I get it. You may have clicked on this because you are desperate, you want organic (free) traffic and have tried all the tips and tricks found online to improve your SEO game. However, you may not have received the desired results. The goal here is to improve SEO & get organic traffic.
Perhaps you’re already familiar with SEO and have done everything you possibly can but are still not getting that traffic nor that first-page position on Google.
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- BUT, WHAT IS SEO?
In simplified terms, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a website’s ability to be visible for search engines when someone looks something up on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines. AKA, organic traffic.
- WHAT ARE YOU DOING WRONG?
After days of intensive research and my personal experience with my website, I put together this post, just for you, to help clarify what SEO consists of, how to do it correctly, and what to hope/not hope for.
The first disclaimer: do not expect any miracles, Honey. Yes, it is possible to optimize your website for search engines correctly, but you need to realize that it takes time for a search engine like Google to check your site and make sure that your content is up to their standards.
- YOUR IMAGES NEED TO BE OPTIMIZED.
What does this mean? Well, buddy. This means that if you write an article titled “how to create a blog” and the keyword is “create a blog,” then you need to name your images according to that title. That way you will get higher chances of getting more exposure on search engines and will make it easier for Google to rank your website.
Additionally, you might want to make sure that the description of the images also contains many of the main keywords that are found within your post. If you do this, people will see your post even if their Google search was not your main keyword.
Do this for the caption, too. Just make sure that it is hidden within your post because nobody wants to see a bunch of random words under an image.
Pro tip: The keywords used for your images should be bold within your post once. It put emphasis on them and may help your website to be found easier. This tip is one of the keys to improve SEO & get organic traffic to your site.
- DO NOT USE COMPETITIVE KEYWORDS; YOU’LL GET LOST IN THE CROWD.
Unless you’re already an established online figure, (congratulations, by the way), you should not use keywords that are highly competitive within your niche. Your content will result in getting lost among all the other posts related to yours and might never be seen. Google ranks a website based on their quality content, among other factors, so the chances are that they might have already listed their number one website and that is unlikely to change due to their outstanding value.
- HOW CAN YOU CHECK HOW COMPETITIVE YOUR KEYWORDS ARE?
There are numerous plugins, websites, and services that can help you with this. Personally, I use Keywords Everywhere which is a FREE Google Chrome extension that allows me to see the search volume.
A high search volume might be significant, but that means that it is also a highly competitive keyword.
Pro tip: To honestly stand out, you must bring something unique to the game. Perhaps you know a lot about blogging full-time, but what else can you do on your website that makes it unique? What extra word or phrase can you add to those keywords to make them stand out?
I hope this makes you brainstorm…
- LEARN THE TYPES OF KEYWORDS, USE THE BEST ONE.
Did you know that there are different types of keywords? Mind = blown. Wasn’t this difficult enough already?
Genetic keywords are words or phrases that tend to be too general, such as “phone charger” and “flat screen TV.” They are just too broad and will not help you with your SEO due to its high competition and not being specific enough.
Broad keywords are a little bit more specific. They might be “phone charger for iPhone” and “big flat screen TV.” They will bring in more conversions because you will be specifying what the item is for and what the desired size is.
Long tail keywords are every SEO-friendly website’s best friend. When people Google things, they don’t tend to Google one or two words, they Google sentences. For instance, “how to get a cheap phone charger for iPhone” and “where to get a big flat screen TV for a good price.” These long tail keywords are usually what people look for, and what will place you in a high ranking.
The conversion rates are stronger, too.
Pro tip: In case you haven’t noticed, long tail keywords may work best. You might feel tempted to use keywords with a high search volume, but the chances are that using long tail keywords will give you more conversions.
- EXPERIMENT, EXPERIMENT, EXPERIMENT.
I do not want you to try every single damn thing you read online. The best way for you to know what works and what doesn’t for your website is by experimenting. Perhaps broad keywords work for you, after all. You will not know unless you try and compare the results.
- BACKLINKS; A WEBSITE’S BEST ALLY.
A backlink is when a website links back to yours. It is a little self-explanatory.
Whenever someone writes a post and includes a link to your website, you get a backlink.
When you receive valuable backlinks, Google validates your website as a credible and trusted source, leading to a high position in search engines. As a great addition, you’ll get more traffic!
- HOW TO GET BACKLINKS?
You can start by writing guest posts for other websites and including links in your article. Make sure you read their submission guidelines and provide them with a high-quality post that you know will convert. Finding websites to publish on depends on your niche, and a quick Google search could help. Some sites allow you to submit already published articles while others require unpublished, fresh pieces.
You can also consider networking with other bloggers and perhaps work on promoting each other’s websites by collaborating. You can find them by joining Facebook groups as well as Pinterest group boards.
- ADD NUMBERS TO YOUR TITLES AND DESCRIPTION TAGS.
Personally, I may not always do this because I don’t usually write numbered lists. However, if your content is a “7 ways to” or “13 reasons why,” then you would want to include those numbers in your title and description tag. People are more responsive to numbers than to plain words.
- GO STRAIGHT TO THE MAIN DAMN POINT.
This point will reduce your bounce rate. If you want to teach others how to do something, then go straight to the “how-to.” Do not write a long introduction that will bore your readers and drive them away. Not only will you lose traffic, but Google will hate your website and not give it a good rate.
Pro tip: If you feel stuck, get yourself a planner and plan ahead what your post will consist of. Include the tags and keywords you’ll use, your objective for that post, and a draft of its content. You can get mine for free here. You will have to get the download link sent to your email, but spamming is not what we do at EF. You’re in safe hands.
These are just a few of the numerous things you can do to learn and improve your SEO. I will publish the second part of this post soon.
