Search Engine Optimization Tutorial
This Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tutorial will help you learn about SEO and how it can improve your search engine ranking in Google. Today, the Google search engine is the most popular online tool in the world for researching products, services, and information. On the flip side, SEO has become an equally important factor in ranking higher and generating more relevant traffic in Google search results. Check out this article to find out how search engines rank web pages, then scroll down to learn about SEO and how it can help your online business achieve the success that it deserves!
Introduction - SEO for Google
Step 1 - Keyword Research for SEO
Step 2 - Google SEO On Page Optimization
Step 3 - Inbound and Outbound Linking
Step 4 - Monetize Page Content
Step 5 - Other SEO Strategies for Google
Why Learn About SEO?
Even if you have great content, your visitor count (and sales) will NEVER be at their highest potential if your website or page is poorly ranked in search engines, because people won't be able to find you! Search engine optimization (SEO) is a form of internet marketing that uses strategies to improve the overall quality of online content, so that search engines can better understand and rank it.
We use three steps in our SEO strategy:
- SEO content writing - the initial steps of SEO.
- On page optimization - implementing SEO techniques into a website's structure.
- Off page optimization - using SEO techniques outside of a website's structure.
Everyone has their own way of performing SEO. However, the common goal of every SEO campaign is to obtain higher natural, organic search engine listings so that it can be more easily found. In this search engine optimization tutorial, we will explain how to perform SEO, however, when it comes down to getting increased traffic and sales, CONTENT is king. In other words, SEO can help but it's up to your visitors to decide what they think about your site and if they will revisit, buy, tell their friends, and so on.
Search Engine Optimization Tutorial
Even though we will admit that SEO is time consuming, the following search engine optimization tutorial strategies are not difficult to learn and implement. In the end, your success will depend on how much you're willing to learn, and how much time you're willing to commit.
Intro: SEO for Google
Every search engine has a different way of indexing websites and pages. This is why different search engines produce different results for the same exact search. Since Google is the most-used search engine in the world, we will focus on Google SEO (search engine optimization) internet marketing strategies for this tutorial.
- Want to know where your site ranks in Google? Click here to find out your current Google search engine ranking, and what keywords people are using to find your site (which you can use in the first step). Jot down your current ranking, and about a month after performing SEO adjustments check to see if your ranking has improved.
- Except for the engineers of Google, no one knows exactly how Google ranks content. So, it's up to the rest of us to find out by trial and error. What has been proven, is that if you're understood by Google, it makes it easier for your site to be indexed so that you can achieve a higher ranking, increased traffic, and (hopefully) more sales.
SEO is not difficult to do, however, it is time consuming and does require commitment. To make your organic SEO process easier, we've outlined the following Google SEO strategies that have worked to optimize our online businesses.
Step 1: Keyword Research for SEO
The main goal of all keyword research strategies is to get your website ranked for relevant keywords and phrases that people actually use to find the products, services, or information that you are offering. Check out our keyword research tutorial to learn how to find keywords and phrases that are beneficial to your topic, yet also realistic in search and competition.
- We enjoy using Google AdWords keyword tool for SEO. Many people also use the Overture keyword suggestion tool, but because it only provides "broad" match (that involves singular, plural, and misspelled search terms in one), we've stuck with AdWords because it has an "Exact" search option.
- Choose 3-5 keyword combinations that are relevant to your topic, have a good amount of search volume (with steady or upward search trends), and are realistic in terms of competition. Then, use your keyword choices throughout your content, so that your site will have a chance to gain higher rankings for these keywords in Google.
- To find keywords that you are already linking for in search engines, look at your web server. Your server provides a short list of search terms that people have used to find your site. To find an even longer list of search terms, an analytics system such as Google Analytics is a good choice because you can dig deeper into the long-tail keywords and search patterns of your visitors.
Step 2: Google SEO On Page Optimization
On page optimization is an SEO technique that outlines how to use your keywords and phrases within the content and HTML code of your pages. First, you must fill in the "All in One SEO" meta tag fields. Meta tags should include a title, description, and keywords. Here are some common meta tag techniques that you can use in your SEO process:
- The meta title tag is one of the most important factors in SEO, because when Google indexes your site the meta title is used within your search engine listings, and also at the top of web browsers, to inform visitors about your site. Search engine robots read from left to right, so keywords that come first should be the most important. Title tags should be between 10-60 characters, after this, a search engine will simply ignore the rest.
- Your meta description tag has importance is SEO as well, because it's also used in search listings. This is a great opportunity to further inform visitors about your site and differentiate yourself from the competition. Use a keyword-rich, yet informative description that is less than 200 characters and made up of clear sentences. Keep in mind that this is a chance to entice others to choose your site over the competition (and hopefully return in the future), so make sure to explain what your page is about and what it has to offer.
- The meta keywords tag is the least important for Google. However, it still can help in SEO, and is an easy way to keep track of the keywords you are using to make an impact in SEO. When inputting your 3-5 keyword combinations, the most important one should appear to the right, with less important keywords following after (search engine robots read from left to right), and seperated by commas. Every keyword used in the meta keyword tag should appear somewhere in your content, otherwise you could be penalized for irrelevance.
Next, include your keywords and phrases from the first paragraph throughout the rest of your content. As for length, Google seems to prefer content to be around 250 - 300 words long. For SEO, you should also include important keywords in the majority of your headers and subheaders - with H1 taking the most importance and H6 taking the least in Google. Make sure to provide a keyword-rich description that still describes what your content is about.
It's important to note that Google will analyze how often keywords appear in relation to other words on a page. If a web page has a high-frequency of keywords, it will be deemed more relevant than other pages. However, do NOT repeat your keywords hundreds of times on a page, because this is "spamming" and Google may sandbox your site. As a general word of wisdom, if your content is informative, credible, and the keywords aren't over-powering then spamming should not be a concern.
Step 3: Inbound and Outbound Linking
Search engine optimization includes the above on page SEO techniques as well as many off-page SEO techniques, such as inbound and outbound linking. The Google search engine places a great deal of focus on web page links, and the reputation of those links. It's important to maintain keyword-rich inbound links from relevant sites, as well as related inbound links within your own site.
- Google looks at the links of a web page (including images) to better determine what your page is about. If you have a good link setup, Google will return the favor by boosting your ranking. Focus on getting value links, not on getting as many links as possible. 10 great links (those that rank high in Google) are better than 25 okay ones.
In order to tell search engines how these links are relevant to your content, use keywords in BOTH your anchor text and links. Instead of using the words "click here" use something like, "Check out our our search engine optimization tutorial," instead. To find out how your links are used in your website, use an analytics program like Google Analytics to track your links and view click-through rates. If you find that certain links attract more visitors, take note because these can improve your ranking. If you see links that have poor click-through, replace them with other links that have a higher Google ranking.
In order to monetize your page content, join up affiliate programs and then use the provided affiliate links, banners, plugins, videos, etc on your site. We enjoy affiliate programs like Amazon, ClickBank, PayPal and eBay. By offering outbound links from trustworthy affiliate program, you can make money from your increased Google traffic and attract even more visitors by expanding your services. Check out this tutorial to find out more on how you can make money online with affiliate programs
Step 5: Other SEO Strategies for Google
Lifespan of Online Content
An important fact to know in Google Search Engine Optimization is the "Sandbox" theory. Google delays the rankings of a NEW website for a few months because it needs time build "trust" with it. When Google decides to trust a website, this process is known as "Getting out of the sandbox" by website owners. In contrast, trusted sites can get removed from search results they have violated any of Google's rules. This is called being "Sandboxed". After being sandboxed, the only way to get out of the sandbox is to remove whatever it is that you are being penalized for and then apply for inclusion.
Credibility of Content
Another factor of SEO is the credibility of a website. By offering credible and interesting content, people will be more apt to visit your site again. Take mainstream media for example. TV networks like FOX and CNN may appear credible and fair, but in all reality each network twists opinions a favors one side over another in political agendas. Online, you can provide visitors with credible resources, such as making purchases available from eBay or using safe payment options via PayPal. Also, the longer a site exists, the more credibility it gains with search engines. Once you have credibility on your side, your site or page will be able to overcome a less credible competitor and rank higher in Google as a result.
SEO-Rich Domain Names for Google
Having a keyword-rich domain name can help in Google search results as well. If you think spaces are needed in your domain name, dashes are better for Google SEO than underscores. To find out more about domain names, check out our Domain Name and Registration Information. The age of your domain also makes a difference in Google rankings (spam sites are not registered for long), so it's a smart idea to extend your domain registration for a couple of years.
YouTube Video & SEO
Video can also help your search engine optimization (SEO) On November 20, 2009, YouTube added an automatic video captioning service to make their visual clips more accessible. This resulted positive impact in SEO, because YouTube videos are more optimized (for search engines) if keywords are used in the captions. Other then YouTube captions, very little text counts toward SEO on the web today, so it's a breakthrough in optimizing online video content.
Internet Marketing Tools and Online Business Opportunities
SEO is the key to achieving online sucess for Google. To learn even more ways to achieve success online, check out our reviews and tutorials of the internet marketing tools and online business opportunities we use in our own online businesses!
Search Engine Optimization Video Tutorial
This video is a great recap of our search engine optimization tutorial. Complete with step-by-step visuals, it can help you further learn SEO before diving into your campaign.
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