By John Alexander
Many of our regular readers have written to express
their appreciation for our Free SEO Tip of the Day.
If you are not currently getting the Free SEO Tip
of the Day, then you can sign up for it right here.
Today, I wanted to share just 25 tips in this article
that I hope you will enjoy. If you enjoy learning
SEO and reading these tips, then why not consider
registering for our Free tip of the day?
Now on with 25 tips to help you gain top visibility
in the search rankings:
Tip 1. Enjoy better rankings by writing higher quality
content.
Did you know Google is literally rewarding well-written
content the benefit of "true relevancy."
All I mean to say here, is that just by becoming a
better "writer" and creating higher quality
content, you can benefit from certain elements that
are at work behind the scenes. Strive to write better
content for your visitors and it will work for you
not against you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 2. How well "focused" is your content
for each page you are working on?
If you try to keep very focused on one topic per
page, you will do much better than having multiple
topics on the same page. If your page is specifically
about the "benefits of using nostalgia"
as a topical reference, are you actually using the
keyword phrase for example "using nostalgia"
within your readable HTML text? So many times, new
students of SEO forget about the importance of focus.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 3. Where is the best place to get started?
One of the best places to get started is by researching
your target audience's search behavior. Ultimately,
you want to target the exact phrases that your ideal
buying audience is using when they search. Watch this
short video demo on keyword research using Wordtracker
for some tips.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 4. Once you have got your keyword research done,
you need to get started right away.
Some people are so completely overwhelmed that they
put off actually getting started on their Web site
for far too long.
Walt Disney put it simply like this:
"The way to get started is to quit talking and
begin doing."
Walter Disney
Of course he was not speaking about SEO but the principle
still applies. Why not make a list of strategies that
you like to apply on your Web site, but then take
one single item and work on it immediately, until
it gets done. Sometimes even the simplest of changes
have significant impact and I always feel badly when
I see anyone taking to long to "get started."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 5. Have you heard that "link building"
is important?
Perhaps you've heard that link popularity and link
reputation is important. It is important, but don't
become so obsessed with linking that you build your
entire strategy only "just around link building."
You want to use all of the basic principles to carry
your Web site through and you may want to do some
linking based on the look of the "competitive
landscape" for your keyword phrase.
You also want to build links based on what "makes
sense" for your visitors.
Some search engines like Google give more weight
to elements like link reputation which is an "off-page"
influence while other search engines like Yahoo will
give more weight to "on-page" influences
such as your keyword phrase usage and how it is used
on the page.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 6. Have you read Google's Webmaster guidelines?
It is good to check it from time to time as things
do get updated and are subject to change.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 7. What is important to Yahoo?
What does Yahoo! say it wants in a Web page?
Original and unique content of genuine value
Pages designed primarily for humans, with search engine
considerations secondary
Hyperlinks intended to help people find interesting,
related content, when applicable
Metadata (including title and description) that accurately
describes the contents of a web page
Good web design in general
What 14 things does Yahoo! say it does "NOT"
want in a Web page?
Find out all of their guidelines here:
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/search/basics/basics-18.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 8. What about researching important keyword phrases
in other languages?
Are you wanting to perform keyword research in other
languages?
What if you are trying to find keyword research suggestions
for other languages such as Spanish or French or German?
Now you can research keywords in several other languages
including French, Dutch, German, Italian, Polish,
Portuguese, Swedish and Spanish at Keyword Discovery.
Check out Keyword Discovery by clicking here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 9. For effective search engine marketing, you
need more than just top rankings.
Remember to include strong calls to action to compel
a response from the reader.
What do you want the reader to do once they finish
reading your content? You need to clearly build these
options into each page and leave nothing to guess
work. Describe what action you would like them to
take and never assume that they will just know what
to do, because they won't act unless you spell it
out.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 10. SEO and Cascading Style Sheets.
An understanding of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
can help you with a number of SEO work-arounds to
meet challenges with complicated design issues. W3Schools
provides an excellent CSS tutorial free of charge,
complete with a lot of examples and quizzes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 11. Don't ever limit the search engines to only
just one way of finding your pages.
Put links to new pages on your site map. Make sure
you link to your site map from every page of your
Web site.
If there's a corresponding page on your site that
you can use to link to the new page, do so. Mention
the new page on your blog. Do you have a directory
associated with the particular topic dealing with
the content of this new page? Add a link on that page.
Just make sure that you give the search engines multiple
ways to find all of your important pages
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 12. How compelling are your Meta descriptions?
Are you remembering to use your important keyword
phrase in the description?
Are you taking time to write unique descriptions for
each of your pages?
How about a call to action?
Are you remembering to include good calls to action
in your description?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 13. Have you tried Fagan Finder?
This Web site has over 100 tools that you can use
to dig for information on a URL. There are more nooks
and crannies to this site than you can possibly imagine.
http://www.faganfinder.com/urlinfo/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 14. Do not obsess over Google Page Rank.
Did you know that a page with a high PageRank can
be out ranked in the SERPs by a page with a lower
PageRank? Remember that PageRank isn't the "end
all" in SEO. It's only one piece of the pie.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 15. Don't use your keyword phrase in ALT text.
None of the search engines consider ALT text when
determining relevancy. ALT text should be used only
to describe images. Putting keywords in the the Alt
tag to try and influence even a marginal advantage
is a waste of time. Don't do it. Use every tag for
the purpose in which is was specifically designed
to be used by the W3C.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 16. Create content that serves your customer's
needs FIRST and your own needs second.
Far too often, our focus is so narrowly limited to
just our own objectives for a Web page. One powerful
tip is to first research the specific needs of your
customer (within a niche) and then deliver up high
value, based on your research and give the searcher
EXACTLY whatever it is that THEY want, first.
Think about it - try it out and see what happens
when you meet the client's interest first, before
introducing your own objective.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 17. Are you using your researched primary keyword
phrase prominently in your Title Tag?
The Title Tag of your Web page is still extremely
influential for relevancy in most search engines.
Try using your researched phrase once, up front in
your Title and remember the value of creating a compelling
Title that engages the reader. Avoid stuffing your
Title full of keywords and instead create a compelling
Title that reads well and accents a benefit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 18. Remember that most major search engines no
longer look at the your Meta keyword tag when determining
relevancy.
Use moderation and be careful not to over-use any
single word multiple times in your keyword Meta tag.
Try and use approximately a half dozen words that
are actually being used within the Web page content.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 19. Do not use the same Title tags, Meta Keyword
Tags and Description Tag on every page of your Web
site.
Keep your Title, Keywords and Description all specific
to the individual page you are working on, unless
you want to get falsely flagged for duplicate content
penalties.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 20. Remember to use alternative synonyms sometimes
instead of over using keywords.
Your Thesaurus can be your best friend or else watch
this video on how you can choose semantically related
keywords with the help of Wordtracker's Full Search
tool.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 21. Check out Robin Nobles list of 148 muscle
words you can use on your Web site
Here is Robin's list of muscle or power words you
can print out or save to your hard drive, words you
can use on your site in your title and description
tags along with your keyword phrase, and in your heading
tags and your content.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 22. Create content that deserves to be found
within the top ranks.
One of the single most important aspects to managing
your time well, is to stay focused on creating high
value, original content that is useful and engaging
to your visitors. What kind of content should your
Web site contain?
Create content that is truly relevant (and honestly
deserves to be found at the top.)
Create content that serves your customer's needs
FIRST and your own needs second.
Create content that will meet your visitor's exact
search query and satisfy it.
Create content your visitor will be GLAD that they
found - something of true merit.
Create content that is based on real "behaviorally
based research" rather than guessing at keywords.
Create content that is written for your specific
visitor so that it flows smoothly and reads well to
them.
Create content that is original and you can feel
proud to have created.
Create content that has a solid, well written "call
to action."
Create content that is based on what a "search
engine understands" through artificial intelligence
(AI.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 23. Pay attention to keyword usage in page names.
Use hyphens not underscores.
Be sure when naming pages after your full keyword
phrase, that you connect
the words together using a hyphen (-) rather than
an underscore (_)
Example: A search engine will understand: antique-clocks.html
but will not understand both words if you use: antique_clocks.html
How much advantage does this tip give you? Only marginal.
But sometimes there is only marginal difference between
ranking number 10 or ranking number 1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 24. Don't forget to use optimization with your
press releases.
Have you thought about optimizing some news about
your business this week? You can put your news story
out in front of thousands of publishers and editors
through the PRweb service.
But the question is - what will your unique story
angle be?
There are so many times we get so wrapped up in what
our competitor is doing, we seem to forget the power
and impact of taking a reverse or opposite approach.
Learn how to tell your story from a different and
more interesting perspective than everyone else and
your stories. Catch your audience by surprise with
some genuine news and make your news story stand out
in the eyes of publishers. Surprise your audience
with a different approach and watch the impact it
can have on your Web site. Its only news, but people
love fresh ideas or a story told from an alternate
approach.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip 25. Are you trying to increase the frequency
of robot visits to your Web site?
Are you aware of the value of fresh, original content
added to your Web site on a consistent basis? Of course
you are. Does it real improve the findability of your
Web site? You bet it does and it increases the frequency
of the Spider visits too.
But how can you create truly "fresh" and
"original" content?
There is one place you can pick up daily tips and
fresh ideas about content creation. It all starts
with just one simple "idea." When was the
last time you visited Robin Nobles "IDEA MOTIVATOR"
Blog?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next step up in building genuine SEO skills is
to consider one of the following options.
1. Would you like a Free SEO Tip of the Day?
Get a free tip every single day by signing up here.
We have hundreds of short concise, easy-to-read little
tips, truths and facts that you can receive on a daily
basis in your e-mail. If you no longer wish to receive
the tips, you can unsubscribe any time you wish. Some
tips are short and powerful. Some are a little lengthier
to read, but they range from basic topics to advanced
topics and best of all, they are all free SEO tips.
2. Attend a live Search Engine Academy
Attend a 2-day, 3-day and 5-Day Workshops located
in a community near you.
3. Join Robin Nobles and John Alexander at one of
the SEO Mastery Workshops.
Check out our new agenda of Workshop topics.
4. Check out the SEO Online study courses where you
can begin learning online.
