A few years ago, mane people would have been hard pressed to understand the term SEO, or search engine optimization. Today it has become the cornerstone of any company trading in e-commerce. The importance of an effective SEO strategy cannot be underestimated, and its development and implementation should enjoy high priority. This article will explore some of the key SEO strategies to follow should you wish to increase your website or blog’s online reputation and ratings.
Firstly, there is no substitute for good, unique and relevant content. This might very well be the most important of SEO strategies of all, as without it your entire site will fall flat. Pages that contain relevant, useful and search engine friendly content will naturally have other sites linking to the content and subsequently improving your search engine ranking. Updating content regularly not only improves Google’s view of your pages, but visitors like fresh content which will lead to more visits which will result in more links and ultimately more traffic to the site.
Keyword research should be seen as the foundation of any effective SEO strategy. Taking the time to research keywords is important. Do not simply target a keyword because it gets a lot of hits but think about what traffic you want to attract to your site, and what you would like them to do once there (the conversion goals). Determine what keywords are searched for by the people who are looking for your product or service. Google Analytics is only one of the many tools available that offer expert advice and will help you research key phrases. It is best to steer clear of one word keyword phrases, as these have thousands upon thousands of competing websites in the results. Rather make use of the AdWords Keyword Suggestion tool to help you zero in on highly concentrated keywords with low competition
Make wise use of your keywords. By this stage you should already have a strong list of SEO phrases you’d like to target. Now scatter them sensibly throughout your site and don’t dump them all in one spot. Using keywords in the title tag, as well as the h1 and h2 headings in the page will go a long way in improving Google’s opinion of your site. Other strategic placements can be in the link texts and page URLs. Ensuring distributed and appropriate keyword density forms an important part of this step. The keywords should appear often enough but not too many times throughout the pages, and should enjoy a position of prominence in the h1 and h2 headings, and the title tags.
Network! Getting other high ranking sites linking to yours is one of the most effective ways to get an improved SEO ranking. Take note that emphasis is placed on well respected sites. Merely receiving links from a bunch of mutual link pages won’t mean much for your site ranking. Instead aim for relevant sites which rank well. There are some directories offering free submissions. Although it can be tricky to get links from high quality sites, it’s not impossible and there are things you can do to make it easier. Once again good content is key. Contacting the site in question’s owner might help the process along, as people are more likely to link back to sites from people they know.
Taking these tips into consideration while planning your SEO strategy will help you clearly define your goals, and ultimately help you along your way to implementing an effective and well thought out plan.