
Mobile searches have already overtaken desktop searches, so if your website is not mobile-friendly, you miss out on many potential visitors. By making your site mobile-friendly, you will be able to capture more traffic than ever before.
Google is also considering whether or not your site is mobile-friendly when determining how high your website should rank in mobile searches. So if you want to improve your rank, make sure that Google sees that your website looks good on all devices (i.e., computers, phones, etc.), including mobiles and tablets.
Monitor your website’s ranking and performance
To know whether or not your Search Engine Optimization efforts are paying off, you need to monitor your website’s ranking and performance. By tracking your site’s position in search engine results pages (SERPs), you can get a good idea of how well you’re doing from an SEO standpoint. You can also use tools like Google Analytics to track how much traffic is coming to your site from different sources, which can help you to identify which strategies are working best for you.
Use Google Webmaster Tools (Google Console)
Another great way to track your website’s performance is using Google Webmaster Tools. This tool allows you to see how Google crawls and indexes your site, the pages getting indexed, what keywords people use to find your website, etc.
By monitoring how Google crawls your site, you will easily spot any errors or problems before too much damage is done. You can also use the information available in Webmaster Tools to help improve your site’s performance by optimizing its structure and content.
Connect with influencers online
If you want to improve your exposure, you should also try connecting with influencers in your niche. Influencers are people who have established themselves as an authority in their field by creating high-quality content that attracts links and social shares from other websites. By getting exposure from influencers, you can get more views for your website or blog because they will share some of your content with their audience (which is MUCH larger than yours).
The best way to connect with influencers is to follow them on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, etc., checking out the types of things that they post online, monitoring when they interact with other users, and engaging with them when you get the chance. From there, you can find ways to connect with them more directly (e.g., by asking for advice or feedback on a project that you are working on).
Get listed in online directories
Getting listed in relevant online directories is another good way of improving your website’s exposure and traffic. If somebody wants to learn more about the topic that you blog about or even if they simply want to find out where they can buy a certain product, search engines will often suggest an online directory as a way of helping the user take their search one step further. Sometimes, people also use these directories to discover new websites and blogs, which is also a great way to make new friends and contacts!
Use videos as part of your marketing strategy
Think about how many times you have seen somebody using their phone to film a “real life” video of themselves. It’s a lot more common than you might think! In fact, as smartphones have become more advanced, people have started to use them as a way to share life with their friends and family as it happens rather than just save those memories for later. These days, some businesses are even using videos as part of their marketing strategy.
Comment on other people’s websites
If you plan to post comments about somebody else’s blog post or article, it’s important to make sure that your comment provides some sort of value to your audience. For example, if somebody writes a pretty lengthy blog post about how world hunger could be solved if governments stopped interfering in international farming initiatives, don’t just write “I agree!” as a reply. You should rather ask a follow-up question such as “Can you tell me more about this initiative? I’ve never heard of it before.”
Make everything easy to find
Another rule is that if somebody lands on your front page and cannot find what they are looking for in two seconds or less, they will most likely leave and look somewhere else (or go back to social media). If somebody wants to read a blog post, make sure to link to each blog post on the front page. If somebody wants to sign up for your site’s email list, make sure that there is a prominent form or box which makes capturing an email address easy., if somebody visits your store’s website and wants to purchase a product, make sure that a prominent “Add to Cart” button will take them directly to the checkout page.
Optimize your images for the web
Another rule is to optimize all of your images for web usage. For example, suppose somebody wants to share a link to one of your blog posts on Facebook or Pinterest. In that case, it will be easier for them if you have already optimized the image for sharing purposes (i.e., added alt text). By doing this, they won’t need to spend time resizing and editing the image before sharing it with their friends/followers.
Monitor what people are saying about your online
Finally, another good tip is to monitor what people are saying about your brand online. For example, if somebody is saying negative things about your company or product on Twitter, you should consider responding to them with a polite message showing that you are listening. By doing this, you might be able to change their mind and turn them into an advocate of your brand.
That is all for now! I hope that these tips can help you increase the Search Engine Optimization traffic to your website. If there are any other guidelines that I missed out on (or any exceptions, such as paid links!), then please let me know in the comments section below.
2 Responses
very informative
this is excellent information and educative too.thank you