7 Simple SEO Tips
Unless you are living under a rock, or in the last decade, you know that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital to having a successful Web site. There are a bazillion different companies to choose from that can help you optimize your site, and using a professional is highly recommended. However, there are a number of basic things that you can do yourself to help out your Web site in the SEO department that your SEO expert may or may not share with you. This list is by no means complete, but it is something to think about.
- 1. Try to get link exchanges with other sites. This is pretty basic, but super important. Contact sites that are in the same line of business, or even ones that you have done business with, and offer to put a link up for them on your site if they do the same for you. This won't necessarily move you up in the rankings, but it will funnel traffic to your site.
- Use photos and label them. A page that has a relevant photo will show up higher in the rankings than a page without a photo, as long as the photo is labeled with an appropriate tag. It is industry standard to give a description of the photo as an alternate text tag, which are indexed by Google.
- Use videos. Posting up short videos that are relevant to search terms can have a big impact on your search engine ranking. Put them on your site, and post them up on YouTube.com with links to your site.
- Get Social Bookmarking on your side. There are tons of social bookmarking services like StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, and Reddit and Google likes to see sites that are bookmarked by visitors. Make it easier for your readers by installing an "Add This" button on each page of your site.
- Optimize each page to a specific search term. Putting a different search term in each title tag shows Google that you have a variety of pages full of distinct content. You can focus on specific keywords and tailor the content accordingly.
- Communicate with Google. If you send Google an XML sitemap each time you update they will be able to correct errors in your sites coding, making indexing more accurate. They will also crawl your site more, updating your page rank accordingly.
- Create more content. Few companies realize the importance of quality and quantity of content on each page. Aim to get a few hundred words on each page, properly organized, and aimed directly at your target audience. If you are just starting out you will want to read up on how to properly use SEO to attract traffic to your Web site.
Putting these suggestions into practice can make the world of difference for your site.
