What are Keywords?
You have a website and you are ready to see your website do its job and bring you customers. Well first you need to figure out if you are using the language of your customers. By knowing the language your customers are speaking or the terms they are using, you can figure out what words they use via search…. So why are these words so important. Well let’s begin with the basics.
What are Keywords? Keywords are the words people use to type into a search engine to find the products, services, or anything else they might be looking for. Keywords can be a single word or a word phrase, which is called a Keyword Phrase or Long Tail Phrase. Not sure where the phrase “Long Tail” came from but hey… now you know what it means.
So how do Keywords help you increase your search engine ranking? When you set up your website or blog, it is imperative to use words that your users would use to find you. For instance, one of the services my company offers is printing. Let’s say you just started your business and you need someone to print your business cards. You go to Google and you do a search for business cards but all I have on my site is information about printing. If I do not have enough information on my website pertaining to business cards my website will not come up in search and chances are you won’t find my company. If I want to ensure that users find my site when looking for business cards I need include more content on my site that includes the word phrase “business cards”.
It is essential to do some research to find out what words your target audience is searching to find your services or products. Using Google’s keyword tool is a great way to find out what keyword and keyword phrases are ranking high for the products and services you offer. You can also talk to your customers or a focus group and ask them what specific words they use as well. Once you have generated a list you can then begin to incorporate those words into your websites content.
4 Rules of thumb and helpful hints:
It is important to know that you should never over use keywords in your website content. Keyword density determines how search algorithms view your site. You should never repeat your key terms more than 6 times per 350 words of content.- Search Engine Algorithms place more emphasis on your page title than it does to keyword density; therefore, it is important to put your target keywords in the title.
- Keywords should be naturally dispersed through out your page content. Overuse of key terms could be penalized by search algorithms and cause your page to banned from search engines all together; it is always best to use good judgment to ensure your content reads naturally.
- Include keyword terms in your pictures meta data, description and caption but only if it makes sense to do so.
The goal of any business with a website is to have it ranked within in the top 10 results when users search for your products and services. Search Engine Optimization is an ongoing process that takes time and testing. Only through trial and error and using several different optimization tactics can you be successful. You should also NOT expect your efforts to give you results over night. True search engine optimization for top ranking takes several months and constant research to stay abreast of new strategies due to the ever-changing nature of the Internet. So basically what I’m saying here is you probably need to hire a professional if you are serious about optimizing your website for success.
Aries – Graphic Design & Internet Marketing / AriesGDIM Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah Creative Marketing Director 317.345.4182 AriesGDIM.com / AriesGraphicDesign.com @ariesgdim – Twitter Google+ AriesGDIM
857 Edgemont Ave Indianapolis, IN, 46208 USA
tami@ariesgraphicdesign.com • 3173454182
How do you Write Search Engine Optimized Blog Posts?
It is important to remember that increasing your search engine ranking organically takes time. You will need a mix of posting on different channels (Social Media Marketing), finding your target audience, testing using analytics, keyword optimization, website usability testing and a strategic Internet marketing plan. These are all key components in reaching #1 successfully.
Here’s a tip though…. The #1 way to increase your search engine ranking is by writing optimized blog posts on a regular basis. So how do you do that? Do you want to learn how to SEO? You write blogs that rock…. so they can rankTM.
- Write keyword optimized posts: When writing your blog about particular subjects, do a
Increase your search engine ranking
search with the Google Keywords Tool. This will help you to see what keywords users are searching for the most. Once you have reviewed the list generated, use these keywords naturally through out your blog post. Notice I said naturally? Keyword density is important. If you over use keywords in your posts, the search engines block your blog all together. You also want to include keywords in the title of your blog, the title tag, in the description and in the meta tags.
- Use Anchored Text: What the heck does that mean? When writing your blog it is a good idea to link keywords to other blog posts or pages within your website with relevant content. You can also link your keywords to blogs or pages on other websites. It’s always good to share the love. Links outside of your site could possibly cause you to lose your reader because they are clicking away; this is why it is important to make sure your links always open in a new window. That way your readers stay on your website while at the same time linking to the new page.
- Selectively bold, italicize, or underline keywords: Now this one I don’t care for too much but it can help your ranking… so if you are going to do it, do it in a way that will not be irritating to your readers (like I have in this post). There is nothing worse than bold words for no good reason.
- Make your Blog easy to read: Using numbered or bulleted text to break up your content will make it easier to read. It also gives readers, who are skimmers, the ability to look over your blog quickly, determine if they want to read it and if it is worth sharing.
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Social Media Share Buttons
Aesthetics mean a lot: Make it pretty please! You want to do everything possible to keep your users on your blog. If your blog does not look professional chances are your readers will go elsewhere. Having a professional looking blog adds to your credibility as an authority in your field. There are a lot of great bloggers being ignored because their blogs look like poop. A pleasant visual presentation is key. Visit other blogs and take note of the ones that grab your attention; these are the sites you want to model your blog after. If you do not have the ability to create an awesome blog, it is time to hire a graphic designer that can get you started.
- Be Authentic: Anyone can write a blog about a topic but no one can be you. Use your personality and make your blogs interesting. Engage your readers with what makes you different from everyone else… Be YOU!
- Make it easy to share: The more your content is shared the greater the possibility for traffic and traffic increases search engine rankings. Be sure to include share buttons below and above your blog posts so your readers can easily share your wonderful content.
This is not an all-inclusive list… this is just the beginning; there are a load of other tips to help get your blog optimized for search engine rankings but this should get you started in the right direction.
Aries – Graphic Design & Internet Marketing / AriesGDIM Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah Creative Marketing Director 317.345.4182 AriesGDIM.com / AriesGraphicDesign.com @ariesgdim – Twitter Google+ AriesGDIMFinding your Target Audience
To ensure you are getting the most from your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts it is vital that you design your website for the group of people you are trying to reach (your target audience).
What factors define your Target Audience?
- Their age group
- Their nationality
- Their special interests
- Their income level
- Etc
Speak the same language as your Target Audience
Do you know the language your target audience is speaking? What I mean here is often companies get caught up in using industry jargon; words that mean nothing to the average everyday person. It is
important to use the words that your target audience is using and understands via your website and other online marketing communications to ensure you reach your buyers. If they don’t understand what you are talking about why would they buy from you, use your services, or even listen to you. Makes sense right? All you have to do is think about how frustrated you are when you are searching for something online and when you find it what you see is almost like reading a foreign language. You think… “What the heck are they talking about?” You don’t want your users to feel dumb… so dumb it down please… keep it simple.
Figuring out the best Keywords
To figure out what language your customers are using…. ask them. It’s just that simple; ask them what words and terms they use to describe the products or services you offer your clients. If asking them is out of the question, then try the Google Keyword Tool to help you figure out the best choices for your target audience. Go through the lists and determine which are the best keyword terms and phrases that match your company and your customers. You may find you are missing out on many terms and phrases users are searching to find companies like yours.
Knowing your Target Audience
Knowing your Target Audience will also allow you to communicate with them where they are. What does this mean? Basically if your customers spend a great deal of time on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare) you need to be there as well. If they like gaming, golf, a specific tv show… that is where you need to market your customers. You also need to talk about their interests.
It is also important to understand what your audience likes to determine the best design for your website. For instance my company focuses its efforts on online branding, social media marketing, web design, website usability, and graphic design… Therefore creating a website that looks like a legal site probably would not fit the presence my demographic would expect my company to have. It is important to design your website around the expectations of your target audience. If you aren’t sure what they expect do a search online for companies that are in your industry. Check out the top ten organic listings (non paid search results) and see how their websites are designed and then take this into consideration for your own. If these companies come up in the top 10 in a web search they are on top of their Internet Marketing “A” Game so take heed.
Stay original
It is important to study your competition but don’t try to copy them. Your users will notice and it could possibly turn them off. Use what you have learned from your competition and keep your website and it’s content original. Yes this can be hard… but be sure not to copy… no one likes a copycat. Improve upon what you have researched and make it better, always keeping your end users in mind.
This is just the basics of SEO but it is the first step toward getting your company in the top 10 search engine results when users begin searching for your company online.
Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah Creative Marketing Director Aries – Graphic Design & Internet Marketing
Checking your Google Search Ranking? Why The Yellow Starred Items Don’t Count!
Search Engine Optimization is one of my specialties; therefore, I am regularly checking my name & company name against different keywords to see how my Brand ranks in Google’s search. If you have a website your goal should be to have it rank in the top 10 for the services or products you offer.
As
suming you check your rankings from time to time to see where you measure up, I’m sure your Google search generated yellow starred results. You see your company name and the big yellow star and you think, “this is great; I’m ranked in the top 10”. Well…. Don’t get too happy…. Those starred results come up first but it doesn’t mean you have figured out the right Internet Marketing mix of keyword placement to generate a top 10 placing in Google’s Search Engine Ranking.
The yellow stars are actually Google Bookmarks that you have set up at some point in your browsing history… I know strange. I don’t remember setting mine up either but there they were. When I searched AriesGDIM this is the list Google’s Search generated for me. Now that you know what the starred results are, you now know these starred items will NOT come up when others do the same search on their end. Their search will be a mix of what Google organically generates and their own starred Google Bookmarks.
I looked up my Google Bookmarks and this is what I found.
It’s a list I have curated from 2009 to March 2011. My suggestion to you is to delete the list to allow your search to curate accurate results for your search query. This way you get a clear picture of how your company truly ranks for specific keywords via Google’s Search Engine.
Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah Creative Marketing Director Aries – Graphic Design & Internet Marketing / AriesGDIM http://ariesgdim.com
