11 Jan
Remember the “good old days” of the Internet, when a handful of precise keywords and a little bit of marketing finesse could get you a snug, secure place at the top of the results pages?
Times have changed, yet many people still mistakenly believe this is how modern SEO is handled. Time and time again they fall for software and offers that try to “guarantee” a top spot on the search engines.
The secret to getting your site at the top of the list is that, unfortunately, there is no secret.
There are, however, some proven strategies you can use to help nudge the odds in your favor and improve your placement in Google. Let’s take a closer look and how you can make sure your site is ranking as high as possible for the keywords you want to target:
Get The Basics Right
The first step in any impactful search engine ranking plan is to get the basics right. With the right foundation, you’ll already be creating fertile ground for mentions, backlinks, likes, shares and other signals that Google uses to rank pages.
That means that as these “triggers” come in and multiply, Google and other search engines are taking notice and adjusting the rankings accordingly. So what exactly are the basics? I see your eyes starting to glaze over in boredom — but look over this part carefully. You don’t want to miss anything that could cost you precious ranking “juice” down the line.
Search Engines Determine Your Ranking by a Mixture of Keywords and Links
The exact proportion of links and keywords, as well as the formula behind the ranking are like the search engine’s “secret sauce”, and they’re not about to share that with the masses. That being said, however, search engine optimization specialists have uncovered a lot of solid
principles that can be leveraged in order to make your site rank as well as possible.
They include:
Keywords you want to rank for in the website title – Google has collected a lot of information about how we search the web. To the surprise of absolutely no one, they’ve determined that we’re most likely to click on pages that contain the keyword(s) we’ve searched for.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you stuff as many keywords as possible into the title. Google may be a search machine, but it’s not stupid, and it’s no longer easily manipulated the way it has been in the past. Pick one or two of your most desired keywords for a given page, and put them in the title. That’s really all there is to it.
Keywords in headings – Another good practice to incorporate in your content is using your preferred keywords in your heading 1 and heading 2 tags on your website. To Google and other search engines, these are like the headlines on a newspaper — the larger they are, the more important and therefore the greater the chances that the page is actually about the given keyword or phrase.
Here again, this doesn’t mean shoving your keywords into every headline or your content as much as possible. Quality over quantity — which leads us to the next part of the SEO equation:
Backlinks matter, but some matter more than others – As you continue to create solid, relevant content revolving around your chosen keywords, other websites will start to pick up on that content. Here’s where the quality over content part really matters.
Let’s say you write a piece using your best possible keyphrase. It’s chock-full of good, solid information — what people in the industry call “evergreen content”, because the advice never gets outdated or stale.
Website owners tend to be a lazy lot when it comes to doing a lot of research and investing the time and effort in producing something of outstanding quality. They’d much rather just link to other authorities on the subject. This is great news for you, since you want to be precisely the type of authority that they link to!
Now, if one of your particular pieces of content is about how to hire a graphic designer and what to look for, links from the local donut shop down the street won’t matter one pixel.
That’s because a donut shot isn’t relevant to hiring a graphic designer. Backlinks from industry-leading blogs, news sites and resources that deal with graphic design, however, are. And those are precisely the kinds of links you want.
Content Still Rules, But…
You’ve probably heard the old adage that on the internet, “content is king”. While this does hold some truth, it’s also a fact of life that the internet is full of sub-standard stuff. Cheap content is churned out with production-line quality, and itshows.
This kind of content doesn’t do anyone any favors, and gums up the search engine gears. It might rank decently in the beginning, but as more people determine that it’s seriously lacking in relevance or quality, Google and other search engines pick up on these signals and devalue it in the rankings accordingly.
If that sounds like a huge waste of time for everyone involved, that’s because it is! But because these types of articles can be created relatively quickly, it’s a matter of flooding the web with cheap sites in an attempt to feign “authority”.
Although it sounds like the fast, easy and cheap way to rank your site, at the end of the day, it’s the optimization equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot. Content rules, but quality content holds the crown.
“Although it sounds like the fast, easy and cheap way to rank your site, at the end of the day, it’s the optimization equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot. Content rules, but quality content holds the crown.”
– Paula Speights (Dizzle Graphics Creative Agency)
Optimizing Beyond Google
Although we’ve talked a lot about Google, they are by no means the only search game in town. Yes, they may rule supreme in actual search, but there are many, many more signals that Google picks up on from other authoritative platforms on the web. For example:
Facebook – for likes, shares, follows and other social signals
Twitter – for retweets, follows and “talking about this” signals
Yelp – for local businesses and local reviews
LinkedIn – for insights and connections between executives and decision-makers
Mega-Brands – Well-known brands rule the roost when it comes to rankings, and they have the financial backing to stay there. If you’re looking to compete, you’ll have to consider the distinctive benefits of not being a mega-brand.
There’s also an inherent trust for people shopping at sites they know and recognize. They’re much more likely to buy things like electronics through sites like Amazon or Best Buy than a site they’ve never heard of, no matter how high that site ranks.
News and Industry Influencers – These are the well-known news sites that people turn to for industry news and to follow the advice of key social influencers — the Wireds, the Forbes, and so on.
Although you may not be able to beat these long-standing social and industry behemoths, you can create a presence on many of them, and doing so can help you attract more attention from the audience you’re looking to target. This segues right into our next point, which is…
Go Where the Users Are
Countless Google searches have lead us to check relevant social, review and comparison sites before we buy. It’s just human nature. You want to get the best possible deal on a product, or see what others have to say about a particular service so you don’t get ripped off.
That means rather than trying to compete with the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Yelp, you work to broaden your profiles on those sites. Connect with your audience where they’re searching and where they’re holding discussions. Don’t just blatantly advertise your business or try to insert yourself into a conversation, though, people can sense they’re being sold to from a mile away.
Instead, participate as a professional — answer questions, give insights, take the time to nurture relationships and conversations. It will pay you back over time, not just with search rankings and other social clout, but also intangible things like trust and credibility — and those are things that simply can’t be faked.
Instant Results Will Cost You
The types of search engine optimizations we’ve covered so far fall under “organic ranking” — it’s natural, but it takes time and patience to develop. If you need to be seen in the search engines quickly, then it’s going to cost you.
Google makes a massive chunk of its profits through its paid advertising platform. And while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with paying to be seen on the search engines, many people are using ad blockers, which means your ads will never see the light of day, even if the person searching is your ideal customer.
That’s why it’s far better to start an organic SEO strategy and build up a presence over time while optionally leveraging paid ads to handle other marketing efforts, like lead generation and list building.
It’s Okay to Ask for Help!
If all of this profile-building, relationship-nurturing, keyword-inserting. Search-strategy stuff has your mind reeling, all hope is not lost! It’s perfectly find (and highly recommended) to ask for help! At Dizzle Graphics, we’re much more than just graphic design. We’ve helped organizations and companies of all sizes improve their rankings and cement their business as a authoritative leader in their respective industries.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you, call us at (813) 603-8896 or learn more.
To your search engine optimization success!
