If you have your own web site, you're probably interested in driving traffic to it for one reason or another. You may be interested in generating leads; you may want to sell a product; or you may just want to provide information. Whatever the case may be, accomplishing this is easier said than done.
The internet is growing faster than a chia pet. And as it grows, getting people to your website becomes increasingly more difficult. Search engine algorithms also continue to change so when some search optimization tactics used to work, they do not anymore. SEO companies have to continuously adapt to an ever changing digital world.
Many people turn to paid search engine rankings because it's instant gratification, but as website visitors, we tune these out just like bad commercials on the radio. We're not interested in advertisements; we're only interested in what we're searching for. And that's the key for search engine optimization.
Informative, honest, and interesting content is key
Thinking in SEO terms is not that difficult when you use common sense. Once you eliminate thinking in terms of technical work, you'll see that optimizing a site is not that difficult. Someone on the internet is searching for the product or service that you offer right now, so why not start giving them what they want?
Here's an example: Since we're in Austin, we'll use guitar sales as our example. Let's say that you sell guitars and your goal is to sell more through the internet, but you're not really sure how to optimize your site. Just by creating content about guitars, you can already take the first steps down the SEO road. Some ideas could have created reviews of the various manufacturers, comparing Fender to Ibanez, explaining the benefits of a six-string bass to a five. The idea here is to create content that you know will be valuable to your searcher.
Many SEO strategies will tell you to research and pick the perfect keywords, optimize the meta tags, create the perfect content to code ratio, and implement keyword prominence tactics. While all of these factors are important to SEO, creating quality content is the more important factor because a website needs value. When you work hard and offer valuable information, you will be rewarded. Great content often gets reviews, diggs, tweets, and links from all over the internet. Your website will then drive traffic, leads, and sales for your business. Build a name for yourself as a reliable resource and watch the numbers grow!
The more technical / geeky side to SEO
Now that you know how important content is, let's go into geek mode. Below are 6 items that you'll need to implement to manage a good SEO campaign. Try to keep in mind that while these items are important, you'll want to focus more on the quality of the information you're providing rather than the technical.
* Keyword Selection – Select keyword phrases that are relevant and specific to your business. Choose keywords that are not too competitive, but not too specific.
* Meta data – Meta tags exist for a reason. You'll need to use your keyword phrases carefully in the meta tag content of your website. The content of your meta tags should not be too long, and they should contain relevant information about each page of your website.
* Tags galore – Optimize header tags, alt tags, and title tags. By doing this, you not only have a valid code, but you get an opportunity to add in some keywords. Again, do not stuff your keywords. Keep the tags relevant.
* Link Building – Build as many links as you can to your website. But there's a catch (there always is). It's
important to focus on quality links that are relevant to your web site's content. If I have a website about growing potatoes, you would not want to get a link from a guitar website.
* Social Media – You've heard of Facebook right? Well, it's not just for college kids anymore. As moms, dads, aunts, and uncles continue to befriend you on Facebook, it continues to grow as a great resource for spreading the word about your site. As weird as it may seem to the younger generation, it's a reality we're having to come to terms with. Start spreading the word about your site on social media sites, article directories, etc. Create some buzz.
* Measurements – There's no point in doing all of this is you can not see the fruits of your labor. Measure your results using a website analytics package. Google analytics is a great free resource to do this.
That's the basic SEO strategy. Depending on the level of competition, you could see page rankings in a matter of weeks, but many times it's more realistic to think of an SEO campaign as a permanent endeavor. As the internet grows and continues to change, we have to continuously adapt the way we optimize.
