The mere mention of the term Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) is enough to give newbies brain freeze!
When you're new to blogging and learning how to do SEO for the first time it's reminiscent of when you first learned how to drive.
Put your foot on the brake, put one foot on the clutch, put the car in gear, slowly release the clutch, slowly hit the accelerator, and now DRIVE!
And then ten years later you drive forty-five minutes home from a hard day at the office, and don't even remember driving.
You know what I'm talking about?
And so it is with blogging and learning how to do SEO to attract targeted traffic.
In the beginning you're thinking of all of the steps. Do I have my keyword in my title? Have I included it enough times in my body content without being obvious? Who am I writing for after all? My readers or Google?
Then after a while, you get to be as cool as David Sharpe from Empower Network who on Black Friday ranked third on Google without even trying.
How did he do it?
He put something relevant to the day in his title. He put out a post for the 'Black Friday Bonus Leadership Call.'
How simple was that?
Did he sit down and say, 'OK, how can I get to the top of the Search Engine Rankings to get targeted traffic to my blog?'
I doubt it. I bet he just sat down and wrote, direct from the heart. And this is a gift.
It comes naturally to some & to others we must learn it. But the good news is that it is learnable.
To some people it seems as learnable as Latin, but believe me, it is learnable.
So let's get started.
How to do SEO Rule No.1 - Content is King
No matter how new you are to this, there's a pretty good chance you've heard this already.
When you first start learning how to do SEO you must create good, well written, fresh, original content that focuses on your major keyword or keyword phrase. The more original you are, the more Google will like you and the more targeted traffic you'll get.
How to do SEO Rule No.2 - Keyword Research
You MUST, MUST, MUST do your keyword research. If you don't it's like asking the search engines to find a grain of sand in the Mojave desert. You're making the task impossible.
So do a little research on the word or phrase that you want to rank for.
A little tip for newbies, try and find a word or phrase that has little competition.
High competition words are just too difficult to rank for. Later on however when you've mastered how to do SEO you can go for it!
How to do SEO Rule No.3 - Put your Keywords in the right place
Now that you've sussed out the keyword(s) you want to rank for you have to know where to put them.
When learning how to do SEO for the first time this part can be a real challenge. How do you put your keywords in the right place and yet still have your content flowing naturally?
Well, for starters, put your keyword in the title - this is essential.
Then aim to get it in at least your H2 (Heading 2) and H3 (Heading 3) tags. This allows the search engines to quickly understand what your post is all about.
How to do SEO Rule No.4 - Linking
Google loves it when you share the love.
There is a lot of good talent out there. Google will love you and so will your readers if you send them to other reference sites that offer valuable content.
For example, I highly recommend you check out Michael Blujay at Website Helpers.
Michael is a wealth of information when it comes to Search Engine Optimization.
And always think quality over quantity.
Your readers will really appreciate you if you send them to one high quality link that will improve the quality of their lives rather than a lot of poor quality links that bring little value.
You will also need to consider internal linking and back linking.
This can get a little complicated and I just want to keep it simple for the sake of this blog.
But basically internal linking is when you link pages of your own site together and back linking is when you get outside links to link to your page.
Without a doubt the best way to create back links is to use Social Networking. Check this blog out for the most fun and free way to start getting back links.
How to do SEO Rule No.5 - Build a quality website
Now, if you're new I know this sounds daunting. But remember, Rome wasn't built in a day.
So, my personal feeling on the subject is this:
Don't burst a blood vessel trying to get your website up and running yesterday.
Build it step by step, layer upon layer, of good, high quality, unique content.
As you write each post, pretend you're the host of the Oscars.
You have high quality, targeted traffic coming to your event.It's going to be seen live around the world by millions of viewers. You want them engaged.
Think of your targeted traffic as if you had Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese & Francis Ford Coppola in the front row, and then throw in a dash of Al Pacino, Robert de Nero and Meryl Streep. Do you think you're going to want to bring your A-Game? You betcha.
And so it is when you're building your website. Build it layer upon layer of high quality content. Don't be tempted to put out some poor piece of content just to get something out there. Whoever said 'something is better than nothing' wasn't referring to our business.
If you're going for search engine optimization then deliver the wow on every page.
If it takes 2-3 hours to get it right, then do it. You'll thank yourself later.
My primary school teacher, who sadly passed away just recently, was my greatest inspiration when it came to work ethics. He taught me this when I was doing a half arsed job of sweeping the schoolroom floor one day. He said, "If you're going to do something, then do it right.”
That has stuck with me forever, and may it stick with you too.
Oh - and I have a final little gem for you.
If you're really stuck in the muck with how to do SEO and need some help with writing good content that is relevant to your audience then I recommend you take a look at Inbound Writer.
Although it is not specifically targeting how to do SEO it does include SEO criteria when analyzing your content. Inbound Writer searches various social media platforms to analyze what's trending and lead you in the right direction on how to write your document to have most appeal.
You can create eight documents for free per month and then you can upgrade to a Professional Plan for $19.95 per month.
And if you want to delve a little deeper then check out Google Analytics. Here you'll get a handle on what's happening with your website traffic and how effective your marketing is.
So, is it a little clearer now about how to do SEO?
I hope so.
This is a huge subject and learning how to do SEO effectively is a process of continual learning.
Some people choose to spend tens of thousands of dollars investing in educating themselves on how to do SEO and some people just don't bother about it too much. And you know what? Both have a good chance of ranking.
One school of thought is that if you continue to write quality content that is relevant and targeted, you're going to eventually rank no matter what.
So, in closing I would recommend this - do a little more research on how to do SEO but don't let it stifle your creativity. Yes, learning how to do SEO is important - but it's not the be all and end all.
Good luck and keep it real!
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