Even though website promotion can seem way too complex, especially when people start throwing around terms like “search engine”, “search engine optimization” and “search terms”, SEO (search engine optimization) has a core set of concepts and “rules” that make the process of promoting your business website a clear and simple set of steps.
What is SEO and Why Should You Care?
Let’s start with the “why you should care about SEO” part first: When you set up your website structure and your web pages so that your visitors AND the search engines (like Google, Yahoo! and Bing) find them to be friendly — and it is easy to find the information they are looking for — your website and its pages will rank higher and therefore show up in search results when someone is looking for a website, products and services like yours. You optimize for search engines so that:
Your business will be more visible and find-able!
Warning! — There is a lot of bad information out there about SEO and at least 5 guys or companies who want your money(and lot of it!) to tell you their secrets. Don’t fall for the “I’ve got a secret” scam. The basics of SEO pretty much stay the same, even while so-called gurus will sell you the latest and greatest. Please don’t pay hundreds or thousands for someone to teach you what’s free and easy to learn.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization of your small business website is the simple process of structuring your website and web pages (also blog posts, if you blog) so that search engines find and index your pages and then “rank” your pages (based on quality of your pages) high enough to list them in the search results for your potential customers: in short, making your website and its pages more visible and find-able by searchers.
Basic SEO Knowledge & Five Things To Do
According to Dan Thies (Expert. Find his free expert knowledge at www.seofaststart.com.) —-
You need to do five things right:
- Develop a keyword strategy and target the right searchers so that your ideal customers/clients find you.
- Structure (or re-build) your website so that both users/visitors and search engines have a good experience and rate you highly.
- Create good content and do basic “on page” optimization so that your keywords do some heavy lifting with the search engines.
- Promote your site to get links from the rest of the web so that you build a network of incoming links (increases your page rank).
- Avoid technical “gotchas” so that you maintain your business website’s visibility and find-ability.
(And remember, trying to fool the search engines with fancy tricks is as foolish as trying to fool Mother Nature with spells and superstitious rituals: might seem to work for a bit of time and the KABOOM! Blows up in your face like a tornado.)
Your First SEO Action Step
If you want to improve your website’s visibility and find-ability, the very first step is to learn how search engines work. When you know how search engines work and how searchers search you’ll be able to implement the five SEO things to do with more ease AND avoid bad SEO advice.
Get Dan Thies’ SEO Fast Start ebook (free) and read Chapter 2: How Search Engines Work.
Don’t miss the next article in this series (Promote Your Website and Win New Customers) at Social Biz Local Biz: The Kick Start (kick arse) Keyword Strategy for Your Business.
Sign up for blog updates here: Social Biz Updates.
Stay focused on the basics and read more about search engine optimization here:
21 Essential SEO Tips and Techniques – Search Engine Land
55 Quick SEO Tips Even Your Mother Would Love – Search Engine Journal
10 Basic SEO Tips to Get You Started – Business Insider
Google Support: Search Engine Optimization and Google’s Search Engine Optimization Guide
