Rankings, Google bots, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) , Search Engine Maintenance (SEM), site maps, pay-per-click (PPC)… the world of online marketing and search engine ranking is a kaleidoscope of ever changing terms and rules. There is a big difference between how humans read websites and how search engine robots read them. The human audience and the search bot audience are looking for specific items, and if you know what they are, it will go a long way toward improving your website rankings.Try these 3 steps to get started:
1. For the human audience, remember the basics of good content, and include meaningful “who, what, where, when, how and why” information. Try not to frustrate a site visitor with too much industry speak to tech jargon and have a consistent tone to your message.
We all get too close to our own writing sometimes, so I like to have new copy pass the Mom test – if I can give it to my Mom and she understands what I’m trying to say, I’ve probably hit it right. My mom is a very smart lady, a business owner and a heck of a cook but she is a good test audience for me because she will be completely honest AND objective. Find someone like that to help you review new website copy, not just for grammatical errors but to make sure the message is clear.
2. For the search engine robots, looks at the source code of your site and make sure your page titles and headlines are correct and keyword rich. Page titles are what appear at the top of the browser, headings (the <H1> tag) appear at the top of your page. Search bots look at these two items, along with the page text, to help determine relevancy (and therefore ranking). Ideally, they will contain keywords that are both faithful to the content on your site and are search friendly. For example, the title for this page includes the keyword phrases “website ranking” and “SEO tips” instead of a more generic title like “helpful info for your website.” Think about how you can improve your word selection to improve your ranking results.
3. Now, get your site seen in all the right places with the directory submissions. Make sure you have proper, complete listings in appropriate, high quality directories like Google, Bing, YellowPages and Yahoo, plus identifies 12-15 other industry or geographically influential directories that will bring your website positive traffic.
Update or add your company listing consistently, verifying your address, phone number, services, etc. Many online directories will let you add an image (your logo might be nice) or photos, so maximize your listing. A suggested checklist for a Frederick area business might include:
Major Listings: · Google Listing · Bing Business Listing · Yahoo Listing · YellowPages.com · Superpages.com | 12-15 other Directory Listings, such as: · Gazette.net · Merchant Circle · Yelp · HotFrog · Frederick.com |
Proper SEO takes a little extra time and a little extra strategic thought, but the results are worth the efforts. Try these three steps and see how they improve the visibility of your website.
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