Now, more than ever, search engine optimization requires a certain finesse to produce results while avoiding penalty. Google and other major search engines have complicated algorithms that can quickly weed out spam oriented, poorly optimized websites. The recipe for success is quality over quantity. With the days of using automated backlink programs to race up the ranks (mostly) gone, it’s important for marketers to adapt their game as well.
Finding a Strategy
A webmaster or marketer promoting an offer has a few ways to optimize their website for the search engines. One way is to employ the use of SEO Experts from a professional company. These companies are paid to increase your rankings in Google for targeted keywords. These keywords are things that potential customers are searching for, and you want these potential customers to find your site. A benefit of using a professional company is the inclusive nature of SEO. A company will examine your current website, optimize it and provide monthly reports on your ranking improvements.
For the marketer on a budget, there are ways to perform search engine optimization for free. One way to do this is by creating backlinks. A backlink is a link from one site to another, or in other words, a referral. It tells the Google that these two pages are related and that one of them is important enough to link towards. Backlinks are important for increasing your search engine ranks. A simple method for creating backlinks includes finding sites in your niche and asking the site owner or editor if you can make a helpful article or post. In that post, include a link to your site. Now you have a link from a relevant post from a related website.
No matter which path is taken, it’s paramount to start with a plan. Your SEO strategy is essentially the marketing department for your website. To reach your target audience, steps must be taken to show the search engines that your website and your content deserves to be amongst the first results.
Here are a few factors that determine your search engine rankings:
On-page optimization – The way your pages are structured with keywords, images, titles and meta description. When Google crawls your website, this data is used as part of your ranking.
Off-page optimization – This includes the previously mentioned backlinks, as well as social media posting and social bookmarking.
Domain age – Older domains can carry benefits, after accumulating authority and backlinks over the years
Your niche – Some niches are extremely competitive, some not so much. If you are fighting hundreds of other marketers for the number one spot for a keyword, you will have more trouble than someone fighting for a lower competition keyword.
Don’t Rush The Process
The search engine optimization process is a slow and arduous one. It’s important to trust the process and maintain a long-term focus when it comes to ranking. Going overboard with off-page techniques can display red flags for Google and other search engines, causing them to penalize your site. This can temporarily, and sometimes permanently, tank your rankings.
For SEO, slow and steady wins the race. It is an art that requires patience and outside of the box things. By combining great content on-page and smart off-page optimization, you create the environment for success.
