Last time we discussed some simple search engine optimization (SEO) tips to help get your website or landing page to the top of the search engines. Here are 5 more tips to keep in mind when optimizing your website or landing page for search engines.
1. Don’t try to trick the search engines. Search engines do not like all SEO techniques. There are some techniques that are considered “black hat” or unethical and frowned upon by search engines. Some of these techniques such as keyword stuffing, hiding text or creating doorway pages may boost your page rank quickly, but once search engines catch on, your site will be penalized and may even be blacklisted and removed from search engine indexes.
2. Compete for keyword phrases, not single keywords. This will make your site more likely to show up in the search results for the most relevant search queries. Longer keyword phrases are better to use when you’re in a highly competitive market because short one or two-word keywords are hard to rank for due to the fact that so many people are optimizing for them.
3. Design your website to be SEO-friendly. This means avoiding the use of flash and optimizing your photos. Search engines can’t read flash. Search engines read the text content of a site and can read photos and videos if you optimize them. So be sure to have plenty of keyword enhanced text with some optimized photos to add interest.
4. Fill your site with great content. This is something that will make search engines and your visitors happy. Valuable, convincing content will increase your chances of a site visitor becoming a customer. Keyword-rich, fresh content will help increase your credibility in the eyes of Google and other search engines and your site will likely be awarded with higher rankings.
5. Remember that first page placement on Google does not happen overnight. SEO takes time and it’s a trial and error process. Always track your SEO efforts in order to decide which tactics are working for your business and which aren’t. If you are unfamiliar with SEO, look into hiring a professional to help you. Just remember, high rankings take time; don’t give up!