So, What Is SEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, can be a confusing endeavor for those new to the market. Working in the field myself, I have always found it interesting that when you ask about the best ways to do SEO, you are very likely to get the same number of diverse responses as the number of people you asked. Whether that is because there is just that much confusion about how to properly do SEO or that each self-proclaimed guru out there seems to have their own thoughts on what exactly a site needs to rank well, it can just be very confusing nonetheless. (By the way, you would probably tend to get the same diversity of results if you asked what method or tool is best to use for getting research and implementation done for clients’ websites.)
From the Source
I find myself to be someone who likes to go right to the source to find the accurate information on a topic. And when dealing with search engine optimization marketing, there is truly only one word that counts: “Google.” If you ask anyone how they have been finding things online for the past decade, the answer is not Dogpile, Excite, WebCrawler or even Bing. There is only one giant in the market of search and in order rank well on their search engine, cooperating with them and understanding the algorithms is key to successful SEO in Google.
What Does Google Want?
Plain and simple, they want to give the user the most appropriate, quality content for their search terminology. So, if you want to rank high on Google, that is where you must start! If you don’t have unique and quality content on your site, you are going to have to resort to all types of work-arounds to get the job done rather than simply adding quality content (or “quantent” as we call it at Farotech) to your site. This also means you will have to be on the lookout for duplicate content because every page should be 80% unique when compared to sites in general, but especially on your own domain.
The next component would be the On-Page SEO pieces that are only seen in the coding of the site and do not appear on what the user would see when interacting with your website. This information is specifically for the search engines to use while indexing your site for the appropriate search terms. These components are the Title Tags, Meta Description and Meta Keywords (sometimes referred to as Focus Keywords). These should mirror the terms for which you want to be found in results, but keep in mind that most tools will let you know the limits on these. If you are using WordPress, there are many solid SEO implementation tools that plugin very easily and keep you informed on the strength of your words per page allotted. Be sure to make use of these optimization tools! Some safe limits to keep in mind:
- 70 characters for the Title Bar
- 160 for the Meta Description
- To be safe, it never hurts to stay slightly below these to avoid any major changes interfering with your website optimization
Lastly, for purposes of adding weight to your site as an authorized source, you should incorporate backlinking. Since the most recent of major updates by Google, backlinking has come under great scrutiny. Your backlinks should be in your niche (if you have a dental web site, then links should come from other healthcare sites or perhaps doctor review sites). Having a mix of follow and no-follow links is a solid strategy to show a well balanced mix from authoritative sources (any SEO backlinking tool worth its weight can show you if your backlinks are follow or no-follow). Avoid the idea of link farming or exchanging links. You want the highest quality sources pointing to you, but not back to them, which negates the link power (or juice).
Who Has Time for All That?
As a business owner, you may have read through all that thinking, “…and I fit that where in my day?!?” Simply stated, that is why there are so many “internet marketing companies” available. The most important step for any business owner who is serious about growing their business in the online community is finding the right company to work with. You should find a company that will give you a free analysis and that has a guarantee of their results, or you don’t pay. Many companies are now pushing toward long-term contracts, which require you to sign up for two years at a “special rate.” This should be a warning sign. Farotech is here to support your desire to grow your business in the ever-growing online community and we are SEO experts. We are a Philadelphia SEO company that works with clients both locally and nationally to establish and increase your web presence.
