How to Use SEO to Optimize Your Website

Have you ever wondered how search engines such as Google or Bing are able to return results that are so close, if not exactly what you were looking for? This is all made possible by
Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO can improve the visibility of a website on free search engines (Google or Bing). Search engines will display results that they consider to be most relevant to a user’s search query. There are many components that contribute to increasing a website’s SEO to improve that website’s search engine ranking. A high ranking will make it easier for people to find your website on search engines. Here are a few SEO tactics to consider:

• Research keywords to find what terms people are using to search for your website and those of your competitors. This will help you identify your industry’s most impactful keywords.
• Conduct a competitive analysis to search your competitors’ websites to discover new keywords.
• Add “long tail” keywords or tags. With the advancement of search engines the user is also getting wiser. No longer do people only search for one keyword, but instead three to four.
• Ensure basic keywords are present in title tags, meta-description tags and headline tags. They should be unique to every page so content is not repeated. Photos and videos should have tags as well.
• Be sure that your content is not duplicated on your website. This has a negative impact on SEO ranking because it confuses search engines.

Understanding SEO is central to having a thorough digital marketing strategy. Finding and implementing ways, such as the ones listed above, to optimize a company’s SEO is beneficial not only for clients, but also digital marketers. Remember that SEO tactics are constantly evolving as search engines change their algorithms. Understanding these changes is key to maintaining a successful and reputable online presence, as well as a thriving business.

Read here for tips on free tools to enhance your content and SEO strategy, or
click here for a recent blog on using Google+ for SEO gain.