In the previous article I spent a lot of time talking about what SEO was and how we got to this point. Now we’re going to get into some basic SEO tips and tricks you can do to get yourself started. Here are some of the things I’ve picked up over the last couple of years.
Links tip the SEO Scale
The Internet is full of connected sites. It’s one of the reasons why it’s called the web. One thing that search engines look for is if your site has connections internally and externally. The internal ones lets it know that there is more to see beyond just a single page. External links are for how you’re connected to the wider network. The better connected you are, the more links. General consensus is that it’s better to have links going both ways. If you’re just starting out, that isn’t always possible. A simple SEO tip is creating a social media presence. A Facebook or Twitter page will show search engines that your site is credible and will help give you a little SEO boost.
Content is Important!
I am not going to lie to you. This is the one aspect I end up spending a lot of time working on. There is so much that goes into it so let’s jump in to some of the more common SEO tips.
- Sentences – Sentence structure on your website is so important. How many times have you been reading a sentence and you have found that it goes on and on and you eventually either lose track or the will to live because there is so much to take in and your brain can’t focus on it. Like that last one for example. Keeping your sentences short and to the point will help you in the long run. It allows the reader to take in the information at their own pace.
- Language – What kind of language you are using is another factor you have to take into consideration. If you find yourself using a lot of industry terms or lesser used words ask yourself a question. “Would I be able to follow this if I didn’t know this topic?” Better yet, try and get someone else to read it. Looking at it from the outside in WILL help. I’ve lost count of when someone used flowery terms or language that could be distilled into something simpler. More often than not, keeping it simple helps it be readable and SEO friendly.
- Alt text – In case you don’t know what alt text is let me explain. If an image doesn’t load or if you’re using a screen reader it explains what should be there. Your alt-text should really be linked to the subject of the page. If your article is about London a picture of Big Ben should have something simple like “Big Ben in London”. Believe me it might sound silly or reductive but it does help!
All of these tips are here to make sure that your content is easy to follow. If they aren’t able to find the information they came for they will click off.
Keywords make ALL the difference
When it comes to keywords there are degrees of specificity. Think of it like a dart board. The outer ring is more general term that a lot of people will use and type. The bull’s-eye is the hyper specific thing while the middle ring acts as the go between. A good example is Marvel (that’s the outer ring) loads of people write about it so there is a lot of competition for it. Then if we go to the bull’s-eye I can say the Starjammers is more niche, but you’ve got less competition. You want to try and find the middle ground. Luckily if you have a google ad account you can use it to research ad words (keywords) that you can use. It will tell you which ones are more used so you can cater your approach to fit your business or page.
Those are just some SEO tips to get you started down the rabbit hole (and boy is it a rabbit hole). Let’s leave it there for this week and let us know if you think SEO is outdated or not in the comment section. If you want more articles like this one then why don’t you check out our Blog page? We publish articles every week so it’s worthwhile following us on Facebook, Twitter or checking back in with us regularly.
