SEO 101

Four Key SEO Factors in Getting Any Web Page Ranked

Paying attention to effective SEO* strategies is more important these days than ever before. With competition in almost every niche on the rise constantly, there are more companies now battling for the same keywords you are.

*”SEO” stands for Search Engine Optimization” and you can find an explanation of SEO by visiting here.search-engine-optimization-gears

No matter how busy the field gets in your industry – there is still just one “number one” ranking available. This holds true for general keywords like “roofing replacement” as well as those that are geographically targeted, such as “Toronto roofers”.

To be considered a serious contender, you’ve got to be listed at least somewhere on the first page of Google for relevant keyword terms. Everybody wants to be top banana and rightfully so, since that coveted position captures the most targeted traffic.

Showing up on page one of the search results gets you onto the playing field. Beyond page one, there’s not much – if any – exposure to be gained. So the first goal for your business should be to get onto page one. Once accomplished, you should then do everything in your power to move up to the very top of the listings.

It’s important to note that the most significant results can only be achieved when you rank high for the specific keyword terms potential customers use when seeking out a solution that your company offers.

But how do you succeed when there may be hundreds of other businesses trying to do the same thing? Below are 5 key SEO factors that heavily influence your web page’s ability to rank at the top of the mountain. It’s interesting to note that no one factor alone is likely to vault you to a premium position in the organic search results in Google, Bing, Yahoo, or any other search engine. The secret is to integrate as many of the five elements as you can to increase your chance of scoring a premium position.

Key #1: Publish Valuable Content Consistently

There are two important details revealed above. You need content your audience deems valuable and you need to publish new content on a somewhat regular basis.

Waiting until you have 100 articles written before setting up your site is not the way to go. Get one or two pieces of content published, then add another one each week or so. Keep it up and the search engine bots will keep calling to see what you’ve added and reward your site if you follow these guidelines.

Get published online and you’re in the game. All it takes to begin is a single article or blog post and every new piece of content gives you another opportunity to capture the attention of more potential buyers.

The thing to remember is that your website is a living entity. This means it needs to be growing, adapting to the marketplace and evolving. One article won’t create long-term success if that’s all you ever do. Similarly, if you create a boatload of content and never add anything more to your site – any rankings you’ve captured will be lost over time.

Fresh, new, original content published routinely puts your site on the radar of the search engines. They’re always on the lookout for quality, relevant content – to create a more satisfying user experience. Give it to them and they’ll reward you with more traffic.

If you thought you could simply put up a website, then sit back wait for the avalanche of money to flow in – you’ll be disappointed. Thinking long term success means looking for ways to consistently add more relevant and juicy content.

Consider numerous ways of providing useful content such as a blog posts, full articles, videos, podcasts, info-graphics, images, and so on. Mixing it up is best as diversity alone adds value. It’s also smart to woo new customers by offering content in a variety of media, so visitors can choose to get their fill in a way that works best for them.

Key #2: Prepare Your Content with Proper On-Page SEO

Once you publish, your content is available for all to see. Often, it gets picked up by the search engines within hours – sometimes sooner. So before you actually publish – it’s vitally important to take care of your on-page SEO and to get it right.onpageoffpage

When some people think of on-page SEO, they immediately think of things like “keywords” and “keyword density”. Well that’s part of it of course – but there’s much more to it than choosing a specific keyword and working this term into your content. These days, you have to be very careful not to overdo it. If you cross the line, you’ll wind up being penalized for over-optimization.

Truth is… much of what you see online about “keyword density” is flat out wrong. If you follow that misguided advice today, you’re only shooting yourself in the foot and placing your business website in peril – where it may never rank in the top ten pages – let alone the top ten positions on page one. The bottom line on keywords is to use them effectively but sparingly. Restraint is the order of the day.

You’ve also got to pay attention to your website’s architecture and make the necessary adjustments to suit the type of website you’ve envisioned. A large, content-laden website should be build in sections – like the chapters of a book. But it may not make sense to do the same with a smaller, more niche-specific site.

Next, you need to get connected.

Key #3: Crank Up Your Social Media Presence and Engagement

Like it or not, social media is big – and getting bigger. The more active you are “socially” in a way that’s connected to your business – the more your website and your business tends to benefit.

Facebook is perhaps the best example of social media, but there are hundreds more including Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram. It’s important to note that the way many people use Facebook is NOT how you should use it for business-building purposes. Set up a separate account for your business and only share content that’s meaningful, useful and beneficial to your target market. Just getting set-up can help. But you’ll fare far better if you build out your Facebook page with interesting content.

Setting up numerous social accounts is a great way to get started. If you don’t want to do this yourself, by all means, hire a competent SEO specialist in Toronto to handle the important details for you. Once established, you can then widen your reach and build connections through Likes, Followers, Shares, +1’s and customer reviews. The world is a smaller place thanks to the Internet and connecting with their community is something wise business owners are now doing.

Key #4: Get Other Sites Linking To Yours

Links continue to play a pivotal role in the search engines and those who get it right see their listings naturally rise to the top. When it comes to links these days, it’s all about quality and relevancy.color puzzle

If you’re offered hundreds – or thousands – of links at a low cost, you can be sure those links are useless. In fact, they’re much worse than that because you will be penalized by Google and your rankings will suffer – sometimes in a way that cannot be reasonably repaired. You’ll be forced to start over from square one.

Any “cheap” offer should be avoided at all costs. In fact, you shouldn’t be buying links in the first place – at least not in the typical way.

What matters most today is quality over quantity. You only want credible, high-quality and relevant sites linking back to you and the greater the level of credibility, quality and relevancy – the more you benefit. That’s because this kind of site has earned a higher degree of trust – in Google’s eyes. When you gain a link from this kind of trusted source, some of that trust gets passed along to your site. Ultimately, this improves your site’s position in the search engines.

Another important factor is what specifically a link back to your site says. It’s those words used to link another web page in cyberspace to yours. This is what is known as “anchor text”- the hyper-linked part of a web page that serves as the connecting point between two sites. Usually these words are underlined, highlighted in colored text (typically blue), or otherwise made to stand apart from the regular text on the page. Links stand out and beckon viewers to click through for more related information of interest.

These four factors are huge in terms of where a web page ranks for any specific search term. Mess it up and your site will pay the price with lower rankings and far less traffic from the free search listings as a result. But get it right – and there’s no telling how high you can climb.

For your free online business analysis, simply click here. Enter a few details about your business and we will give you a custom-tailored road-map to ranking high for multiple keyword terms and completely dominating your competition.