With stories in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal exposing major corporate efforts to manipulate Google's search engine rankings, you may be thinking that search engine optimization is something of a cat and mouse game where only the large and powerful can be victorious. The great news is that, in fact, it's not. Yes, Google's algorithm is forever changing, and SEO is usually left up to the experts, but there are a number of measures that every organization can take to make their website a lean, mean, search ranking machine. Three things you can do to help your search engine rankings today: Write Great Title Tags
No matter what happens with Google's algorithm, take comfort in the fact that your page titles are going to remain relevant. Make sure you are using keyword phrases that people will be using to find the products and services you are offering in your page title, preferably towards the front. Important note: don't think about how you sell your product when writing your titles, think about how people are looking to buy it. The phrases they use when searching will be matched up in Google's search results with the titles you write.
Moving On To Super Headers
After you've written your award winning title tag, and have given yourself a nice pat on the back, it's time to work those keyword phrases into your header. The content of your page should begin with a headline that is similar to your title tag but not identical to it. Incorporate the search phrases we discussed earlier and write it like you're addressing the visitor's information needs, not your own. People don't want boasting or a sales pitch, they're looking for a solution and your header is a good place to start providing that to them. Technical note: your main header should always use the <H1> tag in your site's HTML code. Contact your current web designer or feel free to drop me an email at my address below if you have any questions.
Content and Keywords
Now that you have a killer title and header, it's time for the last step of our brief SEO tutorial—by far the easiest—incorporating the search phrases from the previous two steps into your content. The last step here is to get those search terms into the first and second paragraphs of content on your website. Important note: Make sure your content is still written naturally. There's nothing worse than trying to read a paragraph that is written for search engines and not for the reader!
If you're looking for additional resources, or just need help with your SEO, feel free to contact me at sbalsama@meshagency.com.
