What’s Important for Website SEO?

Back in the stone ages (seems that way), the mainstream thought process was to build your website, and customers will come. For big-named businesses, that theory was usually a home run, but it undoubtedly missed the mark for small businesses. Then a hack came out where you could optimize your website pages and posts by keyword stuffing. And often, the keywords in the longtail list of words were spoofed by keywords that did not have anything to do with what was showing on the page. Because of this, the process of keyword stuffing faded because, while it might have gotten more traffic, it didn’t attract the ideal clients that would convert to sales. And, of course, Google put an end to it, as it should have.

So website managers and content writers went back to the drawing board to find a better way to cause the search engine algorithm to populate search results that were more optimized to serve up a customer who would be more likely to purchase. Because of this, the term Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was born, and the world wide web was off to the races and has never looked back. SEO was forever changed.

The truth is that if you don’t optimize your website for SEO, your site will not rank high in the search query, and your competitors will get the site traffic and, therefore, cause you to lose sales.

Sure, you can try pay-per-click, but the secret sauce is getting ranked organically. How in the world do you do this? Read on, as I talk about the importance of SEO and what you should do today to help improve your search rankings.

Before I get started, realize that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and securing the 1 search seat position will take some time too. Growing your SEO organically is the only way to win.

Let’s talk about the content on your site first.

To optimize your website pages, you need to create quality online content that resonates with your viewer, keeps them on your site longer, and makes you the expert in the industry niche you are working with. The old saying, “junk in-junk out” rings true regarding top-notch content. Quality content is still king!

It’s not enough to have a fantastic home page that is content rich. You must also have all your other pages, including blogs and perhaps other pages that may include podcasts, product pages, guides and other pages optimized with SEO relevant to your industry.

Suppose you are tempted to try the stuffing method I mentioned early on in this article. In that case, the search engine algorithm would no longer rank your site organically, and you will dramatically drop in the search queries, so let’s do this right!

As you are creating your website, it’s very important to research keywords and longtail phrases commonly visible amongst your industry leaders and sprinkle them on each page and post on your site. For example, if you sell residential real estate in Bucks County, part of your SEO strategy should be to ensure each page or post contained the keywords residential real estate, homes for sale in Bucks County, and Pennsylvania. The logic behind this is your ideal client is searching for a home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

We always work with our clients working with our SEO team to develop single keywords and phrases that are commonly searched for by their ideal client. When you are creating your list and phrases, search engines are your friends. Try searching “homes for sale in Bucks County.” As you type, you will see other key phrases just below your search query that other people have searched for. When I search this phrase,
I see people who are searching in Bucks County, and they have narrowed their search down to homes
for sale in bucks county pa…

…on Zillow

…with inground pool

…with in-law suites

…under $200,000
And when you scroll to the bottom of your search query page, you will see more search string questions people are asking. (Read on, there is a top-notch tip below for creating blog titles.) Going back to writing
keyword-rich, SEO-optimized content: what would this look like on a blog, guide, infographic, or product page?

Blogs: Use the search questions found at the bottom of the search query page for your blog title; then, in the body of the article, target your keywords – If you are looking for a home in Bucks County…

Infographics: This type of content is rich in backlinks and fantastic for sharing on social media. Your reader can quickly consume it, especially when it is a large amount of data.

Guides: These are a great tool to generate long-form content specifically for SEO. What is your ideal client looking to learn from you? How-tos, step-by-step tips, or ideas make great content for guides.

Product & Service Pages: These are the backbone of online businesses and eCommerce sites. Perfect SEO content will attract visitors that convert to sales.

This is just a small way to work on organic SEO for your company. Full-on SEO services are much more involved and very important for an all-inclusive SEO marketing strategy. If you are at a point where you are ready to explore an SEO strategy for your company, please contact us to discuss.