search engine optimization / seo

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10 Simple Steps to Optimize Your Website for Search

1. Keyword Research

While it might be a dream come true, it’s not realistic to think that your site is going to rank for every keyword you could ever want. Many are simply too competitive, and a new website must do proper keyword research in order to find the right keywords. The ones you select should bring in traffic but also have an appropriate amount of competition.

Ever since Google released the new Hummingbird update, SEOs have started the shift from individual keyword phrases to topics. Hummingbird focuses more on the intent of the phrase with a better understanding of what the context means. This allows search engines like Google to answer questions with web pages even if that page is not optimized for that phrase.

That said, doing keyword research with the Google Adwords tool can still give you some good ideas for keywords. You want keywords that have low to medium competition in an area.

2. Great content (the longer, the better)

Great content is now a requirement to rank well. Search engines rank pages with bad grammar and spelling lower. This means that sites with well-written content are finally starting to get the ranking they deserve.

“How long should my content be?” is a question many people ask. While there really isn’t an exact answer, most people agree that 500 words is a good minimum length for your normal blog post.

It’s also a good idea to mix in longer authority posts. Research has shown that longer posts (over 1,000 words) tend to rank better—keep in mind, Google really likes authoritative posts with 2,000+ words.

Starting in August 2013, Google introduced in-depth articles as a new type of search result. Google separates these articles by placing them in a special box on the right side of the search results with other highly authoritative articles on the subject.

To improve your chances of getting an in-depth article status in the future, it must have the highest quality content, be over 2000 words, and not be promotional in any way.

One final tip: Length isn’t the only thing that matters. Make your posts fun to read. Avoid boring, stuffy content that looks like a legal document. Instead, opt for more conversational, amusing content when writing reviews, essays and guides.

3. Natural keyword usage

The primary rule for mixing your keywords into your content is to make sure they sound natural to the reader. When you write for your reader (not to game search engines) and use natural keyword placement, you can actually rank better with search engines.

4. Page titles

Your page titles should have the keyword phrase you’re targeting but also be descriptive for the reader. For example, if your article is about “Labrador training,” then a good title might be “Labrador Training in Six Easy Steps.”

The page title should not exceed 70 characters. Although search engines will index longer titles, they will be truncated in the search results.

5. Header tags

It’s generally a good idea to include the keyword phrase in an occasional header tag, but don’t overdo it. If you’re going to include a keyword phrase in a header tag, it is best to use the first heading on the page (H1) because Google will pay more attention to it.

6. Optimized URLs

You can put keywords in your URLs, but don’t overdo it. (e.g., www.labrador-training-strategies.com/labrador-training.html)

This looks suspect, with an exact match domain and a keyword-optimized url. However, a branded root domain with an optimized url is fair game, like such:http://mysite.com/details

7. Page load time

According to WebProNews, when Google added page speed into their algorithm, sites that had slow load times saw a drop in traffic from Google. Page load speed is a ranking factor for Google.

In order to fix page load speed problems:

·         Measure how long a page takes to load.

·         Optimize your website to improve performance.

·         If you are using a shared hosting server, you can try switching to a different hosting provider to see if it makes a positive difference.

·         After making changes, measure performance again.

If you use WordPress, make sure you keep plugins to a minimum, as they will only bog down your site if there are too many. Also, stick with a lean code (such as Thesis and Genesis) or a website builder (here is a good list for those) that allows you to customize and tweak the code. This doesn’t necessarily help page speed, but it keeps your blog from looking cookie-cutter and generic.

It’s a good idea to periodically check your page load on a few random pages to make sure changes to your site have not affected performance.

8. Internal linking

Make sure you link your content with other internal pages that would be beneficial to your readers. This will help improve your site’s SEO and will make it easier for your readers to navigate and find more of your useful content.

9. Google authorship

Google authorship is easy to set up in your content and your Google+ profile. It allows you to establish yourself as an authority in your niche and as a result, Google will rank pages higher for your site.

10. Responsive (mobile) design

I recently read that roughly most user now buying smart phones and browsing the Internet with them. This is why it is critical that you use a responsive (i.e. mobile) design for your website so that pages easily show up on the small screen.

Google also recommends a responsive design because it makes it easier for visitors to have a single URL. Your web pages will load faster because your website doesn’t need to be redirected to another page for a mobile device.

how to boost traffic to your website

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how to boost traffic to your website

Lack of website traffic is one of the most common challenges I hear from business owners. Many report having lost a significant percentage of their search traffic over the past year or two, and are continuously looking for new ways to drive relevant traffic to their site.

This article is an attempt to give marketers and business owners a whole battery of straight-to-the-point, actionable tips for getting traffic to your website or blog. While some of these strategies won’t be a quick fix, you may be surprised how quickly many of them start to generate results.

Focus on long-tail keywords – The days of focusing on a single keyword for each page are long gone. Make sure your posts include all the relevant terms and phrases related to your topic. For help with finding long-tail keywords, see my post How to Find LSI (Long Tail) Keywords Once You’ve Identified Your Primary Keywords.

1. Start a forum on your website – An active forum can quickly begin ranking for long-tail keywords. They’re also great for decreasing your site’s bounce rate, increasing time-on-site, as well as building a community.

2. Start a Facebook group that drives traffic to your site – Start a niche-specific group where members can ask questions and get support (and don’t forget to point them back to your site’s content where relevant).

3. Submit your blog posts to StumbleUpon – It works!

4. Promote your blog posts to your email list – This doesn’t have to be the main focus of all your emails, but including a link or two back to your blog posts can considerably increase traffic, leads, and sales.

5. Answer a HARO query – Answering a pitch only take a few minutes, and can result in great PR, high-quality inbound links and referral traffic to your site.

6. Work on your headlines – Your headlines are what will get people in the door, particularly when you share your blog posts via social media; make sure they pique interest and clearly articulate the benefit to your readers. For help with that, see “The Online Marketer’s Guide to Writing High-Converting Headlines.”

7. Join a blogging community like ProBlogger or CopyBlogger  – This is a great way to network with other bloggers, and to cross-promote each other’s content.

8. Include links to other relevant posts on your blog – When you write a post, always be sure to mention other posts your readers may find helpful; this is great for SEO as well as for increasing time-on-site, conversion rates, and referral traffic.

9. Guest post on relevant blogs – There’s not much point guest blogging on a site in an unrelated niche; make sure you only contribute to highly-relevant, high-quality sites in your niche. See “The Ultimate, Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Business by Guest Blogging.”

10. Become a columnist or contributor on a well-known website – If you can become a guest contributor on an authority site like Huffington Post or Forbes, you not only drive targeted traffic to your site, but establish yourself as an expert in your field.

11. Optimize your existing posts – Comb through your old posts to make sure they have unique and relevant title tags, URLS and meta descriptions.

12. Demote irrelevant Google sitelinks – While Google sitelinks are automatically generated, you can demote URLS you don’t want to show; this may increase the chances that the URLS you do want listed show up. You can do this from within Google Webmaster Tools.

13. Arrange an advertising swap – Trade banner ads with a complimentary site in your niche.

14. Post more frequently – Neil Patel of QuickSprout found that by posting high-quality posts 6x per week (as opposed to 5), blog traffic increased by 18.6%. Find your magic number and commit to seeing it through. Remember that in many cases, the traffic increases you see from blogging are scalable.

15. Submit your posts to Reddit – Yes, this also still works.

16. Mention influencers in your tweets – When you cite, quote or mention someone in a blog post, be sure to @ mention them in your tweet when you promote your post.

17. Focus your energy on strategies that are working – You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. Study your analytics to see your main traffic drivers, and focus on your energy on these areas.

18. Build connections with others in your niche – I know this sounds cliché, but building personal relationships with other bloggers in your niche will often result in organic inbound links and referral traffic to your site.

19. Make sure you have every relevant keyword you can think of on your site – I’m not talking old-school keyword spamming here. I’m talking about focusing on topical content; and making sure you at least have the chance of being found for all your relevant keywords, no matter how obscure they may be.

20. Create a top 10 website post – Select the top 10 blogs in your niche, and write a post about them. You may also want to create a simple badge or banner those sites can embed to show off their award.

21. Make the most of Facebook links – Be sure to include links back to your site in your About page, in your photo descriptions, in the comments of your posts (where relevant), and in your milestones.

22. Get on YouTube – YouTube drives the most engaged traffic out of all social media sites, with an average of 2.99 pages per visit.

23. Add text to your blog post images – Try including your post title and URL in your blog post images for optimal effect when pinned or shared.

24. Become a member of industry Facebook and LinkedIn groups – Offer valuable advice and info to build relationships and drive traffic to your site.

25. Connect with bloggers who are already sending you traffic – If someone has already linked to your site, they obviously like what you have to say. Contact them to see if there are other ways they could help promote your content (and vice versa).

26. Ask a well-known blogger to guest post on your site – They’ll likely share the post with their audience, driving traffic to your site.

27. Respond to blog comments – Respond thoughtfully to all comments on your blog. This is great for building relationships, as well as for driving commenters back to your site.

28. Add your blog to Alltop – As an aggregate for all kinds of web content, submitting your blog increases your chances of getting found by people looking for content in your niche.

29. Answer Questions – Visit sites like Yahoo Answers or Quora and answer questions relevant to your niche.

30. Write a Response Post – Respond to a controversial post in your niche and then let the original poster know about it. Chances are good they won’t be able to resist responding to it on their blog.

31. Contact influential bloggers – When you write a groundbreaking or newsworthy post, notify influencers in your field. You may be surprised at how many link back to your post.

32. Make proper use of categories – If you haven’t already organized your content into relevant categories, now’s the time. Categories are great not only for SEO, but for helping your readers find relevant content.

33. Write landmark posts  - Create at least a few long-form, authoritative posts that will organically garner links and attention over the long haul.

34. Comment on industry blogs  - Become a regular commenter on a popular blog in your niche to help drive referral traffic and to establish relationships with other bloggers.

35. Interview influencers in your niche – They will be very likely to promote the interview to their audience.

36. Share your blog posts regularly on Facebook  - Post a short excerpt from your posts to entice them to click through.
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38. Share your posts on Triberr  - Meet other bloggers and share each other’s content.

38. Add your blog to Technorati – As the world’s largest blog directory, claiming your blog should be standard procedure for all bloggers.

How to Increase Organic (Free) Traffic to your site

increase Organic seo for website tips

1. Include relevant content, relevant to your page description and Meta keywords.
2. Instead of changing your URL or redirecting from your old URL to your new URL, follow Google's procedure on URL changes to make sure your new site doesn't get skipped, or just avoid URL changes if you can.
3. Don't post duplicate content on your site, so if you quote another page only include a small excerpt and don't repeat your own content on multiple pages.
4. Avoid flash, even though it looks cool, flash and animated banners and intros annoy visitors and search engine bots don't read them.
5. Submit to quality directories.
6. Make sure your robot.txt files are not blocking destination URLs that you do not want blocked.
7. Choose your Meta keywords wisely and include them in your content.
8. Strive to obtain quality links into your site.
9. If you use icon or image links, include a text link.
10. If you operate an affiliate site, make your site a valuable resource, so people chose your site rather than go straight to your affiliate.
11. Add a site map.
12. Don't use link schemes.
13. Write specific content, so searches can find applicable results. Instead of writing "books," write "medical text books" or "organic cookbooks"; be specific.
14. If you include low quality links on your site, block them from being scanned by Googlebot.
15. Don't break up your content too much, like loads of banner ads and so on in the middle or your text, irritates readers and bots.
16. Write unique and compelling content.
17. Don't forget to include your page descriptions.
18. Don't bury text content in images.
19. Look for un-indexed URLs, URL with more than a few parameters or dynamic links, they may be skipped.
20. Stay up-to-date on SEO, your strategies need to constantly evolve.
21. Deliver what you promise, don't drive readers to inapplicable or irrelevant pages.
22. Carefully consider your titles, make sure to include targeted keywords.
23. Don't forget humor or other devices that attract and keep readers.
24. Add text links with anchor links.
25. Keep links out and in up-to-date.
26. Start a blog or forum if it makes sense on your site.
27. Join BBB or your local Chamber of Commerce or other reputable business associations.
28. Submit articles to respectable and active article sites.
29. Add Alt tags to images for people that disable images.
30. Validate and 508 your site for accessibility.
31. Submit your business description to Wikipedia or other popular information sites.
32. Consider adding maps or mashups.
33. Submit to multiple search engines.
34. Consider marketing some of your subpages or articles that have less competition.
35. Don't forget good old-fashion PR.
36. Start a little controversy.
37. Consider adding an RSS feed.
38. Write "top ten" lists, which are popular with article search sites.
39. Build a good site that others want to link to.
40. Eliminate grammar and spelling errors.
41. Publish a privacy policy.
42. Send out press releases when it makes sense.
43. Avoid hidden text and links.
44. Keep your content up-to-date.
45. Don't employ redirects or "cloaking."
46. Don't create pages with bad content, like viruses, trojans, malware and so on.
47. Steer clear of empty, unoriginal affiliate pages.
48. Make sure every page is assessable through at least on static text link.
49. Use text, instead of images to relate important content.
50. Check for broken links.
51. Don't put too many links on one page, even if it is a resource page, keep it well under 100.
52. Test out your site with a text browser.
53. Be leery of badly placed session IDs and arguments.
54. Employ the IF-Modified-Since HTTP header to let Google know if your content has changed.
55. Don't use "&id=" as a URL parameter, they are not indexed.
56. Avoid deceptive or manipulative techniques.