Believe it or not, the text you use to link to other pages on your site matters for SEO. Search engines pay close attention to links, and the text used for them. When linking to other pages, really consider the words you use. You want to choose words that relate to the page you are linking too, and using your keywords is even better! So, for example, “click here” is not a very effective text for your link! A much better choice is to use “internet marketing services” for an internet marketing professional or “toddler girl’s dresses” for a children’s clothing store. You want to be sure, as always, that the wording makes sense in context. You may need to re-word or re-arrange a sentence or two to make sure it reads smoothly. But, just this simple change can help to better optimize your site for search engines. Now, go through your website and see if you can choose more specific text for your links.
Quick Website Tips: Page Titles
Each page of your website has a title, and this is what shows in the tab at the top of your web browser. For each page of your website, you should have a different title. The title should be specific to what is on that page, and use the keyword(s) for that webpage. For example, say you have an online baby clothing store. You have your product categorized by girl, boy, or neutral, and then by shirts, pants, dresses, and size. You would want the webpage that features the 3-6 month girls dresses to be named appropriately. Maybe “3-6 month Baby Girl Dresses” or something similar. Keep the length to around 65 characters. Making a little extra time to specifically, and correctly name each of the pages within your website will help to improve the search engine optimization for your site. Take a look at your site. Are the pages properly named? If not, talk to your web designer (the how to actually do this involves meta tags and should be saved for another post) and get them updated!
Keyword Research is Vital to your Website
When you are starting your business there are so many things to consider. Your business plan, target market, logo, website, prices…and the list goes on. You may just want to get your website up as soon as possible. But it is important to stop and consider your keywords before you start your website. Determining the keywords you want to target will help you with the layout of your site, as well as the content. You really want to spend some time doing the research, so you do not have to go back and make a bunch of changes down the road.
Keywords are the key (ha, ha, get it?) to SEO. The whole goal of optimizing your website is for your site to show up when certain targeted keywords are searched for. So how can you optimize your site if you do not know what words you want to optimize for? Spend some time brainstorming. Think about your business, who is your target market? How does your target market think? If you were your ideal customer, what would you type into the search engine? Start making a list of as many keywords as you can think of.
The next step is to do a little research (or have your VA do it) on that list of words. You can use Wortracker or Google Adwords, both free services that suggest keywords, as well as show you the search volume and more. Your best bet is to be as specific as possible. You want the most targeted visitors as possible.
For example, you have an online candle business. Now, the keyword candle or candles has 4,090,000 monthly searches. That is a huge number! And this search includes people search for everything from candle making to candle safety to decorative candles. And the competition is very high for this keyword. So, you want to be more specific, and use say soy candles. Then go even further and specify soy candle votives or scented soy candles. Can you see where I am going with this? You want to find very specific keywords related to your business and target market. You do not need someone looking for candle making to end up on your site. You want the person who is searching for soy candle votives, which is exactly what you sell!
Keywords are so important for optimizing your website, and should be researched and considered carefully as you are planning and building your site. You want to use your keywords in the page titles, the headers, and the content. Keep in mind, your content must be good, make sense and grab your visitors – but should also include your keywords. Take the time to do your keyword research at the beginning of your planning and you will be glad you did!
How can Builders and Contractors use the Web: Blogs
Creating and maintaining a blog is a great addition to your website. A blog gives you the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in your field, share new ideas or products, and to share a little about yourself. Keeping your blog updated with content is a must. This also helps with search engine optimization, as there is always new content for the search engine to find. Here are a few tips for setting up and maintain your blog:
1. There are many free sites available for setting up your blog. Some examples are wordpress.com and blogger.com. Word Press seems to growing and becoming the most popular site. They offer many customizable features.
2. Determine how often you will post to your blog. To keep content updated, try to at least post once per week. Create a schedule and stick to it. The most important aspect is creating that new content. Also, you can pre-write a few posts and schedule them to be posted at a later date.
3. Come up with a list of potential topics. Jot down ideas that you have throughout the day and keep a running list. Then you always have something to turn to when you are stumped for ideas.
4. Keep a log of what you have written previously (this tip comes via Sundi, at My Office Zilla). As your posts start to add up, this makes it easier to check on what you have already written about.
5. Promote your blog – add a link to your website, to your email signature, your business cards, etc.
A blog is another chance to show potential customers why they should choose you!