Post by Josh Snider on Apr 8, 2014 14:30:18 GMT -5
Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a fancy way of saying that your website needs adjustments so that search engines can visit your website, correctly categorize your website by figuring out what your website is, and then give the most relative data to the searchers. The better you can communicate what your website is to the search engines, the better results you will have.
1. Meta Tags - Meta tags are meta data, which is information that the normal user will not see, but search engines use to find out what your website is about. Meta tags should be a long list of every imaginable search term that visitors could use to find your site. You want these keywords to be the most direct possible so that people don't come to your page in error. We all know the feeling of visiting the wrong link on a search engine and having to go back and do search again. Avoid that sifting for your visitors by having all of the keywords your visitors want, and none that they don't.
First example, for my website I may create a series of keywords around the idea of being a photographer and the camera I use, the keywords would be "Pittsburgh Photographer using Nikon" or "Best Photography Results in Pittsburgh Using NIkon Cameras and Equipment." These results would yield me visitors looking for a photographer who uses a Nikon camera, as well as understanding why the Nikon equipment is of great quality. However, I don't want people who aren't going to book a photographer, so I would avoid using "Hot Deal Nikon Photo Photography Equipment Pittsburgh" even though the words are almost the same, the person making that search is looking to buy equipment and not hire someone. They would come to my website and leave almost immediately.
Another example is a tattoo removal website I'm currently working on, using the keywords "Tattoo Removal in Pittsburgh" or "Laser Tattoo Removal in Pittsburgh" with many variations will give me visitors who are looking to have tattoos removed in Pittsburgh. If I just use single words "Tattoo" or "Laser" I would get people looking for tattoos and/or lasers, not to mention since my site is not detected to tattoos or lasers, the relativity of my page for those searches would be at the end of the list.
2. Relative Content - Keeping your site focused on what you do is important. Your main idea of your website should be listed as the title of your website (in your browsers title bar), in the URL of your website, and in the content of the website. Good keywords should be used often, but other words that directly relate to your work should also be used. If you were a furniture store, you would want to talk about furniture a few times, while also talking about couches, love seats, futons, and other items you have mixed in. When you express who you are and how your website can be used for your visitors in an easy to understand way, the search engines will see it and put you higher on the list for that category.
3. Keeping Fresh - The first time a search engine hits your website, it will most likely be a result of a link on another website. The search engine will examine your website and then visit all the links you have. While it checks your site, it is looking for the most up to date information. This is why business blogs are so important. If you can write once a month or once we week about a current project you're doing, a new service you offer, really anything... when search engines come back to your site it will notice the updates and move you higher on the list.
4. Staying off the Black List - If your website has broken links or unclean coding, the search engine will see it and it will peg your site as being old, out dated, and unrelated to your cause.
You know those websites from the 90's that we all made for our band fan club? You know why they don't show up in search engines any more? Because the links are all dead and the content hasn't been updated. These sites end up at the bottom of the list, if at all. Remember that search engines are competing for the best service to the user, if they can't find what the searcher is looking for within a few clicks, a user may switch services forever.
5. Links In - Your website is like an island to both visitors and search engines. Search engines repeat visits to websites that are updated more often. By getting a link on a website that is visited often, a search engine will see your link and visit your site. Also, that same page where search engines are seeing you, people are also seeing you, and direct traffic referrals are great to have too. Getting your link on other websites can be easy or tricky depending on what it is that you do. Advertising, talking on forums with your link in your signature, and link exchanging are great ways to start. Links behind passwords are invisible to search engines so most Facebook pages, private forums, or messages are not going to help in the big picture.
I can help your search engine optimization results by coaching you on ways that will directly work for your website and your market. Each website, business, customer, and experience is different and needs to be considered to make a plan. Contact me today to get started!
1. Meta Tags - Meta tags are meta data, which is information that the normal user will not see, but search engines use to find out what your website is about. Meta tags should be a long list of every imaginable search term that visitors could use to find your site. You want these keywords to be the most direct possible so that people don't come to your page in error. We all know the feeling of visiting the wrong link on a search engine and having to go back and do search again. Avoid that sifting for your visitors by having all of the keywords your visitors want, and none that they don't.
First example, for my website I may create a series of keywords around the idea of being a photographer and the camera I use, the keywords would be "Pittsburgh Photographer using Nikon" or "Best Photography Results in Pittsburgh Using NIkon Cameras and Equipment." These results would yield me visitors looking for a photographer who uses a Nikon camera, as well as understanding why the Nikon equipment is of great quality. However, I don't want people who aren't going to book a photographer, so I would avoid using "Hot Deal Nikon Photo Photography Equipment Pittsburgh" even though the words are almost the same, the person making that search is looking to buy equipment and not hire someone. They would come to my website and leave almost immediately.
Another example is a tattoo removal website I'm currently working on, using the keywords "Tattoo Removal in Pittsburgh" or "Laser Tattoo Removal in Pittsburgh" with many variations will give me visitors who are looking to have tattoos removed in Pittsburgh. If I just use single words "Tattoo" or "Laser" I would get people looking for tattoos and/or lasers, not to mention since my site is not detected to tattoos or lasers, the relativity of my page for those searches would be at the end of the list.
2. Relative Content - Keeping your site focused on what you do is important. Your main idea of your website should be listed as the title of your website (in your browsers title bar), in the URL of your website, and in the content of the website. Good keywords should be used often, but other words that directly relate to your work should also be used. If you were a furniture store, you would want to talk about furniture a few times, while also talking about couches, love seats, futons, and other items you have mixed in. When you express who you are and how your website can be used for your visitors in an easy to understand way, the search engines will see it and put you higher on the list for that category.
3. Keeping Fresh - The first time a search engine hits your website, it will most likely be a result of a link on another website. The search engine will examine your website and then visit all the links you have. While it checks your site, it is looking for the most up to date information. This is why business blogs are so important. If you can write once a month or once we week about a current project you're doing, a new service you offer, really anything... when search engines come back to your site it will notice the updates and move you higher on the list.
4. Staying off the Black List - If your website has broken links or unclean coding, the search engine will see it and it will peg your site as being old, out dated, and unrelated to your cause.
You know those websites from the 90's that we all made for our band fan club? You know why they don't show up in search engines any more? Because the links are all dead and the content hasn't been updated. These sites end up at the bottom of the list, if at all. Remember that search engines are competing for the best service to the user, if they can't find what the searcher is looking for within a few clicks, a user may switch services forever.
5. Links In - Your website is like an island to both visitors and search engines. Search engines repeat visits to websites that are updated more often. By getting a link on a website that is visited often, a search engine will see your link and visit your site. Also, that same page where search engines are seeing you, people are also seeing you, and direct traffic referrals are great to have too. Getting your link on other websites can be easy or tricky depending on what it is that you do. Advertising, talking on forums with your link in your signature, and link exchanging are great ways to start. Links behind passwords are invisible to search engines so most Facebook pages, private forums, or messages are not going to help in the big picture.
I can help your search engine optimization results by coaching you on ways that will directly work for your website and your market. Each website, business, customer, and experience is different and needs to be considered to make a plan. Contact me today to get started!