Top #3 SEO Tips for Higher Rankings
If there were three search engine optimization tips that I would suggest you do to your website to increase targeted traffic, increase your sales and to rank better in the SERP’s (search engine result pages), these are it:
1: PERFORM KEYWORD RESEARCH: You’ve got to find out what your potential customers are typing into the search engines! What words or phrases are they using to find the service or products you offer?
One free source is a Google Adwords tool to see the keywords advertisers are going after, the search volume and what the going rate is per click. This tool can be some help in determining keyword popularity. You can find it here: Google AdWords Traffic Estimator
If you’re serious about doing your best to really target the appropriate keywords for your website, then this is a great research tool I recommend. Take the free Wordtracker Keyword Suggestion Tool for a test drive. It’s excellent.
**Note: The full fledged version is available as a one-week, one-month or one year subscription service, so Wordtracker certainly is within everyone’s budget.
2. PROVIDE EXCELLENT QUALITY CONTENT: You’ve got to have quality, informative and compelling written content for two important reasons: for your visitors; and for the search engines who look to see if you’ve got keyword rich copy so they can rank you in their results. I cannot overemphasize that “content is king”. For more information on the ins and outs of writing good copy, read my article: Write Compelling Content
3. PURSUE PROPER LINK BUILDING: The search engine spiders crawl around the internet, looking to see who is linking to your website. These spiders DO care what type of sites are pointing to yours. So, for instance, if you’ve got 100 in-pointing links from websites that have nothing to do with the theme of your site, then those links are worthless to your search engine rankings. And in some instances, they can count against you.
Click here to read my article and learn more about Link Building: Is It Really That Important To Achieve High Rankings?
How To Write Compelling Search Engine Optimized Content
Search engine optimization … most people think that term only relates to meta tags and keywords. Yes, it does, but SEO also includes making sure that all written content fulfills two very important purposes: that it is search-engine-friendly copy; and that it delivers well written quality information for the website visitor.
What Is Search-Engine-Friendly Copy?
Simply speaking, “friendly” copy to the search engine spiders is content that is keyword rich. The keywords are sprinkled through-out the page, letting the spiders know what the page is about but not so awkwardly included in the copy that your high school English teacher would shudder!
The copy should have a smooth, natural flow to it and should be easy for your visitor to read. Your visitor isn’t stumbling through it because you’ve tried to stuff in the keywords here and there, attempting to try and make the search engine spiders happy. Your marketing message comes across clearly to your visitor.
Keep Your Visitor Foremost in Your Mind
Yes, you do have to focus on pleasing the search engines in order to get the high rankings needed to make your site “findable” to those searching for your products or services. However, always consider what your visitor’s experience will be when they land on your website. Put this requirement first and foremost in your mind.
You do want your content to ultimately compel them to do something, don’t you? You want them to subscribe to your newsletter, or make a purchase, or submit a form to get more information on the services you offer, etc.
There is a knack to writing, of course. Many website owners contract a professional to do their copywriting. Others of us choose to write our content pages. And almost everyone I know, including myself, needs a little help in understanding how to pull it all together.
Guide Your Customer Towards Your Product or Service … Does Your Copy Effectively Presell?
Here’s a very important point I want to bring to your attention — preselling your customer is a vital component of your content, of the message you’re wishing to convey. It is evident in so many websites … the content has the wrong approach. It does NOT presell their customer.
Can you write compelling copy that slowly but surely leads your customer along … enticing them up to your most-wanted-response? For example, your visitor makes a purchase, or a request to know more about your services. Jumping from point A-to-Z is probably one of the biggest errors made from the visitor’s standpoint when we non-professional copywriters tackle our website content.
One of the best books written on writing for website businesses AND for teaching just what preselling means, how to do it and WHY this method of communication is so powerful is now FREE.
Make Your Content PREsell! (MYCPS!)
I highly suggest you download this free eBook. Whether you have had a website for awhile, but realize your written words just aren’t grabbing your visitors as you’d hoped … they do land on your site, but don’t stay too long and/or you aren’t getting as many prospects as you’d hope for… or if you have happened upon this article and are seriously thinking about starting an internet marketing website, then check out this freebie. (Note: I will admit this book may be considered a bit “old”, nevertheless it provides a lot of good solid information that will be of benefit.)
Make Your Content PREsell!” is over 150 pages of straightforward, clearly written, valuable information. Click here to go to download site for MYCPS!
Link Building – Is It Really That Important For Achieving High Rankings?
Fact vs. Fiction: A Look at Link Building
If there was ever a more misunderstood topic dealing with search engine optimization practices, then link building just might be it. There is so much misinformation floating all over the internet about how to go about a link building campaign. It really can get mind-boggling.
Why? Because the independent professional or small business owner who’s earnestly trying to get their website high rankings, has to plow through a lot of conflicting information about LINKS! In the big picture of achieving high SERP’s, just WHAT do links really have to do with your website’s success?
The Search Engines Love Quality Links
One of the keys to not only achieving high rankings, but building long-term traffic is to obtain as many relevant links pointing to your website as possible. A very accepted and good way to accomplish this is to participate in a link exchange. And here is a very important fact to always keep in mind: you don’t want to partner up with every Tom, Dick & Harry site out there!
Here’s the KEY: Always check to make sure the websites have quality information that is related to your site’s theme. No ifs, ands, or buts. For example, if you’ve got an accounting site, then seek out those websites that are in some way focused around an accounting theme. I’ll say it again! Links pointing to your website from other sites that have little or nothing to do with the overall niche of your site are almost WORTHLESS for ranking purposes.
Quality Is 100% More Important Than Quantity!
Believe it or not, the search engines really do know if you’ve got a few hundred in-pointing links from non-related junk sites, or if you’ve got links pointing to your site from websites with themes similar to yours that also have good, relevant content to boot.
A big challenge many web owners face when trying for link exchanges is finding qualified leads. This can be a really tedious task if you don’t know where to look and/or how to go about it.
Buying an SEO “Link Building Package” is Bad Strategy! Buying so-called search engine optimization software or programs that promise to supply you with hundreds of links to “rocket your website to the top of the search engine results” is wrong, wrong, wrong! Why? Simply stated, you will not get quality inpointing links from quality sites that have a similar theme to yours. (Didn’t I say that before?? 
)
Every website has different needs to have a successful link building campaign. Thusly, auto-submission SEO software programs are flawed in concept from the get-go. Yup!
So … How Do You Get Quality Inbound Links?
I’ll tell you … it’s a time consuming, never ending process. Researching, emailing prospective link partners, more researching, etc., etc. must take place. Like everything else pertaining to your website, if it’s quality you’re after, then yes, there is some (a lot of) elbow grease involved!
I can recommend a great affordable tutorial offered by the highly respected team at SEOmoz.org. This info-rich beginner’s level guide will help make you more “link savvy” and get you up to speed. “The Professional’s Guide to Link Building” is only $39.00 (I don’t make a dime from this recommendation). It’s worth every penny. You’ll find 50-pages of valuable no-nonsense link building strategy information. Go to: The Professional’s Guide to Link Building by SEOmoz.org
Words of Wisdom from a Link Building Guru
Another helpful piece of FREE information I can pass along to you is this: head on over to Eric Ward’s Website and read his “LinkMoses” articles on link building strategy. Oh … I should mention he is considered the #1 “White Hat” link building authority/expert. He does have an SEO link building subscription newsletter you can sign up for. (I have no affiliation with him. I’m just passing along quality information to you!)