The SEO Basics to Boost Your Web Presence

Search engine optimization, or SEO, can be complicated to understand at first. In order to reach your target publics, optimizing your content is one of the best strategies you can implement in your web strategy. How, then, can you best optimize your content to reach your publics? Keep reading to learn the SEO basics that will boost your web presence.

SEO Basics: Keyword Research and Implementation

Before you select keywords to optimize your pages for, you need to do your research. There are a variety of aspects to consider when you research keywords. One of the most important aspects is that the keyword fits with your brand. If it does not, it will be difficult to optimize for and will not effectively grow your web presence.

How do I know what the best keywords are?

By looking at the monthly volume, organic click-through rate and rankings you can get an idea of how effective the keyword will be. Usually, the higher the monthly volume rate the better. However, if you are a local business, the monthly volume rate will be lower than most national rates. This does not mean you need to focus on national ranks but that you should monitor keywords in the area that makes the most sense.

Organic click-through rates measure the number of click-through rates for regular links on your site. If there is a higher organic click-through rate that means that the keyword is front and center on the page–no other content is getting in the way.

A keyword’s rank shows the order that it will appear on Google or other browser’s search. Branded keywords usually rank #1 but others will likely take time and work to improve their rankings.

How can I effectively implement keywords on my website?

Once you select your keywords, you can optimize your web pages for them. You can only use one keyword for each page, and you cannot reuse that keyword on a different page. This is why you need to be strategic in how you optimize your web pages. Use the higher ranking keywords with the better organic click-through rate on the pages you want people to visit the most.

To optimize your pages, use the keywords in your h1’s, h2’s, h3’s, and content. Don’t go too crazy, however, because if you use the keyword too much, your rankings will suffer. You need to find the correct balance between the keyword and other content. And remember, the quality of your content is more important than SEO, so don’t compromise the content by inserting keywords where they don’t belong.

SEO Basics: Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions appear as short statements on the search engine’s results page. Writing meta descriptions can be challenging at first as there is a limited amount of words you can include. However, with practice, you can master the art of writing effective meta descriptions.

What does a good meta description look like?

Meta descriptions should not exceed 158 characters. You also need to include your keyword for the page you are writing the meta description for. Make sure that your description represents the page you are writing for well as you do not want to be misleading.

A good meta description entices readers to learn more and come to the website. Make sure that you are writing complete and clear thoughts as well to build credibility with readers. Unclear wording and obvious mistakes will only turn people away from your website and organization.

SEO Basics: Link Building

Link building is also an important part of learning SEO basics. In order to build links, you need quality content for other sites to link to. This process can be time-consuming but is worth it as it will help boost your web presence.

What is link building and how can I effectively use it?

The goal of link building is to have other websites link to your site for your content. Content-based link building is the simplest place to start. In Moz’s “Link Building Tactics, The Beginner’s Guide to Link Building” they go through the different types of link building, including content-based link building. Moz recommends creating assets like infographics, videos, or a report that others will find useful. Then, you can reach out to those you think could benefit from these resources in hopes they will link to your site, says Moz.

To learn about other types of link building like broken link building and link reclamation, check out the rest of Moz’s guide.

While SEO can be intimidating at first, with these SEO basics, you will become a pro in no time. Through keyword research and implementation, writing meta descriptions and building links, you have the foundation to grow your SEO skills and boost your web presence.

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