Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to designing your website so that it appears in the non-paid, “organic” section of search results when people search key phrases on sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. SEO is the process of optimizing your site for phrases that people use when searching so that your website is displayed in the “organic” search results. The rank of your website is related to the key phrase searched for and is based on indexable content, keywords and titles, amount of content, and back links.
Indexable Content
Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing regularly search your website to see if any changes have been made or content has been added so they can keep their search results up to date. It is very important that the search engines are able to interpret the information on your website so they can index your content. If the search engine is unable to read your content, your webpages will not appear in the search results. To ensure your website is indexable, avoid the use of Flash content, text-based images, and make sure you don’t have any broken links or outdated content on your website.
Keywords and Title Tags
The words used in your webpages are how search engines determine what your webpages are about in order to return relevant search results associated with search phrases. The title of your webpage is the most important placement of search phrases. Keep in mind that the title of each website should be concise, 70 characters or less, and accurately describe what the webpage is about.
The description of each webpage is also important, but more from a sales perspective. Search engines use your description to place below your title in the search results. Keep the description concise as well, under 160 characters.
Amount of Content
The number one factor in determining whether or not you will have a successful online presence is the quality and quantity of the information on your website. Creating quality content is the most effective of all of the online marketing efforts you can do. We recommend writing 2-4 500 word blog posts or articles per month, it is important to be consistent.
Backlinks
Links that are outside of your website that go to your website are called backlinks. These backlinks are another important factor in SEO. Search engines place a high value on websites that have a lot of backlinks as they are an indication the information, product, or services on the website are relevant to viewers. Anymore than 2-3 backlinks per week can raise a red flag to search engines, that you are trying to game their search ranking system.
Overall, just design your website and add content with the ideal customer in mind. The better experience and the more useful information you can provide, the more likely a visitor to your website will become a customer.
Learn about Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and how to track your marketing as well!