As a Southern Maryland SEO consultant, I get asked all the time what are the tricks to getting a web page to rank well in the search engines. My answer? There are none. It’s a bunch of little things all rolled up together that result in a page performing well for a targeted keyword phrase. And it all starts with solid, well written, focused content.
Here are just a few of things we deem important and integrate into the web pages and posts we build for our Southern Maryland SEO consultant clients.
Single Keyword Phrase Focus
Before you begin crafting your web page or blog post consider what will be it’s primary keyword phrase focus. And please be realistic. While we would all love to hit #1 for the term “web” it is just not going to happen – well, at least most of the time. Think in terms of keyword phrases. These are 3, sometimes 4, word phrases where you would like your page to perform well. Think “longtail” – if you don’t know what that is find out here.
Can you guess the targeted keyword phrase for this post is Southern Maryland SEO Consultant?
Content is King
I’ve already touched on this but it is worth repeating – content is king. A well formatted web page with content that is centered around your keyword phrase is imperative. A long laundry list of multiple keyword phrases is not going to work. Make sure your content has value.
Keyword Tips
Make sure your keyword phrase density is appropriate. Don’t stuff your keyword phrase in every sentence, but make sure it is there. And make sure the copy that includes the keyword phrase is readable.
Use your keyword phrase in the URL of your web page or blog post. And also make sure to use it in copy sub-headings and that it appears in the first paragraph of your copy. Don’t forget the page title and meta description!
You get the idea? The keyword phrase is everywhere!
Use Images!
Your keyword phrase should appear in both the alt text of the image and the actual image file name. More and more users are using “image search” as a means of finding relevant content.
Outbound links
Search engines don’t like pages that think the Internet ends here! And neither do your readers. Outbound links to other resources on the web related to your topic are good – use them!
Volume of Content
Your page title should be at least 40 characters, but less than 70 – and should it include your keyword phrase? You guessed it, the answer it YES!
The body of your content should contain at least 300 words. And the copy should be easy to read. We use the Flesch Reading Ease test to evaluate the copy of our targeted pages and posts.
These are just a few tips to get you started on some solid SEO performance for your website.
Southern Maryland SEO Consultant
As you may have discovered, a good Southern Maryland SEO consultant will spend a lot of time writing content, manipulating photos, re-writing content, evaluating results and then starting all over and doing it again. If you are busy working in your business this may prove too time consuming to take on alone. Call or email me today if you would like to discuss your options for professional help with your website and SEO efforts. It’s more affordable than you might think.
