Tuesday 16 July 2013

Evergreen SEO Strategies

When it comes to SEO, search engines have always been upgrading their algorithms to ensure that genuine searchers get the best possible results. However, some of the strategies have always remained on top of search engine optimization. Using these strategies would ensure that you are going to optimize your site for the long term. What are these evergreen SEO strategies? Read on to find out.


1. On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is one of the most important parts of a comprehensive optimization package. It involves optimizing the content and design of your website so as to rank higher on search engine results pages for targeted keywords. On-page optimization helps ensure that you are getting the most out of your SEO campaigns.

Keywords and phrases are key elements to the success of any on-page optimization strategy. After the keywords are selected, it is ensured that they are used carefully on all the webpages. The best strategy would be to use a specific keyword for each webpage. This can help in generating organic traffic from the leading search engines for all your keywords and phrase.

2. Rich Content

A business owner or manager would always know all the information about their products or services. While content is one important part of SEO strategy, it is important to present the information in the best possible way. You can go beyond optimized and useful text and use images and videos for educating your prospects and customers.

Ask any SEO expert and you would find that regularly posting useful content is one of the most important strategies in search engine optimization. When you post new and rich content on your site, search engines would be able to know that your site remains fresh and offers useful information to searchers.

3. Optimized Images

The next important strategy in SEO is using useful and optimized images on your website and in your content. Search engines now give more importance to optimized images than ever. This includes using keywords properly for naming images. Images show up on SERPs and are clicked by searchers to land on your pages.

The increasing popularity of websites like Pinterest mean that people are more interested than ever in searching and sharing unique images. Overall, images allow in making your content unique protecting it against getting lost in the crowd.

4. Proper Site Structure

When it comes to the structure of your site, there are many things to consider. Whether you must link to each page from the home page or only from the main pages, do you want to repeat the same info on the footer or eliminate the footer or should you hide the text on the homepage. Site structure plays an extremely important role in SEO. When your website is designed to deliver the right web page to each user, it would naturally be considered as a site with more authority in the eyes of search engines.

What are the essentials of a good site structure? You must display the links that you need to show. Make use of page hierarchy for grouping the internal pages into different categories. At the same time, make sure to link all the related products. All these strategies are going to help improve the SEO of your website while making it more useful to your target audience.

SEO Is Not a One Time Event

As a business professional, you probably get lots of calls and emails from "SEO gurus" almost daily. I don't know about you but I find it irritating to get cold, hard sales calls whilst trying to run my business? Some of these supposed "experts" will promise you everything in the world to get you to sign up for their services, but do you really need their help?



The answer is maybe. Maybe you do need help with SEO, but beware SEO is a never ending process not a one time fix! SEO stands for "search engine optimization". But, do you really know and understand what it means for your business?

I talk with business owners every single week who have the same misconception - they think that they only have to set up their website ONCE and Google will keep it ranked forever. Unfortunately, this is a MYTH.

All day long Website rankings on Google move around. Unless you know that and understand how to work with it, your site unfortunately is likely to disappear and not be found by those looking online for your products and services. Have you discovered this already? If you're not visible on pages 1 and maybe 2 on the search engine listing its highly unlikely that your website will ever generate leads for your business via a simple search on Google or other search engines!

You need to fully optimize your site when it is built but as I said earlier SEO is not a one time thing. It is an on going process that requires consistent activity to be effective. All the Panda and Penguin updates that Google made over the past year changed the position of multiple websites in the search engines rankings in a heart beat. Many hundreds of websites were also deindexed and disappeared from Google for ever! Keeping up to date with all the changes is a time consuming activity and few local business owners have the time to do it successfully.

A note of optimism however. Google, like other search engines has always loved fresh, relevant content. "Content is King" is the expression often used. One of the ways to optimize your website is by making sure that your website has fresh, relevant content consistently placed on the site. One way to ensure this is by creating a blog, consistently posting to it and providing valuable content for your visitor to see in the form of articles, audio and video entries.

SEO Basic Tips

Penguin 2.0 really took the SEO world by storm. More than a month after implementation, people are still focused on it. That's well and good. Search engine optimisation experts should really be concerned about their sites' link profile, the focus of this round of Google updates. But then again, they shouldn't forget about their pages' content, or specifically, their on-page SEO.


When we say on-page SEO, we are talking about the optimisation done within a website so its pages rank high in the search engines. Here, we need to focus on three elements: title, URL and content.When it comes to page titles, we need to remember that this appears in several places, such as the user's browser tab and the search engine results page. It is one of the first things seen by search engine spiders. So, it has to be descriptive of what's on the page. It should contain the site name, page name and a keyword or two. The title should be limited to 60 characters only.


The URL, on the other hand, should also describe what the page is about. For example, you have a winery in NSW. A page that talks about the winery can be named wineryNSW.html. In the same way, if you want to talk about the history of your winery, your URL should be named and organised optimally. This is a factor too. The history page about the winery can be named history.html, but it should be a page within the wineryNSW folder.

And then we have content; this is the most important aspect of on-page search engine optimisation.Your content should be helpful and informative. It is important to not think about search engine spiders when you do content. Many make the mistake of focusing on keywords, and they end creating spam content. Write naturally, and about people actually search about.

The relevance of your content is also important. Let's say that you want to write about tips on keeping whales as pets. No one keeps whales as pets so no one will search for your content. The search engines will not rank your content high for "whales" and "pets" separately neither. You should write about something that people will want to know about. That's the supply and demand side of SEO.

When you do write about something people will read, your page becomes linkable. It is relevant enough to be read, shared and even reposted. This is plus points in on-page SEO.With all this, plus the usual details (meta text and alternative text on images), you are all set to optimise your website.

SEO Expert To Optimize Your Website

SEO companies are a dime a dozen but true experts need to be sniffed out from the sea of specialists. Search engine optimization is not a task for beginners or people with no interest in finer details. It takes time to master and a good understand of what search engines want. So if there's a website you need optimized, leave it to the experts.


All SEO companies lure customers with claims of being the best. Weighing them based on certain criteria is, therefore, necessary to root out the good from the mediocre. Here's what you need to do to find an SEO company that can deliver exactly what you need.

Hit up a search engine

An SEO service that's truly among the best will be listed on the first page of a search engine's results. If a company can't get itself to appear there you can't expect it to do the same for your website. Those that are featured on the first page will charge heftier rates for their services but you can be guaranteed good work that's value for your money.

Ask around

If you know someone who uses an SEO service for their business, ask them where their website ranks. Don't opt for companies that only manage to get clients listed on the second or third pages. Internet users rarely check pages beyond the first so you'll only end up wasting money.

Check companies' websites

A peek into a company's website will tell you how professional it is. Good companies have tastefully designed sites, easy navigation, no annoying ads placed where you can't avoid clicking them and an overall sense of order. You can take the help of someone you know who has some knowledge about websites to gain insight.

Check case studies

A case study is detailed information about a project. A trusted company will provide in-depth insight about its projects, the names of clients and how they've helped them rank high. You can cross check the information by running a quick search to see if they do indeed rank on the first page.

How recognizable are they?

Successful services are associated with well-known authorities. For example, a company that's made its mark will have worked with recognizable clients. The more accreditations they have, the likelier they are to be legitimate and noteworthy.

Check the career section

Some companies list career opportunities on their websites and a check will reveal what sort of candidates they're looking for. A search for highly qualified personnel with years of experience indicates that the company doesn't settle for second best which means those working on your site are among the best in their field.

Progressiveness

A progressive company is one which utilizes the latest SEO techniques and stays up-to-date on current trends. To gauge if a company meets industry standards, you'll have to cross check its services which means having some knowledge about SEO yourself. The internet is a great place to know what's new and SEO forums are perfect places to gain insight.

Cost

You can get cheap SEO packages or very expensive deals. What's important is getting return on investment. It's a bad idea to opt for low cost if a company can't deliver its promise. So if you have to choose between one that offers very low rates for tall claims and another which charges a higher price for more realistic claims, go for the latter.

What Is SEO And How Does It Work?

The internet is similar to the earth where like people, the number of websites is steadily growing. And also like crowds, it's difficult to stand out from the rest unless it has unique qualities (read, relevant content). The technique used to make websites stand out is called search engine optimization or SEO. You may have come across it in your search of how to make a website 'pop'.


Let's say you own and manage a website that caters to DIY plumbing repair techniques. The content is well written with step-by-step guides given by experienced plumbers, the layout is attractive, images are placed appropriately and you've included helpful links to other similar websites. But, when you run a quick search on a search engine, you find that you aren't listed anywhere on the first page, let alone the top five. What are you doing wrong? Or more precisely, what aren't you doing right?

There are unique SEO techniques used by popular and high-ranking websites, the secrets of which we may never know. But all these techniques fall within the realm of what is possible to achieve using standard SEO methods.

Before moving to specifics, know that there are techniques not acceptable or legal in cyberspace that could get a website removed or an IP address banned. Known as unethical techniques they try to trick search engines to zero in on a site to generate traffic.

Link analysis

Link analysis refers to other websites linking back to a particular page or site. For example, your DIY plumbing website may have attracted the attention of other sites or you can make use of social media sites to link back to it. The more sites that link back, the better the chance of your site being ranked among the top 10 hits.

You can also make link exchanges by including links to other sites on your site in exchange for them doing the same with yours. Do make sure that you do this only with trusted sites that contain similar material to what yours does.

Keywords

Keywords means the use of specific words in relation to what a website or webpage is about. For example, you want DIYers to visit your site and check out the tips and tricks listed for plumbing repair. Including something like 'DIY plumbing repair techniques' on the title of the page as well as the words 'DIY, 'plumbing' and 'repair' in headers and text bodies will lure spiders/crawlers (search engine programs) to zone into your site.

Meta tags

Meta tags work behind the scenes to present a webpage in a readable and attractive format. They're part of HTML codes which form the backbone of many successful websites. These tags contain keywords that alert a search engine to their presence.

What you should understand about meta tags is that over the years, unscrupulous webmasters have used them to stuff in keywords to generate abnormally high traffic to websites that contain no relevant information to a user's query. As such, many search engines skim through meta tags and those found to contain too many keywords are flagged as spam. Therefore, if keywords are included in meta tags, they must follow strategic placement and be used only when necessary.

These are three of the basic techniques used to generate traffic to a website and increase its rankings on search engines. If the effort is too much or you find yourself becoming confused, contact an SEO consultant to help optimize your website.

SEO Optimization for Consistent and Quality Website Traffic

As far as organic listings are concerned, it's free. When your website is listed at the top of Google's search engine results pages (SERPs), you are not expected to set a budget for advertising nor need to spend money on account of pay per click programs. However, with the right SEO optimization techniques, your website is sure to get consistent and quality traffic. You don't need to shell out $10 for every individual who clicks on your advertisement. And, your site's visitors will not plummet to zero when your ad stops.




Positive Improvement of Traffic

With reporting and analytics tools in place, there is no reason to worry about poor traffic. Instead, you will experience a positive rise in traffic. When your website has quality content with SEO keywords pertinent to your business, you will get quick results, if not immediate. You need to be serious and get going with optimization efforts. Once this is done, the traffic will improve at a stable rate. And, more visitors mean more business. There are tools to monitor the activities of users on your website. This way, you can watch visitors coming to your site.

Improved ROI than Ads

Say for instance, you purchase 1000 web visitors from a paid advertisement. There are possibilities that only 2 percent of these visitors might get converted into a sale. On the contrary, when you are getting 1000 clicks from search engine optimization, 4 percent of the visitors will change into a sale. This means SEO ensures better conversion rates than paid ads. Google actually shows prospects who looked for the tag in your site. These are the potential customers who are searching for your products or services. A user might click on an advertisement accidentally, but when a person clicks on the results displayed in the SERPs, it is more valuable than a click resulting out of an ad.

Increased Brand Reliability

When your website tops the list in Google's SERPs, it implies that your company is reputed, and your website becomes a well-known brand. If Google decides to give you the top position, it means your business is important and potential customers start trusting you as a brand. Ads cannot give you the credibility as SEO does. Most online visitors are annoyed by ads and have blockers set up on their web browsers.

Helps You Achieve the Topmost Spot on Google

With white hat SEO optimization techniques, your site gets the topmost position in the results pages. So, it's a foolproof way to get thousands of visitors. And all of it, for a minimum up-front fee! And, there is the possibility of significant amount of sales.

Search Engine Optimization Techniques


In this writing, I will be pointing out some very important search engine optimization techniques or SEO tactics which, if they are well implemented, will surely bring you a decent number of visitors to your site through organic searches. Each of the named step needs to be done the right way if you want to succeed in your quest for traffic.


On-page SEO Techniques

On-page SEO techniques are often dependent on the structure of the website to be implemented properly. Some site layouts might push you to put aside some of the techniques that can be used for on-page optimization for others. However, the essential tips that I will cover here are the ones that could be used almost all the time. Let's dive in now...

Niche Keywords Research

One of the most important aspects and basis of Search Engine Optimization is 'Keyword Research'. This is the first step that needs done to help focus on the right target (keywords). Since many keywords that we might be interested in are most of the time competitive ones, it is therefore better to select and target achievable keywords or keyword phrases which have low competition. Moreover, using long tail keyword phrases are the best way to achieve SEO success.

Site Content Optimization Techniques

Search Engine Optimization techniques are not just about keywords but relate to everything done on the website as well. Provided that you already have a good and cleanly coded website, your content or article on each page should be unique and optimized as per your selected keyword phrase for the page to rank well in the search engines. It is recommended to target only one keyword phrase per page. It is also important that your selected keyword phrase appears one to three times across the page including at least once as a header (h1, h2 etc... ). You don't need to stuff keywords all around your page if you don't want to be penalized by search engines.

Meta Title, Keywords and Description

Based on your selected keywords after your researches, it is crucial to include the keyword phrase in your page meta title, meta keywords and meta description so that the three are related. Moreover, your main page title (header) should also contain your targeted keyword and the other headings, other related keywords. Adding an external link to a related authority page will also be helpful. As a rule of thumb, don't forget to have your keywords in the page URL.

What about off-page SEO tactics?

Should off-page search engine optimization techniques be added to the effort?

My answer is yes and no! Actually it will all depends on how your keyword research and on-page SEO were done. If your on-page techniques were employed correctly, you then don't really have to bother about off-page. However, you can still try to build some very relevant backlinks from authority websites to help give importance to your page and make some use of social medias to help drive even more traffic to your pages but if on-page is done properly, this will be largely enough to beat your competitors in terms of search engine ranking.



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