Search engine optimization can make the difference between becoming known and successful or lonely and neglected. If you learn how to do it like a pro, you can take charge of your traffic development. Read on to find out how.
When people search for what you are offering, most of the time they will find it through a search engine. Most of that search goes through Google, which is and will be the dominant force in search for the foreseeable future. A few other search engines including Yahoo and Bing round out the nearly the entire search spectrum. Any website that aims to attract traffic had better take search logic into account.
The search results on Google and other SEs include both natural and paid results. On Google, the natural results occupy the main white area of the results page, while the paid results show up as the few highlighted results at the top of the list and the ads running down the right side of the page. Most people assume that the natural results are more trustworthy. That’s where our focus is going to be.
The search results lead searchers back to your site. They expect you to have a site, so that’s what they look for. Since most of them will find your site by going through Google, we have to play by Google’s rules. Other search engines also figure into the strategy, but they are similar to Google.
Google’s rules are very sensible. Google wants to provide the most relevant and reliable results to searchers. You need to design your strategy and your site around Google and the way people use it. This behavior is captured through keywords, and what is captured is search psychology.
The basis of Google’s algorithm reflects this human dimension of search. Google determines a page’s ranking in the results mostly by combining three factors: the number of backlinks and their relevance plus the site content’s relevance.
To understand what you’re up against in making your mark on the Web, compare the number of searches per month with the number of competing pages for a keyword. Design your pages around the keywords that reflect how people search for your topic. From these keywords select the ones giving you the best odds of standing out in the crowd. Focus your optimization effort only on the pages on your site that convert a visit into the action you’re hoping for.
Once that’s done, update your content often and continue to build it around keywords. Content needs to be fresh to be noticed. Along with your site, your online presence and its freshness comes from channels like blogs, press releases, white papers, and editorial pieces. Distribute content as widely as possible through directories, search engines, and RSS feeds.
These techniques will generate more traffic that may build slowly or fast. This is real SEO. It works but it’s work – and if you do the work, you’ll reap the rewards.
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