In the world of the web, rankings on major search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) can make or break a website’s traffic. The websites listed after the first page of a Google search receive far fewer visitors from keyword searches than the sites listed on the first page. After all, when the information you need is already on the first page, why bother browsing through the following pages?
Because a business website’s traffic often translates into revenue, web development companies charge big money for search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns to improve a website’s placement for searches of relevant key phrases. Most business owners do not have the time or the know-how to run a successful SEO campaign on their own. However, there are some things a business owner can do to boost a website’s visibility and importance to search engines simply by improving the quality of the written content within a website. Below are some free tips from Market Grasp Media to boost your site’s search engine ranking while you compose content for your business website.
1. Google likes content. Search engines view the world as being made up of pages. Each page of a website is readable by the language in its coding. While there are ways to optimize tags and titles within the coding, that work is better left to someone well-versed in web development. So what can a business owner do to increase visibility on the web? Give Google something to read by expanding the written content on your website.
When writing the content for your business website, you have an opportunity to say as much as you want about your business. Say it all. The more content your site has, the more Google has to latch onto, and view your site as being rich with information. A general rule of thumb is to shoot for a minimum of 500 words of content per page of information. The Google algorithm recognizes large amounts of relevant content, and will index your site higher than it would with less content.
2. Focus on specific, relevant keywords for each page of content. At this point, it is likely that your business website will be found on the first page of a Google search for the name of your company. This is a good thing. However, the reason you have a website is to increase your company’s exposure and reach a wider audience. If your website can only be found by people who are searching specifically for you, it is not helping your business achieve its goal of bringing in new customers. This is where keywords come into play.
Spend some time thinking about key phrases that describe your business. Imagine that you are a potential customer in need of your company’s services. Make a list of phrases a potential customer would type into a search engine, then use those phrases as often as you can in your website’s written content. Google and other search engines will recognize a high keyword density on your page, and your site will begin its climb to the top results for the key phrases that describe you.
An important thing to keep in mind while increasing your keyword density is to try not to overdo it. Write the keywords into your content in a way that feels natural and relevant to your business. Do not repeat the keywords over and over again without other content. Google will see this as an attempt to cheat their algorithm, and may even block your site from Google searches. This is known as a “Google Slap,” and it can be devastating to your web presence.
For most effective results, do not try to maximize keyword density for all of your key phrases on the same page of your website. Instead, best web development practice suggests focusing on 2-3 keywords per page of content. This will make your information appear more specific and relevant, and will help to improve your search engine rankings for each individual key phrase.
3. Update your content frequently. Your site is now filled with relevant, keyword rich content, and you have put out all the basic information your customers could want. Time to sit back and watch your website climb the search engine lists, right? Wrong. While your new content will improve your website’s visibility dramatically, the process of search engine optimization has just begun. Google’s algorithm can now see that your website means business, and you will be rewarded for this. The next step is to show that your site is dynamic and active. To do this, you need to update your content as frequently as possible.
This can be done by adding to your content, updating seasonal information, producing a blog or newsletter about your business, answering frequently asked questions, or a number of other ways. As long as your website is built on an updatable platform, feel free to add relevant content as often as possible. It will show the search engines that your site is active, and worthy of indexing higher.
Of course, improving the written content of a business website is just one way to improve a website’s importance to search engines. For a complete SEO campaign, with both on-page and off-page optimization, you need a web developer to do the grunt work for you. If you feel your business could benefit from greater exposure on the web, please do not hesitate to call or contact Market Grasp Media for a free quote. (877)875-1586 www.marketgraspmedia.com