Top Search Engine Optimization Tips for 2012
Everyone wants to get to the top of the search engine rankings, but as companies like JC Penneys can tell you, there is a right way and a wrong way to use search engine optimization to get there. Google frequently updates its algorithms to ensure that its customers are able to find the most relevant results to their search requests as quickly as possible. The results of their algorithm changes, like Google Panda, can absolutely devastate the search engine rankings of a company that is trying to increase its position with Google in an unnaturally quick way. This article will give you some search engine optimization tips that will assist your search engine ranking increase in 2012.
Search Engine Optimization Tips | Quality Content
People hate spam. Google hates spam. People likes informative content. Google likes informative content. See a trend?
If you’re goal is to get people to your weight loss website, than you have two ways of doing so. First, you can write an article with the phrase ‘weight loss’ in there 300 times for the sole purpose of ranking high in the search engines and hoping when people get to your site, they’ll click on one of your ads. As I’m typing that sentence, it seems like a foolish plan. Therefore, rather than writing articles with the goal of stuffing as many keywords as possible to rank high in the search engines, it’s best to write informative articles that benefit the end user. Some tips for doing so are to write articles that relay a current event, a new technology, answer a question, or demonstrate a ‘how to’ do something. When people click on these types of informative articles, they will benefit from the content and be more likely to opt in to your site or click on a link from your site. In summary, don’t try to write articles to rank with the bots, rather create articles that will be well received by humans.
Search Engine Optimization Tips | Keep it Original
Google is a very sophisticated search engine, and one of the best search engine optimization tips is to avoid duplicating other people’s content. Now, if you’re researching a topic and you like something that someone has to say, it’s fine to quote the person as long as you cite the source and as long as the cited content isn’t the majority of your post. For example, here’s whatAlia Haleyhad to say to say about duplicate content in a recent post:
“Google is the most trusted and widely used search engine. It does not show 20 pages having the same content, instead it shows the most relevant and original content and omits the rest. So if you want to increase the Google rankings avoid using duplicate content.” http://socialmediatoday.com/alia-haley/404427/algorithm-changes-ways-improve-your-google-ranking
For example, if you’ve ever posted a blog to your site and then submitted to an article site and posted on multiple other blogs sites using Ping.fm or OnlyWire, you’d see that your article would only come up one time. Also, you can’t control which article from which site location will rank the best. If the goal is to grow your blog page and Google ‘picks’ the Ezine Article to promote, then what have you accomplished? The bottom line is that for best search optimization, keep your content original.
Search Engine Optimization Tips | Links are King
Obtaining good quality links to your website is an important part of search engine optimization. Links give your site credibility in the eyes of Google, and the more links you have, the more credibility you have with Google. Now before you go out to Fiverr.com and order 10,000 backlinks, understand that you will want to add links naturally and at a steady pace. If you throw a bunch of unrelated links from China to your local blog post in Arkansas, Google will consider you a spam site. Therefore, grow your links through adding your site to local search directories, answering questions on sites like answers.yahoo.com, commenting on high PR sites, wiki sites, and writing press releases. By intelligently adding links to your website, your site will absolutely climb the rankings of the search engines.
Search Engine Optimization Tips | Video Killed the Article Star
Creating videos is actually quick, easy, and inexpensive. You can use video software tools like Jing for a simple video shoot or Camtasia for something a little more complicated. Videos are more often clicked on and watched than text and the links from videos last longer in search engines than articles do. Here’s a brief video with some video marketing tips:
People love watching videos. It is the best way to demonstrate how your product works, answer a ‘how-to’ question, or show a testimonial. YouTube is getting over 2 billion views per day, so you definitely want to have your content in a place where it can be seen.
Search Engine Optimization Tips | Socially Acceptable
Here’s a simple search engine optimization tip for you: whenever you post a blog, post it on your social media sites with a link back to your blog. Social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn, provide great opportunities for people to read your articles and click back to your blog. Using social media marketing will allow you to build links and increase your site visits. Plus, when people logged into a social media site ‘Like’ your article, then their friends will be able to see that in the search engines as well, which will increase the chances of someone clicking on your link.
In summary, when creating a search optimization plan for 2012, don’t try to fool or trick Google. Instead, simply put together a website that people will enjoy visiting multiple times by providing unique, quality content, answering questions, providing ‘how to’ content, and using some video as well. If you are consistently following this method and using the search engine optimization tips listed above, then you will watch your website shoot up the Google search rankings quickly…and stay there.