Understanding what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is and how SEO works are two very different things. Search Engines use many different factors and algorithms to compile the search results. They are constantly changing and trying to improve on their algorithms to give end users the best results. Some basic elements currently affect SEO, which are outlined below.

Website 101

You must have a website that can be read by search engines. A website that is mostly an image, built using Flash, has a Video, or uses I Frames cannot be read by search engines. While you can add ‘hidden’ text that search engines can read, you will not be able to put nearly as much content for search engines to read, limiting the amount of keywords you can use, and it cannot have all of benefits of a search engine friendly site.

The most common mistake I see is website owners want to offer such a drastic visual experience to the end user, they forget about coming up in the Search Engines; so nothing can be read and/or the extra website code is not put in place to be read. The Search Engines need to read as much text and content within the web pages as possible to index them appropriately in the search results.

Keywords

Keywords/Keyword Phrases are the foundation of SEO. What are people searching and which terms is your website coming up under? Without the right terms, you will not be driving the right people to your site. Tools are available to find out what phrases are searched, how often, how competitive the term is and so forth. Many companies may use industry terms; however, buyers may not use those terms when searching for a product. This information is very valuable so that website owners can use real-time data to make decisions on which keywords they want to be found under. Therefore, as a business owner you want to find out which keywords your target market is searching when looking for your product/service.
The most common mistake website owners make is they use general terms like roses. The term Roses is too broad of a word, which will bring up a variety of results, so you want to be as specific as possible to get the right phrase for your business. So you may want to use red rose bushes for sale. The more specific to your product/service, the more targeted your website visitors can be, gaining you more business in the end.

Keyword Placement

Once you know what keywords you are going to focus on, you want to consistently place them on your website. Normally you will focus a small group of keywords per page. Trying to put too many will dilute keywords, and not enough may limit your keywords. Therefore, pick a theme for each page and use 3 – 7 keyword phrases for that page. Placement of your keywords should be placed in:

• Domain Name/URL path: Your top keyword phrase if possible should be your name (i.e. redroses.com) and the page name/path should be named something relevant to that keyword (redroses.com/seasonalrosebushes.html or depending on your structure it may be more like redroses.com/bushes/rosebushes/summer.html)
• Title Tag: The Meta Title (which often appears in the blue bar of your browser and is the clickable link on search engines) should include your core keyword phrase and is limited on characters, so your keywords/phrases should also be in the Title on the page.
• Meta Description: The Meta Description (which often appears as the paragraph under your link on the search results) should include the keyword phrase in addition to describing what can be found on the page, and is also limited by characters.
• Meta Keywords: While this is rarely used, it does appear that Bing and some directory listings are still using keywords, so it can be valuable to include them.
• Content: The most important place for your keywords is your content! The page text itself is the most powerful of all for keywords. You want to keep a good ratio of the keyword. If you don’t say it enough, it may not be strong enough to be considered a keyword, and if you say it too much, it may look like you are stuffing keywords, which can have a negative effect. Using heading tags, links, bold, etc. can also make a word look more important to search engines and can be used to emphasize your keywords within your text. You may also include terms in the names, descriptions and titles of images and videos.

The most common mistakes I see with Keyword Placement are when website owners write for search engines and NOT for the website end-users. There must be a clear balance. Consistency is important, but your end-user experience is more important. A website written for SEO may get someone to your website, but it won’t get them to buy.

Networking/Link Building

The Internet is truly a web of websites out there that link together in one way or another. Search Engines crawl this web and input all the data they find about websites into their database. Just as with any network, the more people you know and are connected to, the more powerful your network, and the more business you get. These same concepts work online; it is a popularity contest.

The more links you have out there on the web back to your website, the more important and credible your website looks. This only works if the website that links to you is credible. In fact, it can have a negative effect if you have a poor website linking to yours, or if the content is irrelevant or clearly a paid link. Your network is often built through news articles, social networks, blogs, and partner/vendor/resource links.

The most common mistake I see here is when website owners trying to link to anyone or pay these link building sites which often hurt them more than help.

There is a lot of information available to understand how SEO works, but successful implementation can take a full time dedicated person and experience.

To learn more about what to look for in an SEO vendor read ‘What to Look for vs Avoid in an SEO Firm’.