How to Successfully Use SEO to Boost Traffic

By
Trevor Micklow

Anyone who has been paying attention to SEO lately has realized their has been a major shift.  What used to be the focus is now in the past, and SEO depends on content now more than ever.  This is due to Google’s constant updates of Penguin, Panda and how they monitor content that appears in search.  Matt Cutts stated in his Youtube video that Google is now paying more attention to the quality of content each page offers and how relevant the page is to a query.

One helpful tool in using SEO is Search Engine Land’s Periodic Table of SEO Success Factors, which summarizes the key major factors that determine search engine ranking success using an infographic, designed by Column Five Media.  The chart contains information about “On-the-page-SEO factors”, such as quality of content, the substance of the content, HTML title tags, the structure and design of the pages and so forth.  The chart also contains “Off-the-page-SEO factors”, like the trust or respect a link has, how many links point to a website, how many links have been purchased, the identity of the website, etc.

Ideas4.com gives 11 positive factors a company must do for website SEO.  We have also provided links to articles and videos that will help you further understand how to apply each of these crucial SEO strategies.

1.  Identify correct keywords.  It plays the most important role in identifying SEO and Pay Per Click (PPC) costs.  It’s crucial that keywords are selected carefully and every month, keywords like “marketing for lawyers” or “blockchain innovations” should be reviewed and adjusted in accordance to what audience you’re looking to attract.

  • How to Choose the Right Keywords
  • Choosing the Right SEO Keywords:  A Non-Robot Perspective
  • 5 Secrets to Selecting Highly-Effective SEO Keywords
2. Build content to match your keywords.  Google describes this as “relative content”.  Websites that produce valuable, high-quality content will rank higher than websites that are simply using high traffic as an end to their means (e.g., selling something).  Google has been working in the direction of paying more attention to website relevance, and will most likely continue to do so in the future.
  • What is Content Marketing?
  • 3 Surefire Ways to Create More Relevant Content
  • 7 Tips for Creating Relevant Content
3.  Content management.  You must constantly be updating and cleaning your site, removing old and outdated links and information that has become irrelevant.  The goal is to constantly be working towards improving search results and creating a better customer experience.  Also, the system your site operates upon plays a crucial role in monitoring and reviewing content.
  • Top 10 Most Usable Content Management Systems
  • 10 SEO Considerations for a Content Management System
  • Customize Your Existing Content Management System to be SEO-Friendly
4. Link popularity.  Google also ranks you based on how many other sites “link” to your site.  SEO-based companies used to go out and created thousands of inbound links (what was referred to as “link farms”) and instantly climb to the top of search rankings.  Google’s new metrics now monitor that and also measure the quality of inbound links.  Providing quality inbound links will give you the most success in search rankings.
  • 32 White Hat Ways to Build Inbound links
  • How to get Quality Inbound Links to your Site
  • Link Building – How to Build Links for Free
5.  URLs and keyword URLs.  The domain name you use should include one or two of the keywords your focusing on.  Like how IntelligentHQ focuses on delivering business news and content related to business intelligence, and many other areas.
  • How Your Domain Name WIll Impact SEO & Social Media Marketing
  • 12 Rules for Choosing the Right Domain Name
  • Matt Cutts and Choosing Domain Names for SEO (Video)
6. PPC Campaign.  It’s very simple:  If you have a PPC campaign in place, you rank higher in search.  Once it’s taken away, rankings fall
  • How to Start a Successful PPC Campaign
  • Over 100 Game Changing PPC Strategies from 12 Experts
  • Top 11 PPC Strategies for Greater ROI
7.  Generate quality traffic.  This is done through hard work in all of the previous things discussed.  Additionally, you must increase your website branding, design and functionality to match or exceed your competitors.  It’s important to keep in mind that SEO is constantly evolving that needs tender loving care at all times.
  • How to Consistently Attract High-Quality Traffic to Your Site
  • 6 Ways to Consistently Grow High-Quality Traffic to Your Site
  • Attract New Customers and Quality Web Traffic

8.  Utilizing the mini-site.  A mini-site is a content-only site that is based on one of the keywords your company focuses on.  The mini-site is constantly updated and is content-rich in one specific area.  “Dot coms” are the best top-level domains, but  if they’re not available, figure out if you can purchase a top-level domain.  Also, be creative by adding symbols (such as hyphens or underscores) to make the domain name more unique.

  • Minisite Secrets for Personal and Professional Use
  • How to Use Minisites to Generate a Monthly Income
  • Easily Designing a Minisite
9. Age of the domain name.  Search engines categorize you based on how long your domain name has existed.  Anything under 2 years will have less value than sites past that mark.  The older the domain name, the more prestige it carries.
10.  “Question mark” secrets.  There has been debate about using the “?” in a url page name, meaning that the website uses a database to display pages.  Some insist that using .html and published pages with the “?” will rank higher.  A lot of CMS publish on the fly, which limits the search engines ability to crawl the pages.  Make sure your CMS doesn’t do this.
11.  Business Location.  Google lists businesses from the center of the city, outward.  If your business is located far away, change your web address to a post office box downtown and you’ll appear higher in search.

 

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