An Overview Of SEO And How To Start Using It Immediately
“SEO”, also known as search engine optimization is one of the many ways to build traffic to your website. While many internet marketers believe the best way to build massive traffic is to focus your efforts on one type of traffic generation method, whether PPC, SEO Optimization or viral traffic, it is always good to tap into other sources of traffic. This guide will give you 10 SEO optimization tips that you can start implementing in your websites or blogs immediately.
SEO or search engine optimization is not an overnight process. Your traffic will not skyrocket the next day after you start tweaking your site. It is a long process which requires consistent implementation SEO efforts to achieve your desired result. The good news is, it is a free method to generate traffic and once your site is well optimized you will reap the rewards of massive traffic. The secret – Optimizing your site with your targeted keywords.
1.) Site URL
If you site URL contains the keywords you want to optimize for, it would be helpful but your site will have a ugly looking name which people might not remember. E.g: HomeBasedBusinessNetwork.com. Instead, try using a unique name which is somewhat related to your business and brand your business name. E.g MindValleylabs.com
2.) Headers (h1, h2)
Include the keywords you are optimizing for in your h1 and h2 tags. Do not repeat keywords as it will cause a negative effect on your SEO efforts.
3.) Post Titles
Always include the your keywords in the titles of your blog posts, as they have a huge impact on search results. However, try to make your title look aesthetically appealing at the same time, a lousy title will not appeal to anyone.
4.) Body Text
Make sure your keyword appears on the first sentence of every the first paragraph in the blog post in either italic, bold or underlined.
5.) Images
If you use images intensively on your site (which is not encouraged for SEO since Google Spiders cannot read images), make sure you include keywords in your alt text.
6.) Back links
Get as many back links as possible from related websites with high page rank. Do not link with link farms.
7.) Age of site.
Older sites are favored over newer sites in terms of search engine optimization.
8.) Update Frequently
Always update your website frequently with quality, fresh content.
9.) Keyword density
Make sure your keyword density on your site is not more than 5 percent or you will come off as a spam site.
Search for keyword density tools to measure the keyword density of your site.
10) Related keywords
Target related keywords as well. For example, internet marketing tips, internet marketing techniques, internet marketing trends.
In summary, apply consistent search engine optimization efforts on your site and you will reap the long term benefits. Always stay on top of the latest SEO trends because Google will constantly update their search engine algorithm.
6 SEO Mistakes To Avoid At All Costs
They key to understanding which SEO mistakes to avoid lies in understanding what big search engines like Google likes and does not like. In other words, the key to SEO traffic is to make your site more “likeable” to Google. Here are 6 mistakes which gives a negative effect on your SEO efforts.
1) Image headers and extensive image use.
Google spiders cannot read images like text. Therefore, your header cannot be quantified by Google’s search engine and as we all know headers are extremely important for SEO. Therefore, use a text header with the “[h1]” tag instead. If you must use images, include keywords in the alt text.
2) Splash pages
Probably the biggest mistake anyone can make is by having a splash page. The first thing Google reads is your main page and if your main page is one big hunk of flash videos, you will be losing out on tons of potential free traffic. Besides, nobody is interested in your flash video, they are just interested in the content.
3) Too many keywords
If the keyword density of your site is over 5%, your site will come across as spam and that will have negative effects on SEO. Instead, use stemmed keywords. (key phrases related to your targeted keyword)
E.g. internet marketing tips and online marketing advice.
4) Too many backlinks from low quality sites
Getting too many link exchanges from low quality sites or link farms can have a serious negative effect on your website. Not only will you lose credibility among Google and your readers, your site will come off as a link farm or spam site. They solution: Get links from authority sites in the related niche. In other words, use google toolbar to check for pages with high ranking in your niche and try to get links from them.
5) Bad language or profanity
Did your mother used to wash your mouth with soap whenever you said bad words? Google hates profanity and bad language. Therefore, stay away from it, unless you are running an adult website.
6) Black hat SEO
This is something that came about a few years back by internet marketers who understood Google too well and tried to exploit their search engine mechanisms. What they did was use software which produced 1000 mini blogs filled with keywords and linked to one another. This is a huge no-no. Google’s brilliant engineers have found ways to overcome these practices and have banned all sorts of black hat SEO sites.
Google search engine is always upgrading their algorithm to prevent from SEO abusers and thus, it is always good to stay on top of the SEO trends so that your site will not lose traffic.
