If your business goals include having a popular, well-ranked website, then SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a strategy you will need to learn and employ. The field of SEO is rapidly changing and expanding, so if you are managing your own website, it pays to stay up-to-date. Here are a few of our latest tips and tricks that go beyond the basic on-page SEO tactics.
Backlinks – Gaining backlinks, or links back to your website content, is a prize worth having. Many major search engines use the number of times your page has been backlinked in their ranking calculation. Since this is a factor that’s hard to control, it may be in your website’s best interests to agree to a link exchange with a complementary website.
Content – If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, then you know that regularly providing fresh, relevant content on your website is a key ranking factor. Going further, how do you get that content in front of the right audience? Look for online forums or industry groups where you can post and share your new content. Keep at it regularly. Ensure that every article includes at least 1 link back to your website, preferably to a specific page that is relevant to your article.
Some more generic article directories are EzineArticles.com and Buzzle.com. For generating interest in a press release, try 1888pressrelease.com or OpenPR.com.
Internal links – If you haven’t started blogging on your website yet, read my blog about blogging. See what I did there? Providing a link to another page within your website is another SEO trick that search engines love. Write blogs and provide 1-3 internal links in each one.
Meta-Descriptions – What is a meta-description? It’s the 1-2 sentences of text that serve as a preview of your article when it’s returned in search results. Search results usually include, in this order:
- a title
- a website URL
- a meta-description
When uploading a new article or blog, the meta-description field is often overlooked. Those of us who regularly publish online can fall into the trap of thinking that the first sentence of the article is good enough. I’ve done it many times, but now I know why it’s critical to good SEO. The meta-description is the bait on the hook we use to (hopefully) entice the searcher to click through to our article and our website.
Do search engines, like Google, rank sites by the meta-description? The answer is no, not usually. So how does it impact SEO? The goal of the meta-description is to increase click-throughs by offering better information to searchers. The higher the number of click-throughs, the more search engines start to take notice and rank your article higher.
Do you have any SEO tips and tricks that have worked for you? We welcome your comments in the section below! If you have questions about how SEO can help your business website rank higher, call Mike Morris in Raleigh at 919-424-8314 .
