Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing a website’s or a web page’s exposure in search engines through “natural” or unpaid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results. The earlier (or higher place on the search results page) and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more traffic it will receive from search engine users. Wikipedia is the source of this information.
To create a successful SEO strategy, you must take the following eight steps:
1. Brainstorm
It is critical to select useful keywords or phrases from the start. One strategy that many marketers employ is brainstorming in three stages:
- Request assistance from coworkers and friends. Make a list of all the keywords and phrases that spring to mind – the more the merrier. Withhold your criticism, be open to new ideas, and don’t make a choice.
- Next, utilise your intellect and instincts to fine-tune the keywords. Delete any keywords that you believe are irrelevant or inappropriate for your site and its topics.
- You should now refine the list even further and decide which terms you will actually work with (you should probably keep the deleted keywords saved on your computer for later as well).
2. Screening
After you’ve completed brainstorming, you should start researching keywords. The plan is to screen all of the keywords using specialist keyword tools. The free Google AdWords Keyword Tool is an excellent option for this.
You then follow by inputting your keywords or phrases one per line to create your list (don’t forget to utilize the appropriate options: location, language, devices, and so on). When you’re finished, click Search.
You’ll now see a table with various numbers and results for your keywords. Global Monthly Searches is the most intriguing column. However, if you are running a local campaign, take a look at Local Monthly Searches. By the way, the Competition column has nothing to do with the paid non-organic search results for Google AdWords.
Export the sheet to Excel and clean it up by removing all irrelevant keywords and information.
Take a look at the keyword ideas provided by Google. There are frequently some good ideas. (You may discover it in Google Keyword Tool under the list of your keywords.)
Make three columns in Excel. Keywords, Global or Local Monthly Searches (which you’ll have in your Google Keyword Tool downloaded sheet) and create a new one Search Engine Results.
The third column will assist you in determining the competitiveness of your keywords. Working keyword by keyword, enter them into Google and copy/paste the results (see image below) back into your Excel sheet.
You’ll now have a good overview of all the keywords and phrases, as well as the statistics and competitiveness metrics.
You should primarily compare monthly searches with competitiveness results for analysis reasons. For example, if the keyword ‘fresh plants delivery’ receives 50 monthly searches but yields just four results when searched on Google, this could be an attractive keyword to utilize. The optimal ratios are determined empirically and depend on the website, its type, content, aims, and audience.
If the number of monthly searches is low but the number of Search Engine Results (competitiveness) is considerable, such a term would not be a smart choice for search engine optimization.
Don’t be scared to employ particular keywords if you run a unique firm or have a lot of specialist content (even if they are not shown in monthly searches). Simply try to strike a balance between your keywords and what people are looking for on the web.
3. Keywords
Following the screening, you will get a list of keywords to use for your meta-information. Don’t be concerned if you have a large number of them. You can always put some of them to use later. However, for general meta-information, limit yourself to no more than 5-10 keywords or phrases. They should be the most distinctive and specific to your company.
4. Description
Following that is your meta-description. Write a brief and deliberate description based on the keywords you researched. It should be no more than two short phrases in length. Be creative, and don’t forget to include your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) here. Please see the image below.
5. Implementation
Implement your meta-information via a back-end (in the case of CMS) or in code, depending on your system. Don’t forget to double-check that the modifications have been implemented (by taking a look at the source code in the browser).
6. Copywriting
It is now time to start writing copy. This is, in fact, the most important aspect of any SEO. You should write the texts for all of your site’s pages using the keywords and phrases you’ve researched. If the texts have already been created, make an attempt to incorporate the keywords into them.
It is strongly recommended that you hire a professional copywriter to produce the texts for your website, as this will result in much higher quality content. However, if you must do it yourself, here are some pointers:
- Choose a topic for your page.
- Choose the most important keywords and make use of them.
- Don’t only write for search engines; write for your guests as well.
- Tell a logical storey.
- Your introduction (teaser) should be no more than 50-100 wordslong.
- To establish a hierarchical semantic framework for your page, use title and headline tags.
- Word highlighting (em> and strong>, hyperlinks, and anchor text can all make a big difference.
7. Optimizing
You most likely have many more pages on your website that might be optimized. Don’t forget to remove any unneeded relevant keywords from your lists, and aim to include at least a handful of unique keywords on each page that is vital to your business.
8. Fine tuning
This is the final and most critical phase in the SEO process. When running an SEO strategy, statistics are critical for determining success or failure.
There are numerous statistics and analytics tools to choose from. Google Analytics is a free tool that has become the industry standard in SEO.
However, measuring and analyzing are insufficient. You should take action based on the information and make the appropriate changes:
- Examine the Keywords section of Google Analytics carefully and note which keywords are performing well and which are not. Based on your findings, make strategic judgments.
- Repeat the screening’ procedure a second time.
- Change the site’s keywords and descriptions as needed.
Also, keep in mind that SEO is an iterative process. After fine-tuning, repeat the preceding steps after a month or two.
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