If you’ve ever felt fed up and utterly confused over the search engine optimization (SEO) because of the “blah blah blah” that goes on or the unethical practices of some agencies then you are most certainly not alone. It’s not an easy field to break into when you’re trying to examine the entire picture with a microscope. It’s really necessary to turn off the noise, close your eyes, focus and zero in before you can really begin to understand.
I know how you feel because there was a time when I sat down to learn PHP. A million people barked about how simple it was. “IT’s a breeze, just use these books” they said. I poured over content for days on end and wound up right back where I started – confused. I was trying to take in everything all at once, instead of taking it one step at a time.
I want to help you get some of your control back with this article series, in two parts. A “back to basics” refresher can be a huge help sometimes, and these points can never be reiterated too often. You see, major search engines are a business just like anything else. It’s their goal to provide the most relevant searches to a customer based on the search entries and keywords they input. Like me, I’m sure you get equally upset if the results that come back in a search are completely irrelevant to what you searched for. It’s really no shock then that the methods the search engines use are designed to deliver satisfaction based on appropriate optimization. They work hard to eliminate and remove sites that utilize bogus and unethical SEO to cheat the system.
Keep in mind that the prep steps that need be handled up front are the key elements to success later on. Errors in these areas create nothing but frustration later as the effectiveness of your SEO bottoms out without proper optimization.
Keyword Research
You can do little else in SEO without first establishing the keywords you want to target. It is advisable to focus on one to five keywords or phrases for your entire site with individual pages utilizing only one to three. All your keywords should orbit around a central theme. It’s inadvisable to select the most competitive keywords in your niche because you will not be able to compete with the major players in that area. Instead, use tools like Google’s Keyword Research Tool that allow you to see the global search volume. If a keyword stands out, do a search for it and look at the number of returns. If there are a low number of results but a fair to high number of global searches then you know the competition is going to be low.
Aim for keywords that have little or minimal competition so you can quickly rank for those searches.
Competitive Intelligence
There’s no doubt that SEO is extremely competitive. You’re fighting for keyword use with every other business in that market to try and get to the first page or the #1 spot on Google. It’s like having two million of the same business in a small town trying to garner all the customer attention. Ever been to Detroit? In a 2 mile stretch along Warren Rd in Detroit I once counted 27 hair salons. It’s kind of like that. In situations like this, it really is important to know what your competition so you can identify the ways to best outperform them.
With less competition you have an easier time outperforming those around you in the same market. You really need to understand your competition so you can make an educated decision on the cost and resources necessary to achieve your desired outcome through SEO.
Web Design and Development
If you’ve ever tried to run new wiring through an existing structure, or add coax/Ethernet to an finished building then you know how difficult it can be to make changes to a pre-existing structure. Fixing a poorly designed website is, of course, a lot more difficult than developing one from scratch. Creating a website that is search engine friendly is part of the blueprint development and strategy of SEO.
Template-based designed are often difficult to recraft for SEO purposed. A powerful design from the start will end up saving you a lot more money in the long run because you can avoid costly editing, especially if you have to hire a designer to handle the project for you. You’ll also benefit from your search engine friendly design being easy to navigate – this means it’s user friendly as well. Aim for a happy medium between users and search engines, but always remember to design for people first. If you design only for computers and search technology, your site will be a nightmare for the average user.
Your First Inbound Links
A number of small businesses and upstarts, even established businesses moving to the web for business find themselves in a position where they think it’s necessary to pay for site submission to major search engines. There are far too many scam products and services that cater to this. Steer clear of them. As soon as you develop a few inbound links from other sites, the search engines will find you.
If any service gloats that it can guarantee a #1 spot, ignore it. They’re scamming you. No one can guarantee a top position in search engines through organic tactics. That has to be earned, as well as maintained by being an authority in your niche with relevant content.
You can reach this goal by getting placed in major directories that are recognized and trusted by the search engines. Most markets or niche crowds have web directories that act like a massive telephone book or business directory. These sites often have rank with the major search engine, and getting your site listed can get you some attention from Google and other search engines. You can also speak with customers and suppliers about placing a link to your site on their own using an anchored keyword that related to your business. Most will do so, especially if you return the favor.
Sitemaps
Most major search engines, especially the large ones, allow a webmaster or site owner to supply the search engine with a sitemap through a webmaster console. Google offers this function in their Webmaster Tools. You can also use these services to review crawl errors or technical issues with your site.
A site map is a great tool for getting the search engine to dig deep into your website. Sometimes links aren’t always the most apparent to a spider that is crawling your website. You can use a sitemap to indicate all your links to the search engine spiders to ensure that each page is properly indexed within their database.
More to come on getting prepped for SEO in the next segment. Stay tuned, and of course – Have a great holiday weekend
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Joerg Weishaupt is a 48 year old entrepreneur, software architect, search engine optimization and social media expert. Joerg has been building a lot of profitable Internet businesses since he put his first website online in 1995. He is also one of the founders and partners of Social Media Science LLC, where he launched a content syndication network called SYNND.
Joerg resides in a small, quiet community about 100 miles outside of Munich, Germany. If you ever seek to find him, look for where the cows gather.
Want some great info on SEO techniques? Need answers to common FAQs about SEO? Check out my latest video: "The Definitive SEO Techniques FAQ"
