Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of getting traffic from search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Many people wonder how to do SEO but don’t really know what it means, or they don’t know how to do it at all.
This article will provide you with an overview of what SEO entails and then give you step-by-step instructions on how to perform your own SEO marketing campaigns to attract potential customers through search engines so that you can get new business leads and make more sales.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization, which means that you want to provide your audience with information that they are looking for. To achieve SEO, you need to learn how to rank on search engines like Google and Bing.
There are many SEO techniques that you can use today if you want your website to appear at or near the top of a Google search result page. If you have a new website and want it to appear at or near the top of a Google search result page, using good SEO techniques is a must.
Steps for Best SEO
SEO is a term that covers several different techniques used to improve your search engine rankings. Here are some simple steps you can take to start ranking better, now. It's not rocket science! Remember, SEO isn't an overnight process and requires both time and patience - but it will definitely pay off!
Step 1 - Set up your site
It is important to set up your site correctly so that search engines can crawl it. Make sure you have Google Analytics installed and that you know what your site's URLs look like.
If you don't know how to do either of these things, consult a professional who can help you. You'll want to make sure all your content (including images) has descriptive titles and alt text for SEO purposes.
Before publishing content on your site, check to see if there are any errors on it. You should also spend some time optimizing each page based on keywords; check out tools such as Yoast or SEMRush for instructions on how to do so effectively.
Step 2 - Take care of Content
Once you have your outline, it’s time to think about what each bullet point will look like when written. This may seem like a tedious process, but if you write for content marketing regularly, it can be done very quickly.
The idea is to make sure every sentence adds value or informs your readers. If a sentence doesn’t achieve either of these things then you need to find a way to cut it. You don’t want fluff taking up space in your post.
Remember that people don’t come to blogs for mindless reading, they come for information and facts. That being said, there are still some ways you can add interest to your posts without distracting from their primary purpose.
Step 3 - Keywords (Title Tags and Meta Description)
The second most important factor for SEO is keywords, specifically a post's title, and meta description. In their simplest form, these elements help search engines determine what your content is about.
While it can be tempting to stuff as many related keywords into these fields as possible, don't go overboard because Google may penalize you for keyword stuffing or poor relevancy (yes, they actually penalize you!).
Tip #1 - Use long-tail keyword phrases that aren't too competitive:
If a phrase is searched less often, then it becomes easier to rank higher in searches results by using that phrase. A recent study by Backlinko found that websites ranking on page one for high search volume keywords are receiving approximately 2x more traffic than sites ranking on page one for low search volume keywords.
This statistic highlights just how beneficial it can be to use long-tail keyword phrases in your title and meta description fields because it allows you to get more traffic for a given niche or topic!
Step 4 - Sitemap
Once you have all your posts ready, it’s time to add them to your site. One way to do that is by creating a sitemap. A sitemap is just a fancy name for a list of pages on your website.
You can add as many or as few pages as you want and you can mix posts with static pages like contact information, terms of service, etc. Just note that whatever page shows up first will be considered to be your homepage by Google.
Step 5 - Build links (Guest Posting & Link Building)
After creating well-written & informative content with interesting titles, now we need to build high-quality backlinks to our content. Backlinks (backlinks) are crucial for ranking higher on search engines, especially Google. Following are some proven and effective ways of getting backlinks from credible sources quickly.
1. Find influencers using Buzzsumo
Buzzsumo is one of my favorite tools when it comes to link building.
Step 6 - Off-page optimization (Social Media Marketing & Community building)
Add your content to Social Media Accounts and increase your social signals. This will improve your ranking on search engines. In addition, connect with influencers and leaders in related fields to build awareness for your business.
Get people talking about you - create buzz. Don't just promote; participate. Let people know that YOU are a real person behind your product or service by adding pictures of yourself or video (make sure it's PG-rated). Let them get to know you and feel more comfortable doing business with you! that's all folks!
Step 7 - On-Page Optimization (Header Tags, Image Alt Tag & Video Thumbnail)
Google loves videos, they are quick and easy to understand with immediate results. That said, it is important to have proper on-page optimization that allows you to rank faster and stay on top of your keyword rankings.
The technical term for image alt tags is Title Tags and video thumbnails would be Video Title Tags but most people call them Image Alt Tags and Video Titles. Let’s get started! Header Tags: In SEO terms we talk about H1, H2 & H3 Header Tags.
You can see a list here, if you need more information on header tags please visit here. Here is an example of how I formatted my header tags for one of my YouTube videos using Camtasia.
Final Words
SEO is a method of increasing traffic to your website. SEO is a process and not a specific software, tool, or technique. The success of any SEO effort depends on many factors. For example, content plays an important role in search engine rankings.
Even though there are hundreds of search engines available, only 15 to 20 generate 90%+ of all searches; that's why you need to optimize your content for these platforms.
0 Comments