What is SEO?

As a writer I am intrigued by the concept of search engine optimization. In short; SEO is the combination of a number of strategies which will make your website show up higher in searches for the topics that pertain to you. Web developers, link builders, SEO copywriters and even marketers can all play a role in optimizing your website. Each will likely take a different approach while promising similar results.

Getting found on the internet involves a host of factors. Google themselves reports that they change their algorithm up to 500 times per year. You would be safe to bet that Yahoo and Bing’s search portal undergoes a similar amount of tweeking in a calendar year. The explanation provided by such high profile search engines, when they choose to explain themselves, is that they are constantly seeking to make their search engine the best online tool to help people find what they are looking for. It all comes down to relevancy and a customer-centric state of mind. If you are a newbie to the concept of SEO here are some basics that you might want to look in to:

Important SEO Factors

  • Keywords- People use keywords when they search the internet. Having relevant and highly trafficked keywords in your web content and blog (provided by an experienced SEO copywriter) as well as your tags (provided by a diligent web developer) is the initial means of being found in online search.
  • Site navigation- This is where using a quality web developer is crucial. In addition to a clean looking site for people, search engines want to see that you have multiple relevant pages that link to one another in a logical manner.
  • Load time- This is a relatively new factor. The longer it takes a site to load, the worse the online experience becomes in the eyes of search engines. Tons of video and flash animation on your site will increase load time. If you have relevant videos or cool animations, by all means use them, just don’t go overboard.
  • Inbound links- Long before Facebook the internet represented an online community. Within this community you have all kind of websites: relevant ones, irrelevant ones, spam websites and of course high quality websites. Search engines refer to high quality websites as “authority sites.” Authority sites are essentially relevant and trustable websites. If you can gain a link to your website from one or more authority sites, your search ranking will increase over time.
  • Fresh content- A site that doesn’t have updates is like a wallflower at a party, they don’t get noticed. Adding content to your site via blogs, new articles or other changes to your content will show the search engines that your website is actively maintained. Changes will bring the search engines algorithms back more often and can ultimately mean that more of your web pages will be reviewed, indexed and made available in search results.
This is just an introduction to getting found on the web. Multiple other factors also work to dictate where your website will show up in search. As mentioned, search engine optimization is an ever changing concept. Take a moment to watch this video from the team at Google to find out more about how the world’s leading search engine indexes your site.


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How and Why to Properly Use Keywords

You might find yourself asking why it is important to add quality keywords to the content that you upload to the internet. After all, it takes time and a little “know how” to perform keyword research and then some crafty writing skills to insert them seamlessly into your website. This work is entirely worth your while. Again you might be asking “Why?” and the answer is search engines. Search engines are the means that web surfers—i.e. your potential customers—find you on the internet.

Key Words and Web Surfers
When a person opens Google, Bing or whichever search engine they prefer to find a business, they use keywords as the basis of their search. Knowing which keywords are used and how they are often phrased is very beneficial for you. If your written web content and tags contain the same keywords that a person uses to find what they need, your website will likely be served in a higher position than a competitor who did not take the time to think about keywords. Let’s illustrate the process for a website that sells high end purses and accessories for ladies.

  • A customer wishes to purchase a high end handbag.
  • They enter “Gucci handbag” or “designer purses for sale” into a search engine.
  • Your web content has a sentence along the lines of “A full assortment of designer purses for sale, from Gucci handbags to the latest Prada Purses”
  • Your website is now eligible to be displayed for either search term which directly leads to someone visiting your site

Key Words and Search Engines
Search engines use mathematical formulas, called bots or spiders, to search the web and record the contents of the millions of websites out there. If your site has keywords properly inserted into web content and the pertinent tags you will be indexed and ranked higher for keywords in your area of expertise. Properly using keywords tells the search engines exactly what your website is about and invites them to display your web pages to customers. Search engines will find and index keywords in:

  • The written content on each of your web pages
  • The “Meta-Description” tag which is displayed directly in search results which adds double value as this tag can entice web searchers to visit your site
  • All “Alt Tags” which are a means of telling a search engine what the pictures on your website display
  • “Header” tags; in essence the header is the top of your website and is one of the first things indexed by search engines

Proper keywords are a must for a well put together website. They assist in both search engine optimization and in speaking to visitors who traffic your site. Researching and inserting keywords into your web copy is a skill that you might want to consult with a professional web content writer for. Having someone else write your content can ensure that you get a better product and save time to focus on your business.

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