This is a topic that gets me really excited! Mainly because I know that it is something that most of you really want to know... and I can help you without making you read a 300 page book or taking an intensive course.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is simply doing the things that will optimize your website, social media, and any other marketing or information that you have across the internet for better placement in the search engines. In plain words, you are doing the things that you know that the search engines want and require to get them to notice you, know what your website or content is about, and serve you up to people as they search for keywords relevant to your business, products or services.
Let me give you an example. You are a builder, and you know that there are certain things that the house you are building MUST have in order to pass inspection. There are certain things that must come up to code... permits you must have... and a whole list of things that must be done in a certain way to meet the inspector's approval.
Well Google is our BIGGEST "inspector", if you will. It is the largest search engine today. Yahoo and Bing are the next two largest search engines, followed by some smaller ones. But Google is the one we want to concentrate on pleasing.
The first thing that I want to tell you is that in my years of teaching, Google has changed the rules about what it wants to see in terms of SEO, and it has made things very hard. Many times it seems like you just figure our what Google wants to see, and you get it in place... and "bam", they change it again!
What I want to share with you today is not an exhaustive list of every single thing that is included in Search Engine Optimization. Instead, I want to share with you the tried and true things that you should be doing on your website... and elsewhere around the web.
What I'm going to share with you is a SOLID FOUNDATION, and will put you ahead of a lot of your competition!!
This is going to be easy to understand... here we go.
Let's talk about the things "ON" your website that you need...
Keywords -
Content -