Search Engine Optimization. All your hard work, excellent writing, and marketing strategies will never be seen without it. You need it and it needs you.
Well, you hope it needs you. This means that people are actually searching for what you’ve got to offer, whether it’s a product or just something to say. If they are looking, you better make sure they’re finding.
Here’s how it works: The catchy and somewhat convoluted article title you slaved over won’t be what a user will type into Google. Keep it simple to reach larger audiences. Think like an average Joe. And don’t underestimate the power of keywords in a title.
An example? Let’s say you remember that scene from “Friends” where Ross says Rachel’s name when he’s marrying Emily. You’d probably type “The One Where Ross Says Rachel” right? That’s how people differentiate between episodes of a T.V. series in casual conversation. Well, they tend to use casual conversation language when using search engines. What would they get when they type that in and push “enter”? The exact episode. The “Friends” producers titled all of their episodes in this regard. Why? Because that’s what people would call them anyway.
What are the chances of you searching for the “Family Guy” show title “Stewie Loves Lois” when looking for the clip of Stewie saying “Mom. Ma. Momma. Mum. Mum. Mum. Mommy. Ma….”? It might take a little more time to find because Stewie is usually trying to kill Lois. Stewie loving Lois does not spring to people’s minds. Hence, it fails as a search title.
So what if people are looking for information on a certain topic? Many sites may have it and yours is one of them. Well, you’re on the right track because you have what people want. Your site, however, points readers in the direction of your product or business, so naturally, you want them on your site and not on others. This is where SEO becomes mandatory.
Frequent keywords, the right title and a link here and there will kick you up a rung on the Google search results ladder. Chances are if your site doesn’t rank on the first two pages, no one will ever see it. Make sure you’re doing everything right by looking up common phrases or keywords that people search for in Google Adwords. Center your writing around these magical words and then run your content through a search engine optimizer. After that, sit back and wait for the hits.