Search engine optimization is a primary ingredient for a successful online business. It is the cornerstone on which online ventures thrive. You may have a dazzling Web design done by the world’s best designers but if your site cannot be crawled by the search engine bots and indexed, your target audience won't know that you exist. It might be a somewhat complex process that takes time and requires some expert knowledge of the subject and utmost commitment, but anyone can do it. SEO is a lifelong journey; you have to keep improving to maintain your position in the search engine ranks.
Always bear in mind that no position in the search engines is reserved for any of the one billion websites on the Internet. Competition is rife, and only the best enjoy the exposure and more organic traffic. Due to the costly and somewhat technical nature of SEO, it is important for every website owner to understand the ways to improve a website's position on the rankings. To get you started on this journey, below are five important SEO ideas that never fail.
Quality Content
The Web is a kingdom of its own, and the king, is (and will always be) content. This is a golden rule that you must keep in mind, long before you even commence the Web design process. People click on links and surf from one website to another in search of information. Whether it is an eCommerce website, social media or a gaming site, someone is always reading something online. If you want users to check out your website, then provide the information they seek in the best way possible. The best content is unique, informative, keyword-optimized, fresh, flawless, and interesting to read. If your content sucks, no one will want to waste time on it. Life is too short to be stuck with boring content. If you are too lazy that you prefer to copy and paste from another site, then the search engines will just ignore your site and slap you with a Google Panda or Penguin that will take you off the face of search engines.
Keyword Optimization
The search engines rely on keywords to find information. This is because people search the Web using keyword phrases based on their requirement. It is therefore important to optimize your content with target keywords. However, don’t be so excited that you end up stuffing the content with keywords. These should be used sparingly. How do you find out which keywords to target? Use the Google Keyword Planner tool for the most accurate indicators.
Create Backlinks
Websites are ranked based on their popularity on the Web. However, the obsession with the quantity of backlinks has been abused for years. To address this, Google has launched a number of algorithm updates that made the quality of the links a major factor and downgraded the value of the number of backlinks. The higher the PR of the link source, the better for your site. Write blog posts and publish them on other high ranking sites with a link to your site. You can also create a few articles and post them on free blogging platforms like Wordpress and Blogspot with links to your site. Don’t rush. Take it one step at a time.
Get Social
If people share your content, then it means they find value in it. Therefore, keep creating fresh content and sharing them on social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+, among others. Create a Facebook group and encourage your friends to join so that they can stay informed on any updates on your website. This way, you will attract traffic back to your website and also grow your business.
Metadata
Another important SEO aspect that can boost your search engine rankings is metadata. Every page must have a carefully crafted meta description, which also helps in making your site more visible to search engines. A keyword-optimized title and alt tags for the images, among other things, add to on-page optimization.
These SEO tips can be done by anyone smart enough to own a website. Be patient. Don’t expect results in a week because it takes time to rank effectively with SEO.
