Search engine optimization (SEO) is a topic that is very important when it comes to marketing one’s business on the web. With Search Engine Optimization strategies, the purpose is to rank very high in search engines. This will result in more visitors, since more people will see the link to your website than they would a link that is displayed on later pages. Clearly, the more leads, the greater the chance that you’ll land a conversion; and that is something every business owner wants, because it means more money.
SEO Theory vs. SEO Practice
In theory, this is all great, but it is the practice – the actual procedure – that causes people to scratch their head. How is it done? Well, it is a mystery to many. But because it is such a coveted skill, there are many snake oil salesmen out there. These people sell books on how SEO works and promise to get you atop all your competitors in search engines. But it doesn’t make sense for anyone to disclose this information to the world. If everyone knew exactly what it took to get to the top of Google’s search engine display rankings, then all the advantages would offset one another, rendering the information and the methodology useless.
What is the secret? The secret is that there is no secret. SEO is like the wild west. Everything goes. Of course, there are some actions – some behavior – that can get one penalized. Using bots to increase the number of impressions to a site is one dishonest way to get to the top. We’d recommend that you never even consider the possibility. But as a sovereign human being, you are free to do as you please. Don’t say our web design team didn’t warn you, though. You can neglect our advice at your own peril. The rewards may be great if you can get away with it. But chances are, much like the many other businesses that tried to get a leg up on the competition through insidious means, Google will penalize you as well.
What to Focus On
Metadata
Metadata is just a fancy word for data that describes other data. The prefix “meta
denotes something of a higher or second-order kind. When we talk about, say, metalanguage, we are talking about the language about the language.
Metadata is generally captured by most website publishing tools. It is a tool used for search engines to identify your page and place it on their results pages when people type in search terms that relate to your metadata. Metadata is among the most underestimated and undervalued parts of SEO, and anyone who forgets to work on metadata is making a grave mistake – a mistake that can cost a business thousands of dollars in the long run. With such little effort and time, it only makes sense to put in the effort to add fantastic metadata. It’s easy money and surely worth the time it takes to get it done.
Meta Description
A meta description tag just adds a bit more information about the page and its content. It certainly isn’t necessary, but, being that it doesn’t take much time to include meta descriptions, doing so is certainly worth the time investment. Every single SEO specialists makes sure to add relevant, unique, concise meta descriptions. The general guideline that they follow is:
- to keep the content under 155 characters
- to contain relevant and significant keywords
- to not repeate the title in the meta description
- to contain a call-to-action to get web surfers to stumble across your page
SEO & Social Media
As soon as your website is live and your pages are on display for everyone to see, it is time to jump into the social media world and start building a power-base. A power-base is the number of connections one has accumulated. The more, the better. The companies and organizations with Twitter and Facebook pages that have the most followers tend to sit atop search engine rankings. It is uncertain whether or not there is a direct correlation between followers and search engine rankings; many aren’t sure whether the former affects the latter. However, one can land a bunch of conversions through social media. Many friends, family members, and mutual friends would be happy to help your business out if you reach out to them. And nowadays, since the advent of the web, you can rely on means other than just traditional cold-calling. It is a great time to start a business. Thanks to the internet, ideas can be spread much more rapidly and products can be sold regardless of where one lives. With SEO tactics, one can go from a small business to a corporate powerhouse in the market. Those who invest in SEO will be rewarded – if they haven’t been rewarded already.