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What is SEO? An overview and definition

If you are unfamiliar with the term SEO – or if you have heard about it but not exactly sure what it is, then here’s an overview and definition so that you can understand what it is used for and even explain it to someone else, like an expert.

A search engine is a web site like Google or Bing or Yahoo. Its where you can find resources on the Internet by entering search terms. Simple terms like “organic dog food” or more complex phrases like “where in Tampa can I find organic dog food”.

The search engine will provide a list or web sites that answer that question and ranks them in order of relevancy. So the top site on the results page should be the best resource to answer your query. This is achieved by analyzing all kinds of criteria about each web site. The search engine scans web sites across the Internet and then indexes them based on the key words that they are about.

So what is search engine optimization or SEO for short? It is the process by which a web site owner customizes their web content pages – including the home page – to make them appealing to search engines looking for a match for specific keywords. And by creating appealing content that get’s shared and linked.

How is this done? There are three basic steps, although there is much more to SEO than just these, but they are the start of a strategy.

STEP 1: Research keywords

The first step in any SEO strategy is to identify what keyword or set of keywords (often called a “keyword phrase”) to optimize a web site and its web pages for. Choosing the right keywords will result in large volumes of traffic arriving on the web site if they are keywords that are typed into a search engine frequently. LEARN MORE about keyword research

STEP 2: Optimize keywords on a page

This process involved editing text and programming code on a web page to help search engines recognize it as a good page to rank for a particular set of keywords and to list it in their search results. LEARN MORE about on-page optimization

STEP 3: Get linked

This process – also called in-linking – is the work done to get other websites to link to your web site. It can be done by listing a site on free directories, getting mentions in other peoples blogs, getting media mentions and in some cases buying links (although this can sometimes be ill advised) on prominent web sites. LEARN MORE about backlinking

STEP 4: Track and analyze

This process is about evaluating what keywords you have been ranked for on Google and Bing and then looking for ways to improve these rankings through optimization and in-linking.

STEP 5: Create valuable content and continue to optimize

After an initial execution of steps 1 to 4, your ongoing job will be to create great content on your web site that positions you as an expert on the web in the areas that you specialize in an what to be known for. If you want high rankings on search engines you must become a content creator and update the content regularly – or hire someone to do that.

Increase site traffic with an online dictionary

CWD recently built an online dictionary for one of our clients, a well-known forklift dealer based in California. During the process, we discovered how highly effective this strategy is for driving new traffic to websites.

This devine wholesale vaporizer batteries works especially well for industries that are highly specialized, such as: Healthcare providers, attorneys, real estate agents, tax attorneys and warehouse/logistics companies. They types of industries often have to educate their customers as to their products and services as part of the sales process. You can also check out this center that talks about mental healthcare services.

Increase site traffic with an online dictionary

Here’s why an online glossary of terms is so effective:
Building a dictionary of industry related terms allows companies to share their expertise and build credibility in their industry. Most importantly, you can optimize each page of the dictionary for search engines to dramatically increase your site’s exposure. Speaking of Site Exposure, It also comes with great Digital Marketing, if your looking for Digital Experts in Miami click the link.

Your site will climb the ranks of search engine listings for one word searches and for popular industry definitions. It’s common for other companies to link to a online dictionary to clarify terms on their own site (in-linking) . In-links help your site climb the search engine ranks. This will help you increase your chances of getting found by your target market.
How to build an online glossary:
If you want to build an online dictionary on your site it’s quite simple. It requires only three basic steps. Though, it will take a bit of time to put together.

Step 1: Compile a list of industry relevant terms. This is most effective for specialized industries. This is why, it works well in materials handling. Other businesses, like healthcare industries, law firms, real estate agents.

Step 2: Post terms in alphabetical order. You want to include a brief description of the term explained as simply as possible. This helps if you have a good copywriter that works with you. You can also add links to videos and images to help explain the term.

Step 3: SEO each term. Search engines, like Google, algorithms are based on keywords, so a dictionary is perfect for optimizing to appear in search when a traffic enters a specific phrase.

Once your dictionary is operational keep track of the terms that are getting the most traffic. These are likely the most challenging concepts to understand or the most popular terms in the industry. You can write and post articles related to the terms so you can continue to attract more of your target demographic.

To see an example of an online dictionary, visit the one we put together for RaymondHandling.com.

SEO backlinking 101

Backlinking is one of the most important and most overlooked techniques (by newcomers to SEO) in search engine optimization. Understanding how it works and how to do it will help you grow your site traffic quicker than any other SEO tactic.

What is backlinking?

It’s the process of getting other websites to link to your website. And it’s very important because search engines like Google and Bing use these links to decide how valuable your website is. Each third-party site that links to one of your web page is a vote of confidence.

High number of credible third party links = site popularity = top search engine ranking on Google and Bing

An easy way to think of in-linking is to call it a referral. Think of it like this: Would you be more likely to go to the theatre to see a movie that you a) saw a preview for on TV, or b) that three of your best friends recommended? Probably the latter of the two scenarios would more likely influence your choice to go see the movie.

So, when another company puts a link to your site on their site it sends a message to search engines that your site has content that’s good enough to share. That makes it valuable. And as a result, your site moves up the search engine ranks.

5 easy ways to backlink:

1. Ask for a link. Search for similar sites that match the keywords you’d like to be ranked for. Email them and ask them to link to your site in exchange for providing free content to them. Or guest post on their site and in exchange, offer them to guest post for you.

2. Pay for a link. Find sites that get a lot of traffic from individuals in your target market. Pay them to link to your site. Or, provide them with an ad that links to your site. Text links in the body of an article are always preferred however and are assigned a higher value to search engines.

CAUTION HERE: Some ads are coded so that they are not used by search engines as a referral link. Their web site uses no-follow tags to tell a search engine to disregard them. These have zero value for SEO purposes.

3. List in free listing resources. List your site in free business directories.

4. Make yourself available to the media. Provide your expertise to online media outlets – get interviewed. Ask that the writer link their article or show notes (in the case of broadcast) to your web site. This will help you gain major clout with search engines because media websites tend to be highly ranked.

5. Share content on social media. Share your content on social media. People who find it valuable will share it and it will get linked in blogs.

Important information about backlinking:

Be judicious about guest posting. A few years back there was a high number of SEO gurus that caught on to guest posting. Naturally, they used it to their advantage. They would provide the same article to large quantities of web sites.

Google caught on and adjusted their algorithm. They clamped down on the entire process. So now, if they decide that you are mass sharing the same article just to get links, your site will be penalized. You will actually fall down the search engine ranks.

Google counts links and actually looks at the content of the site that is linking to your site. For example, if your website is about horses and it is linked to by a site about knitting it won’t be as high a vote of confidence as another website about horses.

Google considers the position of the link. If you a third party site puts a link to your site in an article of a popular web post versus the bottom of a page that gets less attention. Google sees this as more valuable.

Create content that is good link-bait. The best links are the ones that happen naturally and organically so create content that is the best on the web. People will naturally share it especially if it’s a bit unusual and rare.

Anchor text in the link is important. If a site links to your site about dog food and presents the link as it’s url it won’t be as influential as a statement, such as linking the keywords words: “Check out this site about dog food reviews“. In this example the linked keywords tell Google what the linked site is about.

Cross-link all your web properties. Wherever you can link to your site from web sites you own.

Link inside your web site. Cross-link pages on your website. If you write a post and mention a keyword from a post you wrote on another topic, link to the post. This will also keep site visitors on your site and engaged with your brand. And it helps Google understand your content better based on the words you crosslink.

In-linking takes time but the end results is more site visitors, which could lead to more sales. It’s the third step in the process of basic search engine optimization strategy. To be most effective, you’ll also want to check out the articles on keyword research and on-page optimization.

Most common content marketing mistakes

If you’re using a content marketing strategy to grow your business and you’re frustrated that you are not landing more sales, read this article. You’ll discover the most common content marketing mistakes made by business owners. Find out what they are and learn how to avoid them below.

Frequent content marketing errors

The entire content marketing process can be synthesized into three basic steps:

Step 1 – Create content that you believe your target market will find valuable enough to use and share.

Step 2 – Promote the content. Post it on your website, on social media platforms, and use search engine optimization tactics to make sure your content gets picked up by search engines.

Step 3 – Out of the web traffic that experiences your content a percentage will sign up for your product or service (when called to action).

The focus is to share your expertise often. This will naturally attract your target demographic.

But, there’s a common misconception that many business owners have. They think that if they do Steps 1 and 2, then Step 3 will happen immediately. It’s not that simple.

Here’s what you need to do: Repeat Steps 1 and 2 many times for Step 3 to happen. Often you have to expose your brand many times in many different ways (we call those “touch points” in marketing) before you actually land a customer.

That being said, it’s not unheard of to convert customers upon initial contact with your brand. Customers will buy immediately when they encounter your brand at the same time they have a need for what you offer. You all need to make sure you’re not making any of these common errors:

Not tracking your conversion rates and stats If you don’t look at your site analytics you won’t know which articles are getting the most visitors. When you have this information you can gain an understanding of what’s a popular topic. If you keep writing articles that fall under that category, it’s likely you’ll be speaking to what your target market needs more of. If you do email marketing you’ll also want to track you conversion rates by reviewing number or emails opened and links clicked.
Not growing your social media following If you aren’t actively following new contacts on Twitter, engaging with people on LinkedIn, and joining new groups, when you post your content you’ll be getting limited exposure. The same people will see your stuff. And those people may or may not be good candidates to buy from you. Do your research and connect with people you want to do business with and also other vendors in your industry.
Doing no search engine optimization (or doing it incorrectly, thinking you’re doing it right) If you’re doing work to write one to five new posts a week for your site, you are wasting your time if you are not doing any SEO work. It is crucial for positioning your brand so the right people find you. Learn how to do it yourself. Or, hire a reputable company to do it for you.
Selling too soon If you are trying to sell a $99 program to people you’ve sent only two emails to, you’ll need to do more work to convert them. Individuals need to see your brand many times before they purchase from you. This requires time. You have to build a relationship of trust and affinity. So, you want to warm people up. Give things away for free often. Sell them on smaller priced items first. And diversify your products and service packages so you can understand what price points sell best.

Remember, building your list of contacts and then taking them from someone who knows about you to buyer is not a quick process. It’s like a romantic relationship. It takes time and effort to build trust and love.

But, if you consistently post great content and do it strategically, you’ll be able to double, triple or quadruple your business in less than one year.

How to be seen as an expert in your industry

The fastest way to grow your business is to become an industry expert. This means, you want to shift your focus from landing more sales to sharing your expertise with the demographic your targeting.

When you provide value by way of knowledge and/or freebies (especially if you have a product you can sample) it gives you immediate credibility as a topic expert. This is as true as it is for authors and coaches as it is for major brands.

How to be seen as an expert in your industry: 6 Quick tips

1) Make your website an industry resource versus simply being online business listing:

It’s important that your target market can find you online but don’t limit your business to having a site that only looks good and has your basic business information. Think about making your site a resource.

Dedicate a section of your website to content that provides value. You can even call it a library. Post videos, written articles, and answer the most frequently asked questions in your industry. Take on the job of solving the challenges of your target market.

When your site is a resource, visitors come back often. They learn to build a relationship of credibility and reliability with your brand.

2) Answer questions:

One of the easiest ways to become an expert is to answer common questions in your industry. You can do this on your own site by providing an opportunity for site visitors to ask questions on a contact form. With the inquiries you received you can build an FAQ page.

You can also use services such as Quora. It is a site that connects people who have questions with those with answers. There are thousands of questions that get posted daily. You can browse questions by topic and respond to ones that fit your area of expertise.

There are media outlets that use Quora to find topic experts for articles. It can also be a great platform to network with other professionals.

3) Get active on social media:

Make sure your company is on the following social media platforms:

Facebook
Twitter
Google +
LinkedIn

Post informative content that addresses the challenges of your target market. You’ll want to post up to 3 times a week, though you can post as frequently as once a day.

Join communities on LinkedIn and Facebook. Answer questions in those forums. You can also follow Twitter hashtags for topics you’re an expert in, and participate in conversations. Theses days even journalists use hashtags to find experts.

4) Join HARO:

There is an incredible website called HelpAReporter.com. Popular media outlets use it to post queries for topic experts. You can join and respond to the ones that apply to your business. It’s a great way to get exposure.

5) Publish a book:

Prove your expertise by writing and self-publishing a book. It’s direct evidence that you are knowledgable about the topic you’ve written about.

At CWD, we have a book called Digital Marketing Secrets Revealed, where we give away all our secrets. The book helps us share who we are with our customers easily. It establishes immediate credibility and it is proof that we know we know about digital marketing.

6) Give out freebies:

Share your knowledge for free on a regular basis, everywhere. If you have a product that speaks for itself when people use it, then give out samples. People who encounter your brand will want to engage with you often. You’ll be able to build a relationship and of trust and brand affinity overtime.

Speaking of free stuff, if you want more free digital marketing secrets click here to order your free ebook: