I’ve been interested in search engine optimization since I first received an email that told me to go to “The Google” and type in the phrase “the biggest monkey” and found at the top of that search was a site that housed a single image of George Bush Jr.
How did they do that? I was intrigued and and my curious nature took over. I began researching everything I could get my hands on trying to figure out how they did it?
Times sure have changed since way back in 2008 and so has search engine optimization. From penguins to pandas to hummingbirds… I’ve seen the whole zoo and have learned quite a bit about search engine optimization (aka SEO) along the way. For a while I even had a list of clients I built websites for and ranked them for various keywords.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years regarding implementing an SEO strategy into any business is this:
Directing traffic from Google and other search engines isn’t a marketing strategy that you can throw together in a day.
The keys to success is all about authority. While extending your online presence takes time and money, once you’ve built your search engine optimization strategy, it’s something from which you can reap the benefits for many months if not years to come.
So today I figured I’d do another “How To” post and show you how you can get more traffic from Google and other search engines…
Step 1: Select Your Keywords
The first thing you’re going to need to do is figure out what sorts of words your market is typing into the search engines. You can do this by using a keyword tool (such as KWFinder, Long Tail Pro or SEMrush).
These keyword tools help you find longtail keywords that we in the biz refer to as “low hanging fruit”. These search phrases may not have a lot of volume, but they also don’t have a lot of competition.
Step 2: Sprinkle Those Keywords Into Content
The next step is to include these keywords on your website and in your content.
The key here is to do this NATURALLY.
Just follow the rule of thumb that if you wouldn’t ordinarily use a keyword or keyword phrase in a piece of content, then don’t try to force it awkwardly into your content now.
While Google is constantly looking for high-quality content, you must remember that you’re still writing for your human readers so just let optimizing for the search engines naturally follow, but don’t force it.
You can sprinkle your keywords into the following places (if you can do it naturally):
• URLs.
• Page titles.
• Article titles.
• Into the content (include only once or at most twice per 100 words of content).
• In your navigation.
• In anchor text for internal links.
• Meta descriptions (which are the internal tags you provide for search engines)
Expert Tip:
If you’ve built your website using the self hosted version of WordPress, I highly suggest using an SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO or RankMath to help optimize your site for the search engines. If you’ve opted to build your website on the web hosted version of wordpress…It’s a great platform if you’re just starting out and have a budget of $0…however, I cannot stress enough the importance of owning your piece of the internet. If you’re looking to build your authority than a self hosted site is much more professional looking and you retain 100% total control over everything!
Just so you know…I’ve heard from many many people over the years who woke up to find their entire business was gone because they “set up shop” on a platform they didn’t own. Ever hear of Squidoo or Hubpages?
Step 3: Secure Links Naturally
Google and other search engines view a link from another high-quality site to your site as a “vote” that you too have a high-quality site. That’s why you’ll want to naturally collect links from authority sites in your niche.
The key once again is the word “naturally.”
Now you can definitely buy links or do link exchanges, or all kinds of “Black Hat Seo tactics” in an attempt to “game” Google…heed my advice.
Spend your time focusing on creating quality content. You’re going to naturally collect these links by guest blogging, distributing press releases, and creating unique viral content that a lot of high-quality sites will naturally want to link to.
And finally…
Step 4: Stay Informed
Search engine optimization is a business. If you conduct a search and find nothing of value you’re eventually going to use another search engine. If this happens, then there’s no one to click on the paid ads sprinkled now throughout the search…So it’s definitely in Google’s best business interests to show the most helpful, useful and correct results that match your search query. It’s for this reason the SEO landscape is constantly changing and growing.
While I wouldn’t suggest becoming an SEO expert, I do believe there is some importance in being quite familiar with the process. If you’re going to be taking your online presence seriously then I’d suggest staying informed by following SEO authority sites such as:
• SearchEngineWatch.com
• SearchEngineJournal.com
…And I can’t stress this enough…Above all, stay away from spammy tactics or trying anything that tries to “trick” or “game” the search engines.
It’s actually much easier to do it the right way than it is to try and game Google…unless you’re smarter than all the engineers they got working there! In the long run it makes so much more sense to do it right the first time rather than continually trying to figure out the next loophole.
The simple keys to success has and always will be to create high-quality content that’s put on a mobile-responsive, user-friendly website designed for humans.
And if we humans like the content…then “The Google” will naturally like it too.
Conclusion
SEO takes time to do right, but the resultant traffic is well worth the effort. That’s why you’ll want to use the above steps to begin Building Brand You on “The Googles”.