7 Must-Do's Better Than Fairy Dust to Improve Search Engine Results
Posted by Jody Raines
Building a better website is one of those experiences that can be incredibly rewarding. By better, what I mean is an effective website or effective internet presence. The effective website is known for having been developed for the right reasons and which appeals to the right audience, resulting in real sales.
In other words:
- Site ranks on Google for keywords
- Site improves in Traffic results over time
- Site is a lead generation magnet
Would you say that your website is effective based upon this standard?
What does it take to create an effective website?
- Is it the bold graphics?
- Creative writing?
- Unique page layout?
While all of that is fantastic, the real guts of what makes an effective website is whether it delivers value.
Not just guts... but GLORY. And glory = value.
By value, what I mean are leads. Hard, cold, fast, closed, new customers. Leads.
How do you do that?
It starts by using a fairly scientific approach. And time. And a bit of creativity and skill. And pixie dust...
1. Determine what your keywords are. Then try different iterations. Then try even more. Try keyword phrases. Use a spread sheet and keep a record of where all of these keywords rank for number of hits per month, difficulty and where you may rank for that word.
2. Look for 'low hanging fruit'. Find those words that have decent monthly clicks, but may be lower in difficulty.
3. Start optimizing your pages for keywords. How do you do that? Develop content around a topic. Keep content fun, keywords relevant and yet topically focused.
4. Develop relationships and links. No one lives in a vacuum, but that sucking noise you'll hear is when you are talking to no one. Social Media monitoring is very important for understanding the audience and developing social media strategies. By developing relationships, based upon listening to the social media conversation, and developing social media relationships, you develop an audience. Others want you to listen to them, and in return they listen to you. Compound this by their recommendation and you have a winning combination.
5. Boldly add content. Go where others may not have gone, by writing interesting content, discussing the ills of an industry, or by uncovering new ways of doing things. Be fearless about adding lists of relevant topics or sites. Suggest a controversial approach to intrigue comments.
6. Answer your potential client's question. How to, Why, Critical reasons, Frequently asked, Frequently Omitted, Major Blunders. All start an article that promises to be interesting. How to answer your client's questions is one of the most frequently omitted topics in a social media program. Even if you learn about blogging or tweeting, what are you adding to the conversation and how are you using social media platforms to add value? It's a matter of being part of the conversation.
7. Create downloads that are of value to your potential client. Don't just place articles hoping for google to index you, instead create a logical progression of articles to landing page to content.
It all starts with the keyword and the keyword is content. Nothing can replace it or take its place. Even in social media marketing, the tweets, and posts are google-able. So start with using your keywords and you will earn and improve search engine results.
Its how we deal with the content and how cleverly we can sculpt it to do our bidding that will differentiate the masters from the sheep. Additionally, its' the clever twist of adding value that enables us to cultivate leads.
WebMarCom is an Internet strategy and Web Marketing Communications Agency based in South Jersey and Philadelphia.