Search Engine Optimization, more commonly called SEO, is how a search engine ranks your webpage compared to others that have similar content and search terms. In this process you’re gaining organic growth through search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. They are ranking search results based on what their crawl bots consider to be the most relevant content.

This involves no payment and highlights that content is king. This will be a reoccurring theme in this article.

To Simplify it, search engines are like librarians. They have a gazillion “books” across the internet and people ask them about where to find information on wolverine’s children all too frequently. So they know exactly where to information on Raze Darkholme, son of Wolverine and Mystique, and his siblings.

Google has published a Search Engine Optimization Guide that covers the basic tips and tricks on how to increase rankings and get listed. 

Each search engine has it’s own algorithms and systems for processing data and spitting out results to the search inquirer. The key to higher ranking is knowing what they are looking for. This is search engine optimization. SEO, is making sure you have the right content in your articles that the engines are looking for.

HOW TO USE SEO

The algorithm that search engines use is very complicated, but we can carve out a few details to use to our advantage.

OPTIMIZE YOUR CONTENT WITH THESE TIPS

• Quality – Said it at the beginning of the article, content is king! Make sure to deliver quality content.
• Research – Make sure you understand the keywords people are using to find your company. Taking the time to research keywords and terms specific to your brand’s industry and a relevant location is one of the best ways to generate leads. Build a keyword database off your research and create blog and social content to specifically target those keywords. Here’s a link to another article about tools to help you do this: 5 Best Keyword Tools For Startups.
• Words – You must be actually using those keywords! Don’t just post a picture. If you do use pictures, be sure to add the appropriate tags to the pic.
• Fresh – A site with fresh, engaging content with a growing number of links will increase your rankings. Don’t just post a few articles or pages and let it sent for the next 5 years.
• Additional Content – Include images, links, and videos in your content.
• Answers – People are using search engines because they have unanswered questions. Answer the questions your clients are asking.

STRUCTURE

• Crawl – Engine’s bots are crawling your site and sometimes, they’re kind of lazy. Make it easy for them to do their job.
• Duplicate – Almost everything on the internet is derivative of something else. Make sure it’s not an exact copy.
• Mobile – Is your content mobile-friendly and responsive? First off it makes it user-friendly for the people browsing your site, but that’s not the only benefit. Mobile friendly is more important than ever Google penalizes you if you don’t optimize.
• Speed- It is important your website loads quickly. Check out Hubspot’s website grader to test your site. Seriously! It’s kind of fun.
• URLs – Not just random ones, useful ones.

DOWN TO THE BONES, HTML

• Titles – Engines pay more attention to titles and give them more weight. Use title tags and H1 tags to show search engines relevant topics.
• Description – Use meta descriptions and description tags to describe what the content has to offer. Especially for your images and videos.
• Structure – Your content should have a common structure/theme to enhance listings.
• Stuffing – Continuously use the keyword(s) throughout your content. But don’t be spammy with it — that’s actually referred to as keyword stuffing.
• Links – Include internal and external links and make sure they’re quality!

NEXT STEPS WITH SEO

You must be thinking, “thanks for the explanation, but now what?” Here are a few actionable steps to get started with SEO:

• Ask your clients or customers what they’re looking for! It’s a great way to keep the conversation going and find out what information you need on your site. Who knows, you might actually get a sale out of it too.
• Blog consistently, and post regularly to social media. Learn how to turn those followers into customers in this article.
• Cross promote – once you feel like you’re getting some traction, reach out to influencers and trendsetters in your market and see if there’s an opportunity to cross promote.
• Analyze, and refine your strategy. It’s the scientific method from grade school!

Yay! Now you have a better understanding of what SEO is and how to use it to your advantage. I can already tell you’re becoming better at marketing your own business. I’m a small business owner and had to learn all these concepts the hard way.

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Congrats, you’re that much closer to world domination!