Search engine optimization is a constantly changing field. What is true today may not stand tomorrow; and what was law yesterday could be scandalous today. This makes keeping up with the newest standards in SEO rather complicated, but it also creates a bit of an even playing ground. Being new to search engine optimization puts you at a huge disadvantage as you will need to learn the current standards as they are subject to change, but the constant changes make it possible for new comers to start learning what is relevant now without having to steep themselves too deeply into search engine history.
While there will always be changes to watch for, there are certain fundamental aspects of search engine optimization that are crucial to understand if you hope to build any placement for your website.
Here are the seven guiding aspects of search engine optimization:
- Choose keywords carefully. Keywords are what determine the direction of a search. Users type keywords or phrases into the search engine and their exact search generates a long sequence of sorting until the most relevant results are determined. You will want to go after keywords that are both high in demand and relevant to your field.
- Pick a niche. It is hard to capture placement for the whole world, which is why your website should have a clearly defined objective and purpose. Stick to topic driven blogs instead of leaving the website open ended. This will help you capture better placement in one area.
- Create quality content. Content is what drives the online user experience, so to capture and maintain top results you will need to make sure your content is worth reading.
- Use your tags. Meta-tags for the titles, descriptions and keywords are sitting in the backend of your website waiting to be used—don’t waste them! Add information like your location and the best keywords for the page in question to these as often as possible.
- Use social media. Social media has grown exponentially in popularity over the past decade. Use it to your advantage as well by getting your name and business into those results. This can increase your websites presence on the first page of Google significantly.
- Create quality links. Bad links will be sought out and penalized, so don’t bother using them. Your website should be loaded with internal and external links. Find string websites to form relationships with by linking regularly as relevant.
- Use relevant URLs. If the URL to your webpage has nothing to do with what you are offering then it is time for a change. Of course, you can’t just change URLs like you can other aspects of content. Your best bet is to create a straight forward URL that uses your top keyword, if possible.
Learning these seven principals can give you a huge start in creating placement for your website. Of course, these guidelines are just the tip of the iceberg. Your best bet is to consult with a professional who is experienced in steadily increasing search engine performance.