Search engine optimization (SEO) results in long-term free traffic if done properly, so if you want traffic as soon as possible or if you’re not willing to invest time into this, then SEO might not be for you. That said, if you are interested in learning how to do SEO the proper way, then read the following four tips for success with search engine optimization:
1. Do proper keyword research.
Neglecting to perform extensive keyword research will lead to three possible scenarios: you’ll either rank for a keyword for which searchers have a low commercial intent (e.g. freebie seekers), or you’ll rank for a keyword which very few people actually search for, or you’ll completely waste your time trying to rank for a ridiculously competitive keyword. There are many free keyword research tools available to you and many free tutorials out there to help you take advantage of them. Do your research, and you’ll be able to dominate the search engines for keywords which have relatively low competition but relatively high search volume. There are no magic numbers – just use your discretion when picking keywords.
2. Be search engine- and human-friendly.
Search engines like it when your content and your sites are relevant. Factors that affect relevancy are things like links pointing to your site, types of sites linking to your site, keyword density, prominence of keywords on your site, and whether or not your main keyword is in your domain name. There are plenty more factors – that was just a partial list. Humans, on the other hand, like content which is understandable, informative, and fun to read. It is possible to please your human visitors and the search engines at the same time, and if you do, everybody wins.
3. Get lots of backlinks.
As long as you’re getting one-way links from reputable sites (i.e. nothing naughty or illegal), then knock yourself out with link building. There are two types of SEO: on-page and off-page. Link building is pretty much all you need to worry about with regard to off-page SEO. Some good ways of getting backlinks include blog commenting, forum posting, article writing (and submission), social bookmarking, and manually leaving your links on sites which allow them. This tip covers a topic which has countless full-blown ebooks written on it, but the point I’m trying to get across here is that it’s very important to build one-way links to your site. I say one-way links only because the search engines frown upon link exchanges and paid links.
4. Save time by re-purposing your content.
If you’re taking care of your SEO on your own, then you’ve got a pretty heavy workload. Things like article writing, Squidoo lens creation, and video creation all take a ton of time once you add everything up. So, to save time, take an article or series of blog posts and use them elsewhere. For example, you might take a few of your blog posts and create an original article, rework that article to create a Squidoo lens or Hub page, and create a content-rich video. This tip will save you a ton of time and you’ll end up with a nice multimedia collection of valuable content, all linking back to your main site.
Dr. Bob Clarke coaches and mentors new and experienced entrepreneurs in making money online with integrity, honesty, and professionalism. He is a marketing and branding expert who teaches his team the secrets to making money online. To access more of Dr. Clarke's extensive free training, visit http://BobandRosemary.com?t=articlealley
