Search Engine Optimization How To

The internet is growing exponentially – this Search Engine Optimization How To will help you show up in the Search Engines has become more difficult. There are a lot of different ways to make your web content stand out. Here are just a few ideas to keep in mind when writing a SEO optimized article.

How to SEO a Website: Keep It Short and Simple

Readers don’t want to spend a long time figuring out if the article they’ve found matches their needs. It’s best to write short paragraphs, utilize lists and bullets, and make your post easy to understand. This Search Engine Optimization How To will reduce your bounce rate so your site will not be closed out after a few seconds by the reader.

(1) SEO Optimize the Title for (SERP) Search Engine Results Page

The main title tag should be 65-70 words so it doesn’t get cut off in the search results. When people are scanning, no one will take the time to click an additional time just to read the entire title.

(2) Develop Catchy Titles and Phrases:

Key phrases catch the eye at the beginning of headlines. Take advantage of it. It’s an easy way to reinforce what you are saying.

(3) Highlight Specific Key Phrases within the Paragraphs:

Without highlighting, important ideas can be missed when the reader isn’t planning on spending more than 5-10 seconds reading the post. 

Make Each Word Count

Prioritize quality over quantity. Instead of brainstorming a bunch of different key phrases attempting to grab everyone’s attention, decide on a few that best describes your article. Put yourself in their shoes. You know what you are saying. They don’t.

(1) Utilize Longer Key Phrases for More Results:

Your article will become noticed more by combining three or more words together or using a more specialized key phrase. An online search virtual assistant can assist you in coming up with unique key phrases.

(2) Don’t Over Use the Key Phrases:

Limit using key phrases to 1-2 times for each page. Also, avoid similar tags like “blog,” “blogging,” or “blogger.” There’s no need to be redundant by saying the same thing over and over again, but more importantly, search engines can penalize you for having duplicate content.

(3) Keep it Reader Friendly:

Avoid making things more complicated than it needs to be. Especially when you specialize in something, it’s easy to get ahead of yourself and start assuming everyone knows what you’re talking about. Avoid jargon and say only what you need to say.

First Impressions Matter

Similar to meeting people for the first time, you want to make a good impression through your article. It’s crucial to understand the SEO value of blogs. Your article offers a different perspective and allows you to highlight areas that you wouldn’t be able to in other web content. If you apply this Search Engine Optimization How To you can make yourself stand out from the crowd.

(1) Obtain your own Domain and Host:

Don’t use the free blogging set up programs. You want to be taken seriously.

(2) Have a Responsive Website:

Making sure your article is compatible as a desktop site and a mobile site. There is absolutely nothing worse than the web content not fitting on the screen of your smartphone.

(3) Tastefully Showcase Yourself:

If you have pictures, be the photographer. If you post a video, let your viewer get to know you. This also increases your traffic with social networking sites like Flickr or YouTube making you more available and versatile to your audience.

SEO Backlinks to Your Website

Google and other search engines rank how important and relevant your website content is by looking at many factors. One of the important is the number of related websites that link back to your website pages. If for example, you write an article about “Search Engine Optimization How To”,  you’ll want to have other SEO related websites linking to your article so Google knows that your website is very relatable to that term. Using a backlink building virtual assistant to find related websites and posts online about your topic and writing comments, or guest blogs on their websites that link back to yours builds your credibility in Google and thus ranks you higher and MORE RELEVANT. Relevant is key, Google wants searchers to see the most relevant content possible – this is taught in our Four M’s of Marketing.

Fine Tune SEO on Page Using Popular SEO Plug-Ins like YOAST

Now that you have looked through and completed all of the points mentioned above, a good way to check your work is using a SEO plug-in. A SEO plug-in like WordPress SEO by YOAST is a useful tool. You can find this information by scrolling to the bottom of your page and find the tab Page Analysis.  This analysis will give you an idea as to how SEO-friendly your site actually is, and it gives you suggestions on how to make improvements.

In this example, I needed to add more keyword phrases, make sure my images fit the criteria, and add links to other related articles. It’s quick and easy, so you can do it yourself or have an online virtual assistant do it for you.

Search Engine Optimization How To: Review

Optimize Your SEO Keywords

Utilize your keywords to develop catchy titles and phrases and highlight specific key phrases within the paragraphs.

Optimize for Readability

Use longer key phrases for more results, keep it reader friendly and don’t overuse key phrases.

Make Good First Impressions

Host your own website and make it responsive while showing yourself in a positive light.

SEO Backlinks

Build SEO backlinks to your site from related websites around the Internet to gain authority and reputation.

Optimize Your Content for a Single Keyword

Installing popular SEO plug-ins like WordPress SEO by YOAST can fine tune your webpage for higher visibility in the search engines.

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