The Internet is an ever-growing source of information larger than most of us could ever wrap our mind around. Thanks to search engines, we’re able to find answers to all of life’s questions more efficiently and more quickly than ever before. But in an age where creating, promoting, and sharing content via the Internet seems to be the lifeblood of our day-to-day work and play, it can be hard to get your specific website and its information to the correct audience. It’s no secret that for almost every Google search, most everyone finds their answer on the first page, making it prime real estate for your website. How can one attempt to achieve this goal? The answer can be simply summed up as: search engine optimization. Though, search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is typically boiled down to succinct points, it’s important to note that Google’s proprietary algorithm for ranking a website in its list of search results is not something known to the public. But over time, even with a steady flow of changes from Google, SEO for your website can be improved by making a few uncomplicated changes.
Don’t write for robots
There’s a common misconception that by placing certain words in a certain order, mentioned a certain number of times in a certain fashion will guarantee you a top spot in search engine results. This is not true anymore, as Google’s algorithm has evolved to actually favor listing websites first that actually seem to come from a human, addressing human needs in a human tone. Therefore, write for the web like you would talk. Trying to write for an algorithm is a practice in vain!
Do your research
While there is no magic number or formula to the way you write, there is something to be said about buzzwords, or more commonly known in the SEO industry, as keywords. If you are wanting to establish ethos or authority on a certain topic, go to Google itself to figure out the most common way to address your topic. For example, if you are selling earbuds, look into the search results for “headphones”, “in-ear headphones”, “earbuds” and more to find out what is the most popular way to address this market. Google even allows you to search the popularity of certain terms in order to do some of the comparison yourself.
Don’t copy and paste
Google is great at crawling and analyzing on an in-depth level all of the words written on websites that show up in their search results. So, when you are going to write web content for your site, do not copy and paste from other sites, particularly from ones that already show up on the first page of a Google search result. Google will render this as not helpful as someone else has already presented this information and has the top spot!
Do add links
To find out that your website and its content exists, Google goes on a hunt from website to website following its links. The links could be a menu at the top of the page exploring all of that specific page’s content, or Google could find links that are references to other sites. This is the fundamental way that Google works – crawling the web! So, to capitalize on this fundamental truth of the Internet is one of the best ways to set your site up for success. Make sure to add plenty of links to other parts of your site per page you create, and don’t be afraid to reference other sites that make sense in relation to your content.
Because the Internet and Google is so vast, it’s reasonable to assume that the methods to best optimize your website to rank well in search engine results is indeed a large topic with many tips, tricks and pieces of advice to implement. It can help to talk to professionals that have studied search engine optimization and can give you an analysis and practical steps forward to help your website reach its intended audience. If you need help with your SEO, get a free quote from HostGo and their team of web professionals today.
