SEO Basics
SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” This is how you get targeted traffic to your web site. This means designing your website and pages in such a way as to appear at the top of search engine results. You want your site to come up for the keywords that you are going after.
This is very important, because MOST of us now head to search engines first when we are looking for a product, service, or informational website.
What’s more, is that SEO brings targeted traffic to your page. Because these are people who have searched for the thing that you are offering, meaning there is a higher-than-average chance that they are interested in buying from you.
So, how do you get started with SEO? What is the process? What terms do you need to understand? Read on for a quick and comprehensive guide to SEO basics that will benefit you no matter what your current level of experience.
The Basics Of SEO
SEO essentially boils down to figuring out what the search engines are looking for, and then creating content that gives you the best chance at getting your site listed on the first page of the search results for your chosen keywords.
The algorithms that drive search engines are designed to try and sift the way for information and then match that information to the user and the search term they used.
Search engines are not interested in giving you free promotion. They have no agenda. The only goal is to help people find the information they are looking for in a high-quality manner. Why? Because if someone finds great information, then they are likely to come back again!
All this is handled automatically – no human is responsible for searching through every website and deciding where it should “rank” (how high up it should go in the results) for any given search term. That’s where the algorithm comes in.
Key Points About Targeted Traffic
This means a few things:
While Google has updated and changed its algorithm countless times over the years, certain key points have remained fairly constant and still provide the backbone of SEO.
These are the “activities” that anyone should engage in if they want targeted traffic for their website:
Keyword Research
It’s important to know what people are searching for in relation to your products/information. Tools like Google’s Keyword Research Tool will allow you to get an idea of “search volume” for specific phrases around particular topics. You can then choose which of those to target.
Of course, you also need to consider competition: how many huge brands are also targeting those phrases?
Likewise, it’s important to remember to get more targeted traffic and to consider intent. All that is to say that the most searched-for term is not necessarily the most valuable to you, as it might bring the wrong kind of person to your site.
Article Writing
In order to “index the web” Google uses programs (called either bots or spiders) that will trawl websites and “read” their content. This is what Google will use to understand the topic of your site, and to make some assumptions regarding the quality.
You need to make sure you add lots of new content to your site, as this will create more opportunities for your site to be discovered. It also gives people a reason to come to your site, which we’ll talk about more in the content marketing section!
Keyword Usage
It's important to insert your chosen keywords into the content of your articles AND some of the code of your website. Your aim is to repeat the search terms you’re targeting several times so the search engines are more likely to match your content to that search term.
BUT you mustn’t overdo this.
Don't try and “play” the system, as that would mean low-quality websites could get to the top without delivering anything useful (as long as they used the keyword X number of times). This has been a genuine issue in the past, and it is something search engines are keen to avoid.
Instead then, you should aim to:
Opening paragraph
Closing paragraph
2 x headers
Keyword In Titles
You can also use keywords in alt tags and file names without risking driving visitors away. And it is good practice to use your target keyword in the title of your content piece.
The simple yard stick to use is asking: does this distract readers? Each piece of content is different (some naturally lend themselves to repetitious use of phrases, others don’t), so aim to serve the reader first while keeping Google in mind.
Link Building
Links pointing at your website are important for two reasons. The first is that they tell Google your website is popular – it considers each of those links to be a testimony for the quality of your content. The second is that more links mean more opportunity for Google to find your website.
With all that said, Google DOESN’T want to see you buying links or using this as another way to try and “trick” their system. The best links are genuine, earned links, which you can gain through meaningful partnerships, or by creating content that people will actually want to see.
Also important is to consider the quality of the link. Google considers a link from Harvard or the BBC to be FAR more valuable than a link from a spammy blog.
Sites that Google holds in high esteem are likely to be recognized institutions, or those that you sometimes see Google highlight in search results (as news pieces, for example).
More Link Tips
There is then a kind of “degrees of separation” effect going on. A link from a huge news site that is regularly featured by Google would be amazing. But failing that, getting a link from a site that has a link from that site will also be very valuable. That value is then diluted as you travel down the line.
You can find websites that will allow you to see the inbound links that any given site has. This will let you know who the big websites are that are likely to link to you, and even to try and “copy” the link profile of another big website.
If there’s a large competing website that has lots of links from a certain source, then consider contacting that source to see if you can get links from the same place!
This should get you started the right way so that you can get targeted traffic to your sites and offers. And get your web site and web pages listed on the first page of the search engine results for your keywords and key phrases.
Search engine optimization is a task that you will have to keep up with, because your competition is doing the same thing you are - trying to get more search engine traffic. So keep learning and doing, and here's to your online success!
Go from zero content, zero ideas to being the hero of your family and friends by creating your own in-demand profitable info product ready to take orders in the next month! How is that even possible? Let Me Show You...