Working with SEO #ThursdayTips

Search Engine Optimization or SEO. For the still uninitiated, SEO affects how, or where, a link to your website or webpage is seen listed on a search engine results page (SERP). Whenever one searches for specific words related to your business or to your site/page’s focus of interest, good SEO improves your chances of getting found by potential clients.

Good SEO makes use of relevant keywords. They are words and phrases that are a part of your web contents. While it sounds easy enough, it takes more than assigning keywords to your pages – you first need to identify the best and most possible ones that can get you to the first page of search engines like Google. The main goal is to get to the Top Ten results and there is very good reason for it: studies have shown that users tend to click on the first links on SERPs alone.

Getting to the Top

The popular mindset is there is no need to waste time and energy when users can already find what they need from the first clicks. This is further believed with the advent of Google Panda in recent years, even of Penguin and other Google algorithms. The nearer your site to the top, the more you are considered as an authority site. Authority begets trust, trust begets great business standing. Ergo, you need to work on your rankings to get to such standing.

So, if your site is not anywhere near the first page at all, how good are your chances of getting found?

Optimizing your sites and pages are your best weapons against getting buried among hundreds or even thousands of other business sites. It helps drive traffic to your site and, ultimately, your business. More important, it can result to conversions, that is, getting visitors to not only take a peek at your site, but to stay longer and eventually purchase a product or get any of your services. Convert online users to actual customers.

The Silent SEO

Optimizing through keywords is the most basic of working on your SEO. You have to have an idea of which words work for you, which people tend to search for first (ex. “tv mounting” vs. “tv installation”), which are more relevant to your target audience. By relevance, it means you must have a clear understanding of how users search for certain products, services and information that you offer. This should help you create and maintain a great search marketing campaign.

Optimization is not just words on visible pages, either. It takes more than being able to find them in posts and articles. Rather, SEO keywords are also incorporated where the users do not normally see or notice them. They are in the web address, in the links you share, in the images you use, in what are called meta tags,…Basically, while they may not necessarily break you, your SEO keywords may be the ones to “make” you. Well, make your site and your business.

Keep to the Right

How best to have a great search marketing campaign running really depends on what practices you do and how. Like black and white, there is good (white hat) SEO and there is bad (black hat) SEO and you can very well guess which would be the better one to follow.

For instance, too many redundant keywords is not a case of eagerness on your part; it’s what’s called as spammy and, possibly, duplicate content that can be done without. Too many links can lessen the quality and credibility of the site. Use of certain keywords may also be used to mislead visitors; of course, that won’t sit well with them.

In this day and age, SEO is a necessary part of running a successful business. SEO is not just keywords, either, but a whole lot of other things. You’ll do well knowing and making use of the best practices around in handling it. What good is getting lots of traffic when users leave disappointed, dissatisfied or, worst, distrustful of you?

Yes, even in this day and age, trust is still very much valued. So keep to the right and start learning good SEO today.

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Of course, there is more to SEO than just keywords, but I just covered the most basic of SEO as an introduction to it for those who do not know it yet. For some more tips on stuff, feel free to visit these pages: Wordsmithereens Niche, Tips Jar .