SEO, otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization, is the process by which webmasters use certain techniques to rank their website highly on search engines such as Google and Yahoo! The traditional advice is to pack your website full of keywords that are related to the theme and aim of your web pages. However there is a whole world of SEO related to keywords, and so here are a few of the top tips that I have to share with you to ensure that you have good SEO.
Compile a keywords list
The first thing you should do is think about all of the possible keywords that are related to your website’s pages. Consider your audience, and the sort of keywords they will use to get to your web page. Once you have a list compiled, think of variations that might commonly occur in search engine queries.
Think about synonyms
A very important aspect of getting a good search engine ranking is to use synonyms in place of generic keywords that you have compiled with your list. You want to ensure that you have all bases covered, and so the more related synonyms you have to replace other words the better. Remember that not everyone will use exactly the same terminology as you!
Don’t be afraid of long keyword phrases
You might think that having keyword phrases that are long is negative, but in fact, it can pull you in some very specific traffic. Think about, for example, location-specific keywords: people will often search for things that are specific to where they live, and so it’s a good idea to make your phrases a little longer by including popular destination names. If you have Google Analytics, you can look at where most of your viewers live and use that to inform your keywords.
Consider organic keywords
Organic keywords are keywords that you will naturally include when you write content for your website. You can use one of the many online keyword evaluation tools to identify which words are the most frequently used, and then use those as part of your SEO. Search engines like content that naturally flows, and so using organic keywords will help your rating exponentially.
Remember your Meta tags
Although the content of your website is obviously of great importance, so too is the SEO that takes place in your website structure. Make sure that you remember to include Meta tags – although they don’t have as great an influence on search engine rankings as they used to, they are still a component that shouldn’t be neglected.
Can’t think of keywords? Use Google’s tool!
A great (and free!) tool that you should use when compiling your keywords is the Google Keyword tool. It’s located on the AdWords section of Google’s advertising website and will generate a list of relevant keywords to certain buzzwords that you enter. There’s also a handy feature that tells you how frequently searched the keywords it generates are so that you can select the ones that are right for you.
Be careful with single keywords
While you might think that using single keywords will result in you getting a lot of hits, you should note that search engines only want keywords included that are relevant to your website’s content. If they find that your use of single keywords isn’t exactly relevant, they might downgrade your ranking; it’s a much better idea to use longer, targeted keywords that you know will get you the hits that you intend them to.
Browse other, similar websites
A good way of thinking about which keywords you want to use is to look at the web pages of your competitors. Examine their Meta tags through their source code, and then compare their search engine ranking to yours – if they are much higher, you might want to consider using the keywords they have in place of some of your own that aren’t returning as many hits.
Use affiliates to check which keywords are most responsive
Consider running several affiliate advertisements, each of which is for a different keyword. Then take a look at the traffic data that you receive and see which keywords are the most responsive in terms of website hits. Your aim should be to use the keywords which get you the most site traffic, and so this way you can eliminate the keywords that aren’t performing as well as others.
Think about Google AutoComplete
Open a Google search page and type in a keyword that relates to your website. Keep typing a related phrase, and see what sort of things Google suggests you might mean. This is a good way to select key phrases related to your website because the AutoComplete software works based around the most frequently asked phrases on the website. If you get your phrase from Google AutoComplete, you should find that your key phrase is commonly asked.