If you have a website, chances are you've heard the buzz about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The reason for that buzz is well founded. SEO has the ability to help drive the needed traffic to your website to make your business an online success.
The more competitive your product or service is, the more challenging SEO can be. But, while many search engine marketing experts like to keep SEO shrouded in a veil of secrecy, it's really not all that complicated if you understand how the engines rank sites and keep a few basic things in mind.
Search Engines use complex algorithms to gauge a site's content and determine what that site is about and how its quality of content compares to other sites that are competing for the same keywords. No one -- outside of the engines themselves -- knows what that equation is, so we do our best to give the engines, as well as our users, what they need in order to increase our chances of ranking ahead of our competitors.
Here are four simple steps to helping you achieve higher rankings:
1. Make sure the engines can see your content. The simplest way to do this is to use your web browser to view your page's source code (View>Source in Internet Explorer). Do you see your site's page copy somewhere in the html code? Some web designers create sites with only images, frames, or multimedia elements that cannot be read by today's search engines. If you view the source of your site and don’t see your page copy, neither can the search engines.
2. Target the Right Keywords. Make sure you’re using keyword phrases that users are actually searching for in your copy. To help figure out what those keywords are, visit: http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com and type in your root keyword to see a list of variations and phrases that people are using to find your product or service. You'll probably be surprised at what you find.
3. Rewrite your page title tags. The title tags show up in the title bar at the very top of your browser window. This element of your page serves two purposes; one is to help the engines know what your pages are about, the other is to encourage users to click on your listing in the search engine results. Write a unique title for each page of your site that includes one or two targeted keyword phrases. Use that phrase first in your title and stick your company name at the end (unless you’re specifically targeting your company/brand name). Keep titles to around 70 characters. Send that list to your web developer or update them yourself, but make sure each page has a title that is specific to its content and assures users that your site is what they are looking for when they see it in their results.
4. Get more incoming links. Very simply put, you need quality incoming links to your site in order to obtain top rankings. Start by asking friends to link to your site, next ask strangers to link to your site. Don’t spam strangers (or friends!), ask them nicely to trade or add a link to your site because you have complementary businesses or content. Join the chamber of commerce to get a link from their member directory. Put out your press releases through PRWeb.com or send them to bloggers and publishers of newsletters in your industry. There are hundreds of ways to build links, if you commit a few hours to it every week you will soon be reaping the rewards.
Written and submitted by Aaron Dalrymple
Aaron Dalrymple is an internet marketing professional and has worked in the field for well over 10 years. He manages his own internet marketing firm, Aaron Dalrymple & Associates, LLC, based in Minneapolis, MN and serves clients world-wide. For more information on services or to contact Aaron, please visit: (http://www.aarondassociates.com) Aaron Dalrymple & Associates, LLC.