Getting Started in SEO: The 3 Basics of Search Engine Optimization
Many would think that search engine optimization (SEO) is very difficult to learn and it’s a job that should be left to the professionals. On the contrary, SEO is easy to learn but it’s an extremely tedious task, that’s why a lot of online businesses today hire SEO specialists or link builders to do the tiring SEO tasks while business owners focuses more on converting sales.
In other cases, some online business owners who are just starting out, does not have the budget to hire their own SEO specialist or link builder so they end up doing it themselves.
If you want to start out in SEOing your website, you must first learn the three basics of search engine optimization.
1. Keywords Research – Because you just can’t use any words written in the dictionary, keyword research is the SEO way of picking out the right keywords according to your niche. There are lots of free online keywords suggestion tools online that you can use, like the Google Adwords Keyword Tool and Word Tracker to help you search for words and phrases related to your niche.
For example. You own a jewelry shop in Manhattan, New York and want to set up a website for it. You can target for specific keywords like new york jewelers, jewelry store new york, jewelers in manhattan ny, luxury watches manhattan, or diamond engagement rings nyc. Instead of targeting these keywords; online jewelry, diamond necklaces, white gold rings, free delivery, selling, or gold.
The main reason why Search Engine Optimizers go for specific keywords is to have quality traffic for their website. The higher the quality of visits, the higher the chance of sales conversion!
2. Meta Tags – Notice how websites in search results have titles and descriptions? Well, that’s the use of Meta Tags. Not only does it provide a custom webpage title and description for your website in search results, it also helps you target different types of keywords per page of your blog or website.
For example. Your online shoe shop has two categories; flats and heels. On your “Flats” page, you can target keywords like flat shoes, flat sandals, or flat leather boots; and on the “Heels” page you can target keywords like high heels, kitten heels or cone heels. That way, you can target more audience using related keywords applied on specific pages of your website without keyword stuffing.
3. Content Optimization – The best way to optimize your website’s content is to write unique and accurate information with just the right number of keywords mixed in it. Too many keywords and your website might get flagged as spammy, or worse, get deindexed by search engines.
Getting started in SEO is easy, just remember to follow search engine guidelines and use ethical search engine optimization techniques to boost your web traffic and keywords ranking.
