For me, SEO has been one of the “scary” things about blogging. At first I was really reluctant to study up on it and figure out what it meant, but then I saw how that was really only going to hurt me and make it harder for me down the road. Let’s face it SEO is important. So, I have put together this Simple Guide to SEO to hopefully make it seem a little less overwhelming to you and give you some practical ways to start. I am by no means claiming to be an expert at this, but just wanted to share some practical tips that I have learned.
What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization is the process of affecting the visibility of your site by adding keywords and formatting in a way to increase your rating in search engines. Basically, it will help your website show up higher in search engines like google, yahoo, etc. Thus, increasing traffic to your blog.
Here are some simple ways that you can start:
Post Titles: Post titles that are descriptive always work best. For example, “10 Ways to…” or “The Newest”. And, making sure your keyword is in your title is key. If I would have named this post “Something To Learn” or “Check This Out” that would be bad – it would not include any keywords to signal what the post is about. From my title, you learn that the post is about a guide to SEO. It is also good to keep your post title under 65 characters long.
Permalinks: Your Post URL should contain the title to your post. – http://simplyclarke.com/a-simple-guide-to-seo {correct} http://simplyclarke.com/p?123 {wrong} You can edit your permalink on the right hand side under post settings when writing a post.
Post Keywords: Post keywords tell what your post is about, make sure to use them often in a post and bold when appropriate. You can also use Google AdWords to find out what the best keywords to use for your post are. This can be really helpful at times, but I have to admit that this is where I struggle. I really need to use this tool more. Google basically tells you what word will give you more traffic and this a big advantage. It also helps to simply think about what people could “google” that would apply to your post.
In-Text Links: Link back previous posts you have written. This will also help your bounce rate by keeping readers on your site longer. It is also better if it works into a sentence instead of saying “click here”. Search engines like it much better in a normal sentence.
Image Titles & Descriptions: Always name your photos with your keywords. Most photos are “titled” with numbers – img_123.jpg – when you put them on your computer. It is important to change this so that it will show up in a search. For example if your image is about a product, let say a Maybook, you will want to make sure “Maybook” and “Planner” is in the title of the image, because people will most likely be searching “Maybook” not “img_123.jeg” when looking for a planner. Also, put a description in the “alt image” category. When you insert an image into your post, click on it and you will see different alignment options and the word properties, click properties and type in your description in the alt images box. This also helps when images are pinned to pinterest because it will show up in the description box.
Dont be overwhelmed
If you don’t do any of this, do not let it overwhelm you. Slowly you will get it down and you can start with one thing or two. I didn’t do this for a while, so now I am slowly going back and editing previous posts. Also, keep in mind that CONTENT IS KEY. Don’t get so overwhelmed and focused on SEO that you forget about your content. And, SEO should never interfere with your post, it should only enhance it {keep that in mind}.