Search engine optimization, the art of to get your website higher in the search engine rankings, is a complicated art. For many, it may require a full restructuring of your website or the help of a specialist. But I’d like to discuss a few things to get you started on the process.

Tracking your traffic

Do you know who is visiting your site? At what times of the day are they visiting your website? What search terms are they using to arrive at your site? Google analytics will tell you all this info and has an easy to use interface for analyzing this data. This info is invaluable for deciding on a plan of attack and tracking its progress.

Keywording

Think about searchable keywords when writing your content. What sorts of phrases would people search for in order to find your site? Use those phrases in your text. Use them in headers. Search engines use text like this to rank your site for relevancy. These days, content is king. Make sure your content is written with SEO in mind. Add bold or italic text to further emphasis keywords.

Here’s an example of how both these tips helped me at my own site. In the early days, I found I wasn’t getting the traffic that I wanted. So I pulled up Google Analytics to see what sort of traffic I was getting. Apparently a common search term in Kuala Limpur Malaysia is “web design in KL” and I was coming up first! Unfortunately my target market doesn’t reach quite that far. I also realized that no where on my site does it say Colorado or US based. Whoops! A few quick tweaks to my content and keywords and I was starting to come up locally.

Fresh Content

Do you have a blog? Websites with fresh content rank higher than static sites. Not only does it improve your site, but it gives you something to promote via social media! Now, I know what you are going to say. “What would I write about??” Many small business owners are resistant to this. But chances are you know a lot about your business. Chances are your customers want to know that info! Blog about what you know. Not only does this present you as the expert in your field, it will attract customers to your site.

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Social Media

Do you have a Facebook page? Google places or yelp listings? Twitter account? What about video marketing? All these are online places where potential clients are “hanging out” which means you need to be there as well! At first, promoting your business on social media sites can be a bit awkward. It does take practice. But it’s about exposure. Social media is a platform that in this day and age, cannot be ignored.