Marketing, SEO December 21, 2021 0 Comments

SEO Best Practices

How To Dominate Search Engines

I’m hoping by now we’ve all heard of SEO, but just in case you need a refresher… Search Engine Optimization is the set-it-but-don’t-forget-it version of online marketing. SEO basically means to increase your site’s visibility and traffic based on keywords related to your industry. A basic understanding of SEO best practices will help your content rank higher for search engines and also help potential customers find your specific services or offerings.
It's not just the keywords, though.
There are many moving parts to consider for a well-rounded SEO plan. And it all starts with your clientele. What is your audience searching for, and how can you be part of those search results? We call this keyword research. Make a list of words, and categorize them based on your web pages. Once you have a dozen or so terms, including your specific services or offerings, you can use a keyword tool like Google’s keyword planner to lengthen that list of words, and view search volume and click costs.

The advantage of working with Eyecon is that we have access to paid tools that give us further insights. We can see keywords your competitors are using to direct traffic to their site, and we can even see how effective those terms are. We also have a couple wordsmiths who nerd out on data like this, and brainstorm ways to expand target keywords and incorporate them into content creation.

OK, but don't flood your page with keywords.
You see, it’s not enough to just list a bunch of words in hope search engines will send people to your site. Search engines want to connect users to valuable content they actually want. So to win that click, it will take a little creative writing, a little graphic design, a little UX (user experience) knowledge, and a lot of analytics.

There are many moving parts when it comes to SEO, but keywords are the heart of it. Additional factors include:

  • A clean, responsive website with fast load speed and good performance
  • Accurate, unique, SHORT page titles that include targeted keywords
  • Meta descriptions that accurately summarize pages
  • Navigation bars that help users find the content they want, and help search engines understand what content you think is important
  • Meaningful URLS that don’t use random numbers or letters
  • Optimized images that are sized properly for web, named appropriately, with accurate alt text and descriptions
  • Compelling, share-worthy content that earns backlinks or social media attention
We'll end where we started.
The most important part of SEO to be mindful of is this: Think of your user first.

It’s easy to get caught up in keywords, and one might think more is better, but remember the ultimate purpose of your website is to be a tool for your clients. Craft thoughtful, well-written, entertaining,  and/or educational articles with real people in mind. Be aware of search engines’ roles in presenting this content to your audience, but don’t write specifically for the robots crawling your site.

If you’re just getting started, Google’s SEO Starter Guide is an excellent beginner’s tool. It defines terms, how to view results, and how to get your site on Google. 

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