A Beginner’s Guide to SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is all about getting the right people to notice your website. Making specific modifications to your website will increase your performance in organic search results.
Organic search results appear below paid advertisements and vary in position. Every business’s goal is to appear on the first page of a Google search. Most importantly, these are also free.
3 factors that will affect your SEO:
1. Use keywords throughout the website.
Make a list of strong keywords that your ideal customer will most likely use when searching for a business like yours. You will want to use these words within the body of your website and alternate text for pictures.
Alternate text helps describe the image when the web browser blocks the image from loading. Meaning, when you save a picture to your website, make sure to name it something related to your business. Since computers won’t be able to “see” your image, they will read the alternate text, enhancing your SEO.
Use Google’s Keyword Planner to help you develop your list of keywords.
2. Effective Backlinks
Creating backlinks is one of the hardest aspects of SEO. Hyperlinks are a great way for people (and computers) to travel from page to page on any given topic. It allows your website to be considered a trustworthy source. The goal is to get your website’s hyperlinks on other websites related to your content.
Link building can involve outreach to other sources to network your way onto other sites. For example, a clothing company may want to reach out to relevant bloggers to create links leading back to your website.
Here is a beginner’s guide to link building that would be helpful
3. Optimizing Your Website
Running a high speed website that is optimized for both desktop computers and mobile phones will increase your SEO rating. This includes:
Quality of content - ensuring that you have clear, original pictures with relevant content on the webpage.
Speed - use a hosting site that can handle your traffic flow and load content quickly.
Internal linking - while backlinking is very beneficial, internal linking within your website can also help build your SEO.
Headlines - When writing copy for your website, break down large paragraphs into sections with headlines to use keywords and make it easier for your customer to read
Mastering SEO takes a lot of time and strategizing. It may not happen in one session but constant work and reevaluation of your website will pay off.
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