Practical SEO Guide: Good Business Is the Foundation of Good SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a host of techniques, approaches and strategies to prepare your website to be found by major search engines. It is often compared to alchemy. Everyone knows what dublin ca web design experts do, but very few know how they do it. In fact, many SEO gurus fiercely disagree on the how part. Many tactics are available, but SEO is not a cheap endeavor, so one has to be careful when allocating valuable advertising dollars to it.
If you’re looking to get yourself on the first page of Google’s search results immediately, this SEO guide isn’t for you. Don’t believe people who claim they can get you on the first page overnight in an ethical way. Even if you manage to cheat the system for a short time, Google’s wrath will land upon you swiftly and never go away. If you are serious about SEO, prepare yourself for the long haul and do it right-your patience and diligence will pay off. There is truly nothing complex about SEO. It rests on three principles:
Let’s start with valuable content. Before you even mention the term “SEO,” ask yourself, what do I have to offer the world, why is it unique, and why would anybody want it? Do you have a digital strategy covering all your digital communications channels? Remember that you are competing with millions of other websites. Theoretically, you could spend lots of time on SEO and get to that coveted first page just to learn that customers don’t find your content, products, or services appealing. Conversely, don’t give up too fast. Many business owners that have great products and services never get through to their audiences because they don’t bother with SEO. The axiom “If you build it, they will come” stands eternally false on Google. The onus is on you, and if you don’t make a compelling case to Google, it will ignore you unless you are the only one in the universe offering that superhot product (e.g., you have a monopoly). So, produce content that stands out. Make sure you provide value. Sometimes it is a sacrifice. You may choose to share valuable information that your competitors may use against you. You may choose to take unique perspectives that may incite a debate or even draw criticism. Be yourself, be unique, and be interesting-you need to give in order to get. Provide more than a sales pitch. Do a cost-benefit analysis that includes the value of brand recognition. Remember that it takes time to see results, usually one to two months, sometimes longer. Your ultimate goal is to find your competitive niche and establish yourself as an authority in your area of expertise so you can influence buying patterns. People will remember you and come to you when the need arises. With respect to content, make sure everything you write is well structured, clean, and free of factual and grammatical errors. Write using plain language. There are multiple resources on this. It is generally recommended that website content be written at the grade six reading level. Sometimes it may not be possible for all industries, but do your best. Another helpful metric is the Flesch-Kincaid readability index. It’s recommended to keep it above 60 (you can use this free tool). Be friendly, approachable, and lighthearted. Use humor, but be careful not to offend and cross boundaries. Always keep your audience in mind. Make sure the most important information is at the top of the page so it can be easily located. Web users don’t read; they skim. Use headings and bulleted lists. Make information digestible, and avoid jargon, clichés, and colloquialisms as much as possible. Make sure that your navigation structure is task oriented and user friendly. Your user experience must always take people through the happy path.
You have valuable content, and now you’re ready to move on to the next step-showing search engines and humans how to find it. In this SEO guide, we focus on Google, since it has the biggest search market share, but this is equally applicable to other search engines. It’s probably safe to say that if you rank well on Google, you will rank well on other search engines. There are numerous SEO techniques, but we prefer to focus on a few that have been tested and proven in action:
This technique causes lots of confusion and debate in SEO circles but for no valid reason. It’s very straightforward and is based on the following assumption-counting quality links pointing back to your website is the most effective way for Google to determine the value of your website. Backlinks are very much like Facebook “Likes”-a vote of social confidence. Google’s logic here is utterly simple-if reputable and relevant websites link to you, your content must be valuable. One important caveat here is that the link building must be organic. If you have a very rapid increase in backlinks over a short period of time, Google may perceive this as spam, even if your efforts are legitimate. Spread your efforts over a few months. There is nothing wrong with doing link exchanges with your industry peers. Just make sure you avoid link farms and spammy techniques