Expert Tips for Creating a Website that Maximizes SEO

SEO Evolution

SEO used to be seen as almost a form of witchcraft and a box of tricks to fool the web. It was considered a manipulation of the truth and a means to buck the system. Computer algorithms were seen as an obstacle to get around, but SEO has grown since those days. SEO is now a complex and multi-layered discipline that has soared past the trickery of the past.

Google focuses on branding and content strategy alongside links, keywords and page ranking to deliver a seamless and more authentic experience that resonates with people. Building your brand with targeted social media (that does not annoy) and high-quality content, raises your information above the swamp of anti-truth and is viewed as honest and trustworthy.

Using Keyword Research as a Strategy

One highly effective tool to use for keyword research is Google’s Keyword Planner. This free AdWords tool allows us to build new websites and campaigns based on intuitive keywords.

Keyword Planner can research keywords, get historical statistics, the forecast predicted clicks and estimate conversions. It is useful to have between 5 and 20 keywords per ad group to get the full benefit of the Keyword Planner, once you have those, they can be used to drive the thrust of all your content.

Creating and Harvesting Demand

Personalization is the key here. Everyone likes to be seen and treated as an individual. It’s human nature to want to rise above the norm – the cookie cutter. In today’s crowded marketplace people are inundated with choice. To really stand out you need to treat each person like the separate person they are. You need to get people to know, like and trust your stuff. They will see right through you if chase them too hard, though, so harvest demand gently by making your website personal. Think of:

• Who they are
• Where they are
• When they are accessing your site
• Why they are on your site in the first place
• What device are they using

With these questions answered, you can tailor your site to hit them right where they live. Creating a website that is this personal needn’t be creepy, though. People get weirded out by creepy. Aim to excite and delight, and you’re on the right track.

Link Building is the New Networking

Search engines crawl the web. The roads they use can be seen as the links between pages. The engines determine how those pages are related to each other using complex algorithms.

Links aren’t the be all and end all in SEO, but search engines can analyze the popularity of websites by the number (and popularity) of pages linking to them. In general, trustworthy sites link to other trustworthy sites. Link building is right up there in the list for improving search ranking and traffic volume. Basically, the more popular a site is the more links from that site matter. For example, Wikipedia is important because of the thousands of links attached to it. It’s about authority, and it’s about trust.

3 Link Building Strategies

1. Get your peers to link to you

It’s crucial to put in the work to find people that love our brand. Getting people to link back to your site is golden. Think of the membership badges on LinkedIn. Those graphic icons are links back to a site. It’s a sense of belonging and ownership that translates to bigger click rates and more conversions.

2. Build a company blog

A truly valuable and informative blog is a great way to start and maintain a dialogue with your target audience. Done right, it should feel like a natural conversation. People want a “real” experience – give it to them. Blogs can deliver fresh material on a consistent basis and gain listings and links from other blogs.

3. Create content that inspires viral sharing and natural linking

Seeking natural strategic partners and treating them as trustworthy partners creates content that is relevant. People tend to want to share relevant and engaging material with friends.

Many SEOs agree that link building is hard. A Denver SEO company that fully understands the art of building high-quality links can put your head and shoulders above the competition. Contact us today to get the process started.