SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a vital part of any business’ commerce and knowing the secrets are essential. Are there really secrets to SEO? Is there a magical way to get one’s site listed in the tops of the search engines? You may be surprised at how easy some things can be done and how difficult others are.
First of all, let common sense rule. It begs to reason that if your website is haphazardly designed and coded that Google and the other search engines aren’t going to march it to the top of their results. Broken links, unrelated content, poor keywords and keyphrases, links that make no sense whatsoever, and of course, spam. These simple things can cause a website disaster that could take months or years to remedy. Remember, SEO is a short and long term application of several techniques and technologies. Not paying attention to them means you’re shooting in the dark.
There are tried and true methods that should always be applied but one also has to realize that adapting to new strategies should not be sneezed at. Again this means setting up a foundation of basic strategies, combined with common sense, then applying what’s necessary to take advantage of any new guidelines, technologies, and techniques that the search engines require.
Bad content and site design will penalize you no matter how much you invest in SEO. Not being able to retain visitors nor convert them into sales is a bad way of doing business. Your website should attract, convert, and retain. Plain and simple. You can put on it all the coolest, latest, dazzling doo dads that you want but that is trendy and that is spammy and you will get penalized for it. Seeing the results of the drop in rankings because of bad SEO, less than stellar content, and using irrelevant links, webmasters are rushing to correct these issues as fast as possible. It could mean untold numbers of losses as sloppy or irresponsibly engineered websites don’t adapt to what is now on the plate.
So how to use the secrets of SEO? Simple, just use what is already available and get ready for the search engine world to come. We do this first by making sure your html code is correct on your site. Sloppy coding says to Google and the rest that you’re not professional. You get penalized for that. Right keywords and keyphrases. If you’re using the right keywords and keyphrases for your site, your statistics will show it. You’ll see who and from where these sales and traffic are coming from. Provide content that is user specific. Don’t put up content that doesn’t have anything to do with your customers. You don’t want to distract them nor confuse them. Make sure your site has no technical difficulties. That can not only be frustrating but a liability.
Finally, think both long and short term. The SEO you do today will reflect on you today and tomorrow. In the long run you’ll have a website that attracts the clientele and customers you need and want and makes your life easier.