Many small businesses work hard to generate sales leads and want to tap in to the customer and client traffic that utilizes the Internet each day. Most small business owners don’t know that many search engine companies have studied how users click through to websites listed at various positions in the search engines. Surprisingly, over 90% of all user clicks were only to websites listed on the first page of search results, and over 40% of all clicks were only to the first website listed on the first page of the returned results! This is sobering data, made even more surprising by noting the following: moving from position 20 to position 10 in the search results accounts for an incredible 888% increase in the number of clicks to a website. Even more surprisingly, moving from position 20 to position 1 represents almost a 14,000% increase in click throughs! I think it is clear that being listed on the first page for a targeted search phrase is highly desirable, and indeed almost necessary for businesses looking to generate online sales.
The goal for small business website owners, then, should be to create a plan for generating Internet traffic that translates into sales. This is not easily done, and is difficult without guidance from a knowledgeable internet marketing or Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert. SEO professionals understand the intricacies of data flow on the web, can show you to where internet traffic is flowing, can deconstruct competitor sites, and can develop plans for targeting search phrases and your customers or clients effectively. Further, it is essential to create a plan for gaining website credibility through generating relevant back links to your site, and professionals know how this can be accomplished quickly and effectively.
If you are new to the realm of web marketing, then you need knowledge and strategies that will help you create more customer leads immediately. This article will give you six Search Engine Optimization tips that will help you to create more traffic to your web site or blog.
SEO Tip Number 1: Fully study the most appropriate targeted keywords for your site. These keywords will describe your web pages to the search engines, and must be targeted, highly searched for and as non-competitive as possible. A good start for this research is to use Google’s free Keyword Tracking Tool, which allows users to enter search phrases of interest, and learn how many searches for their keywords are being done each month. This tool also shows search phrase trends so you can make note of how internet traffic is flowing over time. This tool is essential for any internet marketer, and keyword research is, arguably, the most important step toward optimizing your website for search engines over time. Selecting your targeted search phrases will determine how your website content is written, and you should spend a good amount of time carefully doing this research. Make note of the Cost Per Click displayed for a given search phrase or keyword, as this will likely reveal how difficult it will be to rank in the search engines for that word.
SEO Tip Number 2 : Update your Page title to use your chosen phrases in the title tag of the website. This title will tell your visitors what your internet site is about, and more importantly this is the phrase that will turn up in the search engine results. Many Internet marketers either do not use a title tag, sometimes they forget, or they don’t know the significance of this tag. Without this tag your internet page won’t have a title, it will not look professional and this will in turn limit your potential for new visitors.
SEO Tip Number 3 : Add a Description tag to your web site. Make the description keyword rich, but also make sure that it makes sense when read. Do not just pack it with all your targeted keywords, but use it to make descriptive sentences. This outline will be displayed in the search results. Do not make it too long, but make it informative. You will want potential clients to click on it and visit your internet site.
SEO Tip Number 4 : Use the Keyword Meta tag. Search engine robots look for this descriptor to see what your internet site is about, and will send visitors to it according to these tags. If you’ve got more than one keyword, this is the tag you should use to insert all your targeted keywords. However, it is very important not to over use your focused search phrases. In the past, stuffing a web site full of keywords would drive search engine users to a site, but the search algorithms have become more complex over time. While the Keyword tag should still be used as part of an overall website optimization plan, it does not carry the weight it once did. Other factors have taken precedence, including relevant content, keyword density and back links to a website.
SEO Tip Number 5: Write informative and useful content for your visitors. Make your content keyword rich and with high density. The recommended keyword density percentage on a given page is between 3% and 5%. If you stuff your page full of keywords, search engines will penalize your page, and your ranking may drop. Google’s guidelines specify, for example, that your content should be clear and relevant to your subject. If you are interested more about Google’s recommendations, search the web for Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide. It’s an interesting read.
People around the planet use search engines every day to find the data they seek. When the search results point to your website, your potential clients hope to find something beneficial there. They are not looking for a spam site, a desperate sales pitch or a redirect to another internet site. If you make your readers click too often they will likely leave your internet site, reducing your sales. Offer relevant information and products that are helpful to the user and relevant to what he or she has searched for. This relates back to the importance of doing your keyword research correctly. Time spent up front determining what consumers want will help you create a web page that has your customers coming back for more.
SEO Tip Number 6: Create relevant back links to your web pages. You can spend countless time and money creating a elegantly designed website that is visited by no one. It is crucial that your site is written to draw targeted readers, clients or other consumers. One of the most important methods to gain further search engine ranking is to create back links to your website where the anchor text associated with your site link contains your targeted search phrase. For example, suppose you are selling Blue Widgets, but your website is named JoesGarage.com. You need to associate the phrase “Blue Widgets” with your website address as much as possible, from as many unique sources as possible. The anchor text will permanently associate your keywords with your site address, increasing your website’s visibility in the search engines for phrases containing those keywords. Note that you will want relevant back links to your site, ideally DoFollow links that will have the search engine robots crawling your pages whenever a link to your site is found on another site. These links, too, should ideally be from high Page Rank sites that are related in subject matter to your page about Blue Widgets. Further articles will discuss these points in more detail.
I covered several essential on page and off page Search Engine Optimization factors that should help your business web site rank high in the search engines for targeted keywords. I can not stress the importance of proper keyword research enough, and connecting with a competent, knowledgeable SEO Professional can help your business generate more traffic quickly. Hopefully you’ll use these SEO tips on your websites today to generate new visitors, customers and sales!
If you would like more information about Search Engine Optimization services available in Madison, Wisconsin, visit Madison Niche Marketing.
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