The list goes on and on...
It's true; there are many, many different tips, tricks, and techniques that can be used when trying to perform SEO for your website. That is why there are many, many articles written on the subject.
But before you get ahead of yourself spending days sorting through all of the content that is available about Search Engine Optimization, it's smart to make sure that you understand the main concepts of SEO before moving forward. You will want to start at the beginning; gaining a base understanding of SEO and its principles.
Here are the top 5 core principles of SEO:
1. The visitors you are trying to get to find your website are already looking for it
Make sure that you always remember who exactly you are working to get to find you. Ideally, these are the people that are already searching for you. People that are already searching for you or for the types of services that you offer are going to be your ideal visitor.You will have already overcome one of the biggest obstacles you can face: convincing them that they need your product. The visitors that are already searching for you already know that they want your product. You just now have to convince them that they should purchase that product from YOUR company.
With SEO, you are able to help yourself get found easier by the people who are already searching for you. That makes the traffic you generate from SEO one of your most valuable traffic sources. Try to keep that in mind when you get frustrated: you are putting in these efforts to get found by your ideal visitor, so they are definitely worth it.
2. SEO is a long-term effort
SEO is absolutely worth it. You are working to get found by very qualified visitors. But make sure that you remember that SEO is a long-term effort; it will require patience. SEO will take longer to achieve results than some other forms of marketing. But if you are willing to put the work in to be patient, it will have the most long-lasting effects. |
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3. Text is key
Many people, as they get deeper and deeper into SEO, start to feel that text doesn't matter with SEO. This couldn't be further from the truth. The truth is, text matters. A lot. When it comes to SEO, you need to have text, you need to have a lot of it, and it needs to be high quality and unique. There is no getting around this, so stop trying.4. You must put in the research
Back to #1: there are certain people that are already searching for you, and you should try to get found by these people. But how do you know what these people are searching for? And what keywords are they using in their searches? You know what they are searching for and what keywords they are using by doing your keyword research.Keyword research is absolutely necessary when you are performing SEO. It helps you to know what terms searchers are using to find products and services like yours. For example, if you are a company in India that does SEO, how do you know what people are typing in to look for you? They could use "SEO India," "SEO in India," "SEO India Company," etc.
You would need to do your research to see what types of words searchers are using to find you. Once you know what those keywords are (through your keyword research), you are able to know what terms you should be focusing your SEO efforts on.
5. You must track your results
How do you know if you are achieving your SEO goals? How do you know if all of this work you are putting in is actually working? By setting and tracking goals. Determine metrics for the goals you are trying to achieve, and then find the tools or services you need to be able to help you track those goals.
NicoleAbout the Guest Author:
Nicole is a writer for the SEO industry. She writes about all things SEO; from tips for beginners to articles for SEO experts.
