SEO has become a keyword itself and a simple Google will result in over 731 million hits. Its popularity is due to one simple fact – it works – and using it correctly will not only improve the traffic to your website, but also your search ending ranking.
There are endless websites offering their services for all your SEO needs which is a popular choice for beginners, however we recommend learning the basics yourself. This means that you can continue to develop your website without having to pay for the service every time.
Where Do I Begin?
The foundation of all successful SEO starts and ends with one thing – keywords, keywords, keywords – they make and break a campaign and you should never rush picking them. If you aren’t sure where to start, then don’t be afraid to rely on Google.
There are several extremely helpful articles explain it all in detail however to simplify the process you need to start small and work out. Firstly, you need to decide how you are planning on marketing yourself.
Are you going to pick something you think will sell and then figure out how to market it through SEO? Or are you going to pick a popular SEO phrase that gets a lot of hits and then figure out how you can make it work for you?
If you have a product already then you will benefit from doing both methods as you will get a wider understanding of both.
What Happens Next?
So you’ve had a browse, found some things that apply to your needs, but what does it mean? Well, hopefully you will now have a list of keywords, both short and long form, with relevant single words that are hard to cash in on but do apply to your business plan.
Make sure to think about what words are relevant to you and write them down manually as these will be the core of what you are trying to convey with your business. They are your core values and having them listed will help you refer to whenever you need them.
However, it’s not all up to you and your brain to find all these keywords – luckily there are plenty of websites that can help. Everything from search engines to social media to Wikipedia to key SEO websites – they are all ready and waiting to be used to your advantage.
Refine Your List
At this point you will have a large list of words which is great and can be used as a reference point for all future endeavors. However, you don’t need to use all of them in every campaign and time should be taken to refine them.
Firstly, you need to decide on the length of the keyword that you will use as the different lengths have their pros and cons. If you have an established website that is already ranking well but you want it to do even better – picking desirable keywords and tailoring them to you will help bump it up – but isn’t the right technique for a startup company that will get lost in the pages.
In that case you will want to pick something more specific to your business needs – a longer set of keywords that will help you rank and do well, but will never get you to page number one. Understanding what is best for your page will mean you have the best SEO campaign for your business.
How Do I Use Them?
Now you have a hand-picked, tailored list of keywords that are the seeds for business growth and success, but they are doing nothing just sitting on a page. It’s time to send them forward to let them work their magic.
The best place to start will be in the headings, sub-heading and descriptions. These are all easily viewable by your potential customers and will appear on search engine pages.
If you must focus on one thing then it must be headings – this is your first and sometimes last impression on all potential customers. Make sure it is cohesive – don’t just list them all and hope it works – create something you are proud of and then watch your page grow!