Search engine optimization (SEO) can make or break your site, striking fear in people who may not fully understand how it works. Get SEO right and your site will thrive. Do it wrong and you may face a whole host of issues, including dreaded search engine penalties. To that end, we’ll look at a collection of SEO tips to rock your world. Or at least your website!
Tip No. 1 — Page Rank is dead. Google killed Page Rank even if it still shows up on your tool bar. We haven’t seen changes in several years and until Google updates its tool bar, that little red number will be an ever present reminder of what once was.
Tip No. 2 — Content matters and then some. The expression “content is king” has been used by SEO experts for years. That term, however, does not tell the entire story. Not only can content be king, but it should be royally suited to appear in most any top notch publication. That means carefully researching, interviewing, writing and editing to deliver peerless work. If you can’t make your content rock, then it won’t roll with your audience or with the search engines.
Tip No. 3 — Keep your content fresh. Not only is important to have good content, but the information you provide should be fresh. You can avoid displaying stale content by writing evergreen. For everything else, update old information to reflect new details.
Tip No. 4 — Make smart use of your keywords. Never overstuff your keywords, but do use them in your titles, subtitles and with your photos. Endeavor never to provide more than one of the same keywords for every 100 written. Use variations of the same word, but only come across as natural, otherwise your writing will feel forced or stilted.
Tip No. 5 — Link building isn’t what is once was. You already know that link exchanges are dead, paying for links is unacceptable and that most link strategies are stupid. Here, you want links that are natural, but that doesn’t mean badgering people for a link from there site. Instead, write top shelf content and your information will be picked up by people who value your work, oftentimes resulting in a valuable link.
Tip No. 6 — Never purchase a suspect domain. If you are searching a new domain and you find a previously used one that looks valuable, endeavor to confirm that it has a good history behind it. Check its back links and visit the Wayback Machine to confirm that the information listed is reliable. If it isn’t, the domain may have bad history that is impossible to remedy.
Tip No. 7 — Bait your audience. Link bait remains good practice as long as it is carefully and discretely practiced. Mention a product, a company or an individual and you may soon find an important person on your website. If they like what you wrote, then you can expect direct contact from them, including a link back to your site.
Tip No. 8 — Offer invaluable information. Not only is content king, but the content you share should be above reproach. That also means bringing in some heavy hitters from time to time to help out. Imagine if you can get your company’s rock star CEO to contribute his own invaluable advice once or twice each month!
SEO Considerations
SEO is hard work and it is as much of a journey as it is a destination. Your hard work can certainly pay off, but there is no room for shortcuts. Do your best work and your website will benefit handsomely or hire an SEO company to get the work done for you.
