This is a guest post by SEO Analyst Mike Taverna. Mike is a graduate of Champlain College and lives in Burlington, Vermont. He optimizes websites for businesses across the US and Canada.
How frustrating is it trying to get your website or blog noticed? Let’s have a discussion about tools that can help you rank higher on major search engines like Google.
This post is for beginners to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You’ve probably noticed there are a variety of “One-Size-Fits-All” guides available online. The problem is that successfully optimizing a website is different depending on the type of site you publish.
Making a site searchable is unique for each industry and requires a healthy amount of research, and that is why many SEO beginners try to find short cuts to achieve their goal of ranking #1. Beware of short cuts! They can lead to mistakes like stuffing your site full of repetitive keywords, and could even get you banned from appearing on search engines like Google or Bing.
Follow these three steps and you will have a strong foundation for optimizing your site:
1. Stay One Step Ahead of the Enemy:
The first major mistake that many SEO newcomers commit is copying the competition. Hey, if it works for them, why can’t it work for me? The truth is that copying your competition always leaves you one step behind. There’s just no substitute for research and hard work.
I have seen meta data (a websites ‘secret keyword content map’) using the keyword “Jonas Brothers” for a website that does not target children or a music audience. I asked why the keyword was chosen, and the answer was that a competitor used that keyword (along with many other extremely irrelevant terms) and the Marketing Manager didn’t want to miss out on any traffic.
The Marketing Manager thought the keyword “Jonas Brothers” would beat the competition. Instead of choosing relevant keywords to optimize for, they watched their competition stick their foot in a bear trap, and proceeded to stick their own foot in as well.
2. Gather Surveillance
Instead of blindly following the competition to save time and effort, do your research. There are numerous free online tools that will help you identify relevant keywords, such as the Google Keyword Suggestion Tool.
Knowing how to properly deploy your SEO weapons is a crucial piece of the optimization puzzle. Start entering words and phrases into the keyword tool to see which have enough search volume, but not too much competition.
3. Semi-Automatic Is Better Than Fully-Automatic
The process of optimizing a website should not be done overnight. Although it may be easier to pretend your webpage is a Ronco Rotisserie that you can “Set and Forget”, optimizing a site should be done slowly but surely.
Pretend that Search Engine Optimization is like shooting a rifle. When you manipulate the content of your site (pulling the SEO trigger), there is a kickback similar to what occurs when you fire a gun.
The more times you pull the trigger, more and more kickback occurs and the harder it is to aim at your target. Taking a “Fully Automatic” approach – making change after change without testing the results – makes it difficult to see what content worked and what was unsuccessful.
Instead, use the “Semi Automatic” method of making one small change at a time and recording the results. This will allow you to:
- Pull the SEO trigger
- Learn how well you did aiming your Optimization Rifle
- Make adjustments if necessary
- Move on to your next target
Remember, don’t fall victim to the short cuts that lead you down the wrong path. It’s important to watch what your competition is doing, but make sure to conduct your own research to see if “Jonas Brothers” is a keyword which will actually help your SEO efforts.
Take your time. Control your breathing. Aim at your target, then Fire! Finally, analyze the results.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
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Leave a Commando Comment! Was this helpful? Would you like more details about ACTUALLY implementing SEO on your site? Let me know!
Haha, hey Mike, great post!
Using the rifle analogy makes SEO easier to understand. I especially like the ‘kickback’ description you use.