The goal of SEO is to have your website rank higher than competitors in search results. The
higher it's ranked, the more site visits, and the more sales. We as end users see a pretty website with pictures and content, search engines see a series of algorithms that determine the relevance of terms searched to web content.The SEO fundamentals are Keywords, Search Friendly, Link Building.
- Keywords (KW). KWs, such as 'marketing services company', 'communications marketing company' are words a company wants to be associated with. They're used in title tags (most important), headings, paragraph titles, body copy, anchor text in links, URL, image alt text, meta description tag. Create KWs by getting in the mind of your customer. What KWs might they use for you? Do your research to come up with a solid list and then create a glossary.
The title tag (tt) is the most important KW location. It can be compared to that of chapters in a book, each one unique and relevant. Tt's are usually around 65 characters and shouldn't just be KWs broken by commas or the company name! Use a compelling sentence and be sure each page is unique.
- Search friendly. Your site should be easy to find, crawlable, give incentive to revisit, and have good architecture. A crawlable site will have quality inbound links, text links in the navigation and between pages with relevant content, and html and xml site maps. Avoid complex urls & session IDs, multiple url's to duplicate content, temporary redirects, site navigation w/ Ajax, Flash, Java.
- Links. Important signals that drive traffic and infer meaning. Always use KWs in link text, don't ever just say 'click here'. Use links in social media, with marketing partners, and cross link internally.
My reading material was How to Implement SEO to Improve Traffic. I found this to be very clear and informative. A good read for anyone in need of the basics. I actually prefered this over this video, which I had a hard time following at times.
If you're interested in this class, then view the video below.
Next class: Social Media & Building Community
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