Everyone wants to rank high on the search engines, and most of the people I talk to seem to think the secrets of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) lie behind a shadowed veil of mystery and secrecy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here are some simple concepts that will make your website very Google friendly, as well as some resources that will spell it out for you, directly from the source. This is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) demystified.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a simple science and it should be viewed in the same way you look at food ingredients. If you don’t understand what’s in it, it’s probably not good for you.
Google ranks websites based on their relevancy and you should always think about how to get better google rankings via Singapore seo.
Lets break this down
1. Content. You need lots of it, and it needs to be relevant to your industry and audience. This isn’t mysterious. If you are in auto repair, you should have content about auto repair.
2. Easy to read. Your website should be written on a 5th grade reading level (or lower). There’s a resource called the Flesch–Kincaid readability test that will grade your content. Don’t go overboard with big words. You want to appeal to the widest audience possible.
3. Easy to use. Your site’s content and flow should be intuitive to the user. If they are easy for the user, they will be easy for Google. We want to make everything easy for Google.
4. Keywords/Phrases found throughout your content. Don’t overdo this. I’ve seen website tip the balance between being “search engine readable” and “people readable”. If you want to rank high on Google for say, “Custom motorcycles in Maryland”, don’t overdo that phrase in your content. Example: “Are you looking for custom motorcycles in Maryland? We have lots of custom motorcycles in Maryland. No one has more custom motorcycles in Maryland than us and we have all the custom motorcycles in Maryland, here at our custom motorcycles in Maryland store!” Wasn’t that annoying to read? If users don’t have a good experience on your site, they’ll leave and go to your competitor.
Aside from relevancy, more technical things you can do are:
- Have friendly URLS.
http://www.yourwebsite.com/custom_motorcycles/ is good for SEO
http://www.yourwebsite.com/products.php?id=1928 is not - Put your most valuable keywords/phrases in the page titles and at the top of the page content.
- Link to external non-competitive resources to support and supplement your content.
- Pages and blogs should be 300 words or more.
- Include pictures and put your keywords/phrases in the ALT tags.
Beware of SEO Services
With just this little bit of knowledge, you can SEO your site yourself. I frequently show my clients how to do it, and some of them really get good at it. They can see their sites rise to the top of Google from their own efforts. (We create websites that allow them easy access to these elements).
If you do decide to hire an SEO company, make sure you understand all the previously mentioned concepts so that you can not only speak intelligently to them, but root out those trying to rip you off. For example, if you ask an SEO company what they’re going to do for the money you’re spending, you should fully understand it all. If they are saying things like “Well, we do a lot of behind the scenes work, like upgrade our blip blorp and meep zonk the flippydoof” and it’s clear they’re trying to confuse you, don’t even bother. Search Engine Optimization is a simple science and it should be viewed in the same way you look at food ingredients. If you don’t understand what’s in it, it’s probably not good for you. This is Search Engine Optimization demystified.
To further arm yourself, here are some resources that are 100% inarguable because they come from Google directly.
- Google’s own: Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide PDF
Literally, this is the “How To Succeed on Google” User Manual. Download it here. Yes, it’s written by Google. - Matt Cutts
Matt was the head of the Search Quality Group at Google for a long time, and wrote many blogs and created many videos on how to make your website the most optimized for Google. His blogs and videos are great because he answers questions with direct answers, not vague “maybes”.
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/MattCutts/videos
Blog: https://www.mattcutts.com/blog/
There is no big secret to this, just the basic formula that a people-friendly website will be a Google friendly website. Google’s intelligence is strong enough to detect this, so you can rely on this concept. Google also provide tons of information to help you because Google want relevant sites. They want you to rank high. They want high quality websites on the internet. Make sure yours is one of them, and you’ll do just fine on the search engines.
Also, make sure your site is persuasive and guides the user into your sales funnel. If not, the SEO success will not bring you much business. That will be our next topic…