Let’s talk about SEO. What is SEO? It stands for Search Engine Optimization. And it’s a pretty hot topic with lots of opinions, and lots of professional in the marketplace. How do you know who to choose? How do you know who to trust? How do you know if it’s working? Is it really worth doing?
SEO can be confusing and scary. It doesn’t need to be. There are a few simple rules that will help you keep your site ranking well without a lot of expense or confusing terminology. But the biggest rule is this:
WRITE CONTENT FOR PEOPLE, NOT SEARCH ENGINES.
People are searching for your content. They are using the search engines to find it. Search engines are indexing your content, but they aren’t reading it. If you want your content to reach people, then you need to target people.
I know a lot of SEO professionals will disagree with me on this, but this is true. Because what makes good SEO is strong, readable content. If your content is riddled with keyword phrases and not very readable, then it’s not useful for your target audience. If it’s obvious what you are doing with your keywords, then you aren’t doing it right.
Five tips for increasing your ranking without writing for search engines
- Write quality content and make it readable. Nobody wants to read your PhD dissertation. Nobody wants to read content with your keyword phrase in every other sentence.
- Update your site frequently. Once and done isn’t a good option when it comest to search engine visibility. Google loves updated content.
- Be sure you have an XML sitemap, and submit it to Google’s webmaster tools so your site is being indexed properly.
- Be sure to use ALT tags on your images with your keyword phrase.
- Add your keyword phrase in your slug, so your phrase is in your URL.
These are super easy ways to increase visibility without paying big fees to SEO companies. You can do this yourself, you can get good results, and you’ll have better luck with actual humans who are looking for your services or products.
Remember, search engines aren’t going to hire you… people are. Remember who your audience is to reap the best results.
Amy Masson
Amy is the co-owner, developer, and website strategist for Sumy Designs. She's been making websites with WordPress since 2006 and is passionate about making sure websites are as functional as they are beautiful.