Understanding a few simple SEO techniques will help you write and create optimised copy for your web site. If you have an expert doing the digital marketing work for you, it is good to know what not to do in order to prevent over-riding their work.
I’ve pulled out some of the easier techniques for you as follows:
1) DEFINE AND TARGET. Have a rethink and establish your keywords. This sounds obvious, but look again at what you are offering and what your customers and clients are searching for. Make a clear decision on which keywords are relevant. As a beginner, you’ll find it helps to focus on 3 or 4 keywords at a time rather than aiming for 100’s of variations all at once. But, if you are feeling brave, and want to do a professional job use the free Google keyword planner tool which will really give you insight on keyword variations. Also, think keyword “phrases” rather than singular words, they are far more specific and meaningful to the searcher, easier to optimise and less completive – you’ll get a much better result all round.
2) META UPDATES. So you’ve decided on your keywords, if you have a CMS (content management system) this is a no brainer. Ensure every single page on your web site has unique and relevant META Title and META Description. Each should correspond to the page content and include your keyword phrase. Google Webmasters is a free service offered by Google that helps you monitor and maintain your web site’s presence in Google Search results. Sign up and this will report if you have duplicate META data and provide links to the pages that need work.
3) GOING LOCAL. Google knows where you are! A lot of people search locally for businesses and services – typically search results are biased towards your location. If not already, get in on the act and put your web site on Google Business. Its free and quick to set up. The more relevant content the better: add some photos, logo and information about your company. And of course, make sure your address and city is mentioned on the website – that goes without saying, right?
4) REFRESH. New and regularly updated content optimises your web site. Not only is it favoured by search engines because it’s seen as being up to date and relevant, but builds visitor loyalty too. So keep posting and updating on a daily basis – rewriting content can also give you that chance to increase keyword density!
5) EMPHASIZE. Use your CMS editor to create good content structure. Try emboldening keywords and use keyword rich headings, which not only improves readability but also the chances of search engines considering the URL as “relevant”.
So there you have it, a few ideas which are simple and quick to do and very effective.
Next time I’ll be looking at internal linking and other easy techniques you can do with your CMS. Do contact me if you’d like some free, impartial advice or information on our SEO monthly plan.