Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Beginners
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a term for helping Internet seekers find your business Web site through search engines like Yahoo or Google and via other Web sites and blogs. While many of the analytics of search engine data is scientific, most of the necessary elements are things any Web site manager, even if it is a newbie, can manage. Most of the changes or updates that would improve traffic are easy to make and generally free.
In many ways, all of your online activity is Search Engine Optimization. Any time a potential client searches for your type of business and your firm or company comes up, that is search engine optimized. Whether it is your Facebook page, an article you wrote as CEO of Widgets, Inc., or a blog post about payroll accounting, all of it feeds the search engines. The more of these individual items there are to find, the better your chances of being found!
When search engines are scouring your site, they are looking for keywords that pertain to your business and what you do. Look over your site and make sure the text is robust and descriptive on pages like Our Services, Who We Are or even Contact Us. Don’t just stuff your site with keywords though. Search engines can see through this to some degree. Make sure your Web site or blog content is content-rich so readers want to return.
Unexpected and small changes can make a difference when it comes to how readers move on your site and improving your search engine results. Simply changing headers or titles on your Web site, like About Us to What We Do, can cause readers to linger longer or go to other Web pages they might not have. Try making moderate changes in these headers and watch your analytics to see how many page clicks you get. A tiny change can make a big difference.
Blogging can drive new readers and additional traffic to your company Web site. Blogging consistently is more important than blogging daily and writing about topics appropriate for your customers can increase optimize your search engine results because it provides more search terms. If you are an HVAC installation and repair firm and you blog about green options for cooling your home, anyone searching for this would find your company via your blog. You can outsource blogging inexpensively to a freelance writer or task an interested employee to do it.
Meta tags are small pieces of HTML code that provide search engines information about your site and helps them find you for an online searcher. You probably don’t have any idea what your meta tags say, but your Web designer/developer does. You might have a business called Kathy’s Gourmet Foods, but your meta tag on your Web site says “affordable food from across the globe”. With a slight change, you can increase traffic. Check your site analytics to see if this makes a difference.
Many business sites have fancy flash animation opening sequences. This actually can confuse and discourage search engines. It is better to embed interactive features in your Web site on pages other than the home page. Make your home page graphically appealing with good basic information, but be careful about making it too fancy.
When you add links to other sites (known as hyperlinks) from your Web site or blog, search engines associate you with that site. You also build rapport with other site owners and can request a reciprocal link back to your site from theirs. Hyperlinking creates a more dynamic, interesting site and improves your SEO at the same time.
Search Engine Optimization helps potential customers and clients find you when they do a routine search for keywords related to your business. You can facilitate this process by educating yourself about SEO which usually involves easy additions and fixes to your site. Blogging is especially helpful, but even if you choose not to do this there are still things you can do to improve your traffic like changing categories, simplifying your home page and linking to other sites. SEO sounds fancy, but it is simple and business owners can manage the basic steps themselves. Do invest some time and watch your traffic grow!
