SEO Newbies: Top SEO Tips and Tricks for Beginners
With more than 1.5 billion websites on the internet today, if you want to have your website stand out, you need to make sure it’s optimized. And one of the best ways to organically optimize your site is through search engine optimization (SEO).
But if you’re new to the SEO world, it can be tough to know where to start. That’s why we’ve put together this guide outlining the top SEO tips and tricks for beginners.
Keep reading to discover more.
Pick the Right Keywords
To have the best chance of SEO success, start by picking the right keywords. The goal of your SEO efforts is to rank well when people search for specific phrases on Google and other search engines.
That way, your content will appear when interested people are looking for products or services like yours. For example, if you own a Mexican restaurant in Denver, you’ll want to rank when people search “burritos near me in Denver.”
And this is just the beginning. You could also try to rank for “Mexican restaurant Denver,” “carne asada Denver,” and “street tacos Denver.” Basically, wherever there is search volume around one of your products or services, you should try to rank for those keywords.
Take some time to come up with the top 10 or 15 keywords you want to target. The simplest way to do this is by simply brainstorming what words seem relevant.
From there, you can use tools like Google Trends and many other software programs that can help identify the best keywords in your industry.
Work on Your Titles, Descriptions, and H1s
Next, start optimizing your webpages. On every page, there’s a title and meta description. This is the content that appears on Google when your page comes up in a search result.
Now that you’ve decided which keyword you’re going to target for each of your pages, make sure you include that keyword in the title and description of each page.
This way, Google’s spiders will easily understand what your pages are about, making it easier to rank well.
Another important thing to work on is your H1s. Each page will also have one of these, which is the main headline that appears on the page. These should also be optimized, including that page’s keyword.
Start Creating Content
Now that you’ve got your core pages optimized, it’s time to begin creating additional content. You’ve probably noticed that almost every large company and lots of medium and small businesses have blogs.
On your blog, you can produce relevant and fresh content for your visitors. It also shows Google that your company is up-to-date, providing valuable information for your readers.
Whether you want to create tradtional blog posts, infographics, ebooks, or educational videos, your site will greatly benefit from regular content updates.
Doing this will also keep people on your site for a longer period of time. This tells Google that your site is engaging, improving your SEO rankings.
Link Internally
Here’s another one of the biggest SEO tips and tricks: you need to grow your internal link profile. Here’s why.
When Google sees that your pages link to each other, it shows them that your content is relevant. It means that you’re not just publishing random content, but that it’s purposeful and important.
But just because you should link internally doesn’t mean you should overdo it. When you include a ton of links for SEO purposes, this provides a negative experience to your website visitors.
Instead, try and include them naturally. This will be better for users and for Google.
Optimize Your Business’ Presence Around the Web
Last but not least, it’s also important to grow your online presence throughout the internet, not just on your website. While your website is the core of your SEO efforts, external forces matter too.
For example, lots of customers use review sites like Yelp to learn more about businesses. In order to capture as much traffic as possible, you should make sure your Yelp profile includes your correct web address, store hours, and contact information.
Also, think about your social media presence. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, just to name a few, are bigger than ever. When you have an active presence on these sites, complete with relevant keywords and correct contact information, it shows search engines that you can be trusted.
These types of sites also tend to rank well when people search for information for your business. For example, if someone searches for your company’s name, you want your website to dominate the first few results.
But after these results, it’s common for review sites and social media profiles to populate. Make sure your information on these sites is correct and engaging.
Last but not least, work on your external link profile as well. Just as internal links are important, external ones matter as well. You can grow this pool of links by reaching out to publishers and bloggers, asking for a link from them.
Want to learn more about SEO? Read more here.
SEO Tips and Tricks: Closing Thoughts
Now that you’ve read all about these top SEO tips and tricks, what’s next for your business? It’s time to get started on your plans.
With a combination of effort and time, you’ll be able to see your rankings increase. And this means more leads and sales, improving your bottom line.
Have additional questions about digital marketing? Check out our blog for more information.