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SEO (aka Search Engine Optimization) is a complicated topic with many moving parts, so making sense of it all becomes easier when looking at it from a higher-level perspective.
When you break it all down, there are 3 basic types of SEO as a digital strategy:
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO refers to the enhancement techniques you apply directly to the
contents of your company's website. Each page on your website should be
optimized for a specific keyword or two. The intent is to help Google, Bing and
Yahoo understand the topic and intent of that page, and then present it to
people who are searching for that specific type of information.
Keyword research. Keywords are the
exact terms consumers are using when they search for your company's products
and services. Some keywords indicate curiosity or a desire to learn
something - "what is SEO", or "how to bake a 5-layer cake".
Still other keywords reveal actual buyer intent - "pharmacy near me" or "running shoes on sale". Align your most important keywords with the intent of each particular webpage on your site.
Keyword optimization. Where your keywords are located on a webpage, the keyword density on the page (1 - 2% is recommended), and your use of meta tags on those keywords fall into this category.
Content creation. You want your content to be high-quality and focused on your target keywords. Content over 3,000 words in length ranks best.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page tactics include:
Building high-quality backlinks. A link to your website from another site, in Google's eyes, is like a vote of confidence. It's a strong ranking signal that suggests your website (i.e., your company) is legitimate and worthy of that linking relationship.
Not all links are desirable, though. You want links from
reputable authoritative sites pointing to your website. Links from spammy
and untrustworthy sites can hurt your online rankings, so be choosy as to who
you ask for a link.
There are also many high-quality business directories and review sites - Yahoo,
Yelp, Yellow Pages, Super Pages and Merchant Circle, to name a few -
where you can add valuable backlinks to your webpage. You'll also give your overall online visibility a boost.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO tactics include:
Making your website crawlable.
Google uses software programs called crawlers to
explore your website, determine what it's about, and index the results for
searchers. You want to make sure that your site has no technical
issues preventing crawlers from thoroughly doing their jobs.
Making your website secure. Google rewards websites that have an SSL certificate installed on their server. Using that HTTPS: protocol encrypts any data (login ids, passwords, personal data, etc.) that pass between the server and your website, making for a safer visitor experience.
Bottom line: SEO is a broad
subject and represents a long-term, ongoing effort to improve your company's
online visibility. Breaking it down into these three components - on-age,
off-page and technical - helps make sense of it all and allows you to focus better in
developing a cohesive and effective SEO plan.
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