Simple Search Engine Optimization Tips

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1 Simple Search Engine Optimization Tips 25 Ways to Improve SEO by Ryan Shell Feel free to share this report by using this link:

2 Simple Search Engine Optimization Tips Search engine optimization (SEO). Those three words are tossed around left and right these days, but the thing is, most people don t really understand what they mean, much less how to do it. This ebook will not teach you how to be some sort of SEO ninja, but it will teach you the fundamentals by highlighting the basics needed for practically any website, as well as some more advanced tips that will help your site rank better within search engines. Not only will this ebook provide you with the information mentioned above, it s going to do so in a way that doesn t leave you scratching your head or doing Google searches to figure out what in the world I m talking about. Given that so many websites run on Wordpress, it will be the example platform used, but keep in mind that the best practices highlighted are relevant to virtually all platforms. Wordpress just happens to make life a bit easier. Let s get started.

3 All in One SEO Pack As a general starting point you ll want to make sure your site is using the All in One SEO Pack (nerdy code provided on next page if you aren t) plugin, or something similar. This plugin is going to make it simple for you to add some key bits of data to your homepage, such as: Home Title: This is what allows your site to have data at the top of the browser. For example, my site has Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Business RyanShell.com at the top. Home Description: This is what shows up under your site name in Google. Consider it to be your first opportunity to tell someone about your website. Home Keywords: Want to rank for certain keywords? This is the great place you give Google that information. But, by no means does that guarantee a ranking. Again, this is just a starting point. All in One SEO Pack also allows you to control your page structure and a number of other things that you ll find beneficial.

4 If you use a Wordpress theme such as Thesis or StudioPress, you will have most of the same features that come in the All in One SEO Pack already in your theme. If you aren t using the All in One SEO Pack, or something similar, you ll want to address the same sections mentioned above, but you ll do so by inserting the code below in the <head> tag. <meta name="robots" content= "index, nofollow"/> <meta name="keywords" content="your keywords go here"/> <meta name="title" content="put your site title here"/> <meta name="description" content="your site description goes here"/> That s about as complicated as this tutorial will get, and I only provided that bit of info to make sure the content remained relevant to non Wordpress users.

5 On Page and Post SEO Data This section will pertain to both pages and blog posts you publish. If you install the All in One SEO pack you re going to have the ability to add the following SEO data to each page or post: Meta Title Meta Description Meta Keywords Since we re keeping this simple, I ll just tell you that those three items help tell search engines, and people, what your page or post is about. If you re trying to rank for a specific keyword, you ll want to make sure it s used early on in the meta title, as well as the meta description. As previously mentioned, if you use the Thesis or StudioPress, these are standard features. If you aren t using one of those themes I highly recommend you get the All in One SEO Pack, or something similar.

6 Page Title and Link Structure Thus far we ve talked about behind the scenes things that impact SEO, but now we ll touch on things directly related to your content. Moving forward, to avoid confusion I m just going to use the word page, but when I say that I m referencing a page and a blog post. Page Title: Whenever you create a new page you ll almost always give it a title. When doing so, if possible, make sure your keyword is included in that title. Link Structure: Let s say that for some crazy reason you can t use your keyword in your page title, but still want to try and get as much SEO juice as possible. One way to do that is to alter your link structure. What you see above is where you add a Wordpress page title. Directly below This is a Test you see Permalink. That is where you alter the link structure. To do so, simply click edit and you ll be able to make an edit as seen below.

7 If your keyword was pizza part you would type pizza-party (minus the quotes) and then click OK. Make sure you include the hyphens as that s what is interpreted as a space. This is simple to do, and it s an SEO trick that people often overlook, or simply skip out of laziness. Don t do that!

8 Keyword Placement Now that you have your title set, you ll want to make sure you add your keyword to the content you are creating. I m not going to get overly technical here, but here are some general rules to try and follow: Put your keyword in the first sentence if possible, and as close to the beginning of the sentence as possible. If your content is around 400 words long, try to sprinkle the keyword in 3 4 times. Just don t go crazy and add it 10+ times, that s not something Google will appreciate and may penalize you. Try to include your keyword in one H2 or H3 heading in the body copy.

9 Image SEO Data Remember how I mentioned people don t optimize link structures out of laziness? Well, that is true times 10 for this next tip. The written copy you create is crucial when it comes to SEO, but images are also a great way to attract Google s attention. Specifically, there are four key ways to optimize your images for SEO (screenshot on page 10). 1. File Name when you save an image to your computer, it has a specific file name. If it makes sense, add your keywords to the file name. 2. Title - once you upload your image you ll be able to add some specific bits of data, the first of which is the image title. Include your keyword here. 3. Alternate Text this is what shows up if your image doesn t load for some reason; add your keyword here. 4. Description lastly, you can add a description about your image, and this is another spot to add your keyword.

10 Adding the proper information to images is very easy to do, but it s something that is routinely skipped. If you re trying to get the most SEO juice possible, don t skip this step.

11 Additional SEO Tips As far as SEO tips are concerned, the ones previously mentioned are pretty basic and should be considered standard practice. Once you get a handle on creating those tips and creating SEO optimized content, you might be interested in doing some off-site tactics that will help you rank. Most of these items are relatively easy to do, but some can be more complicated than others, and they can all be incredibly time consuming. But hey, if you want to rank for certain keywords this additional effort might be required. I ll explain 11 different tactics that will help your SEO, but to prevent them from sounding like a bunch of gobbledygook, we ll keep it pretty high level. Have specific questions? Feel free to ask me and I ll answer what I can. 1. Incoming links Think of this as a popularity contest. The more relevant links search engines see pointing to your site the better. Also, it s worth noting that.edu and.gov websites carry the most weight, but they certainly aren t the easiest sites to get incoming links from.

12 2. Anchor Text of Inbound Links when you get a link that link will be attached to text, which is what creates a hyperlink. If you want to rank for pizza party, make sure pizza party is the phrase attached to your link. 3. Directories add your site to directories related to your keyword. 4. Video Submissions submit videos to sites such as YouTube and include your keyword in the video description, tags and include a relevant link on your site. 5. Article Submissions write keyword rich articles and submit them to sites such as Squidoo.com. This can be time consuming, but a great way to ensure backlinks. 6. Press Releases distributing press releases that include your site link is an age old tactic for getting links back to your site. 7. Forums forums are a bit old school, but still a very relevant way to get links to your site. Just make sure that the forums are related to your topic. Don t go posting about women s fashion in a forum about hunting. 8. Blog Comments now, don t be a blog comment spammer, because those people are annoying, but if there are blogs related to your space, leave meaningful comments on posts that intrigue you. Upon doing so you ll typically be able to include a link back to your website.

13 9. Create a Second Blog think of this as a pyramid. Your site is at the top and the more sites that point to yours the better. You could create a secondary blog and write an article every week or two that points back to your site. 10. Social Websites create social profiles (Ex: Facebook or Twitter) for your site and link them back to your website. 11. Social Bookmarking this one can be confusing if you re just starting out, but add it to your list for when you get a bit more advanced. Hopefully the insights provided in this short ebook have provided simple SEO tips that you can easily put to use. In addition, once you get the simple tips down pat, you might consider testing out some of the more advanced information provided in the Additional SEO Tips section. Thanks for