Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the practice of driving organic (aka “non-paid) traffic to a web site by obtaining higher search engine rankings for targeted keywords and phrases. Unfortunately, ranking factors (and the weight given to each by the various search engines) continue to change and evolve over time. Therefore, it is next to impossible to know with any certainty what the future may hold when it comes to search engine optimization.
However, there are a few basic SEO principles that have stood the test of time, so it is worth understanding how they work. To illustrate, let’s assume you sell equestrian products online. Of course, you want potential customers to find your site and the products you have to offer. So, you do some keyword research and develop a list of 10 keywords or phrases related to your main product lines. For example, you might decide terms like “equine fly masks” or “Ariat paddock boots” look promising because your research shows that a large number of people are searching for those terms and the competition for the top spots on the first page of Google isn’t too overwhelming.
On-Page Factors: Laying the Groundwork
From a search engine optimization perspective, your main goal is to alert the search engines that your site offers relevant information related to your targeted keywords. With respect to our example, you could start by creating and optimizing a page on your site for the term, “equine fly masks.” You will want to include this term in the title tag, H1 headline tag, and image alt tags if applicable. Plus, be sure to sprinkle the term throughout the content of your article, but don’t overdo it. Remember, you are writing for a human audience, NOT search engine spiders. If you keep your content focused on your visitors by answering questions, addressing concerns or solving problems -you’ll do great.
Off-Page Factors: Driving It Home
Once you take care of everything you can with respect to your own site, it is time to start focusing on the off-page factors that affect search engine optimization. One of the most important things you can do in this regard is to develop quality incoming backlinks to your site. Once you create enough great content, this will start to occur naturally because other site owners will link to your site as a resource for their readers. However, you can’t sit back and wait for this to happen by itself or you might be waiting a long time for the results you want.
Instead, you will want to focus on building quality links from as many respected sites as you can. Article marketing, guest blogging, and commenting on relevant blogs and forums are all ways to build these valuable online assets for your business. While you are at it, be sure to use anchor text links for your targeted keywords whenever possible. In other words, instead of using an exposed url when linking to your page about equine fly masks, you would hyperlink the term “equine fly masks” to your page about that topic. The use of anchor text links is a great way to let search engines know a site or page is about a particular topic.
The world of search engine optimization is constantly evolving. However, if you stay focused on the things you can control, you can achieve great results.
