The Art of Being Found: SEO Tips for Websites and Blogs

The Art of Being Found: SEO Tips for Websites and Blogs

If you own a website or run a blog, you know how competitive it is and how difficult it can be to drive traffic to your site when there are so many countless others trying to do the exact same thing. However, utilizing the skill of SEO optimization can help you dramatically in your business or blog. By following the below tips, you can help to ensure that search engines like Google send those interested in what you have to offer to your site first. Ending up among the top in Google results is a tedious task, but it is by no means unattainable and the payoff will be well worth your efforts. Follow these simple SEO tips to help drive traffic to your website first.

Keyword Bonanza

Keywords are the lifeblood to all websites and blogs. When you search for something, let’s say floral shops in Los Angeles, part of the way that search engines deliver results is by seeing which websites have those keywords. If you don’t have content on your website that has keywords related to what you do, you should revisit the text and update it. Here are some tips.

• Density – If your keywords are too dense or not dense enough, search engines will not find you. For instance, if you run an online website that sells jewelry, and you put words like “jewelry” or “bracelet” every other word just to fill space with keywords (“keyword cramming'”), you won’t get any traffic sent to you because it’s seen as spam. Likewise, if you never mention the word jewelry, you won’t get traffic because the search engine has no way of knowing that’s what you’re about. One keyword per 100 words is a decent density rate.
• Readability – Your content needs to be readable. If it’s not, no matter how much traffic the keywords drew in, the awkward wording will send them right back out. This happens a lot when people try to keyword cram. If you focus too much on the keyword and not enough on the actual content and how it reads to the customers, you won’t do yourself any favors.
• Consistency – Search engines like it if you’re rather single-minded. Each web page should have one key focus. If you sell three kinds of items on your website, have one page dedicated to each so search engines will direct people to the appropriate page. Blog posts should be focused on one main topic each time, as well.

Link Lovin’

Another thing you want to pay attention to is linking. You should interlink between your web pages, and also try to host content or promote your site elsewhere so that you have incoming links. The more incoming links you have, the better search engines like you because it indicates popularity. For instance, if you sell flowers and on your main page you talk about lilacs, and you have a lilac page, link the word “lilac” to that page. Keep a blog outside of your website about flowers and link to your site. Partner with sites like Groupon and Living Social. The more links point to your website, the more people will be sent to you by search engines.

Content Kings

In order to have keywords, you have to have content. Make sure that your content performs the following three functions, at least.

• Connect – Connect with your reader. If they aren’t interested in what you’re saying, they’ll go somewhere else. Keep them there with engaging content. If you aren’t running a blog, add a blog to your website, or at least keep the pages full of informational content that is helpful to your target audience.
• Inform – Your readers want to be informed. If you give them information that they can use and that is helpful, they will come back.
• Relevant – Stay relevant. If your site is about health tips, stick with help tips. Don’t go off on tangents about other things that are not relevant to the overall content of your site. This discourages search engines and people alike.
• Consistent – Keep your content updated. Nobody wants to go to a website or blog several times over a week or two to see the same content that was there last time. Keep it up to date and try to post several times a week.

While there are several other areas of SEO optimization, this is a basic guide that should be helpful in giving your website an overall boost. Adding photos, linking to social media (posts, which link back to your site), putting videos up, and the like are also ways of encouraging visitors. Partner with affiliates like couponing and shopping sites that will lead back to your website. Doing all of this will give you a good start to improving your content and drawing in new visitors and ultimately increasing your bottom line.