If you are one of the many subscribers reading this post, you’re definitely connected. However, there are still many small businesses that are not. Believe it or not, in this modern digital age there are some who refuse to use email. The old line “Didn’t you get the memo?” still holds so true these days. [Read more…] about Didn’t You Get The Memo?
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Where Are Keywords Most Effective? PT 5
I gave away a little of today’s post in my last one when I addressed how to use keywords. Remember, I asked you if you could:
Use them effectively in your H1, or header title.
Use them in your H2, or header for a bullet or numbered list.
Use them in the body of your short, opening paragraph.
That’s a start. Choosing one keyword, and using it like I showed you in my last post is very important. Using too many keywords can often take away from the quality writing you want to share with your readers. That one primary keyword should be used as described above, and it should be used in the opening lines of text under your title.
More Keyword Effectiveness
Another important placement of your primary keyword is in the anchor text of a link. Here’s why:
The anchor text, or the different colored wording used when linking, provided the links connect (and you must always check), adds good authority.
Anchor text used for linking outbound to another, possibly higher ranking site, may naturally turn into an inbound link once a relationship between authors is established. Keyword-rich anchor text coming in on an inbound link is good for authority.
Anchor text using effective keywords for your internal linking between pages of your website is also good for your reader, and by default, you.
Posting comments on relevant blogs and forums will also bring links in from other sites, so you want to include good keyword-rich anchor text when you leave them.
You’re not completely limited to one keyword for all your content. If used too frequently, you can actually hurt your site, not help it. Shoot for using your primary keyword naturally 2-3 times on a page in the places we’ve talked about. Then, go back and see if another word or phrase that you’ve researched can be used as a subordinate, worked into the text of your content. Don’t use it more than a few times.
It’s imperative that you write for your readership; your potential customers, your existing customers, and others, such as information gatherers and peers in your business to business relationships. If you can do this fluidly, and maintain the quality of your content, you’ve got the basics of a recipe for success.
One more thing as I wrap up this series. Be a good steward of your site. Make sure to reply to comments and return links to readers who have helped you link. It’s not going to hurt your company to complement or agree with a competitor’s comments or product lines, and doing so can actually be helpful for more than just linking. Once relationships are built, and that takes some time, you may very well find yourself in a situation where you may be offered extra work. Sometimes a company finds it better to send extra work to someone they trust than to risk turning down work with no alternative for their customer. That could only be possible with effective link strategies.
We’d love to hear from you. Be sure to leave your comments or questions with a link to your company along with your name below. Here’s to your small business success!
I gave away a little of today’s post in my last one, where I addressed how to use keywords. Remember, I asked you if
you could:
- Use them effectively in your H1, or header title.
- Use them in your H2, or header for a bullet or numbered list.
- Use them in the body of your short, opening paragraph.
That’s a start. Choosing one keyword, and using it like I showed you in Part 4 is very important. Using too many keywords can often take away from the quality writing you want to share with your readers. That one primary keyword should be used as described above, and it should be used in the opening lines of text under your title. [Read more…] about Where Are Keywords Most Effective? PT 5
How Do We Use Those Keywords? PT4
Now its time to put forth a little effort. I’m going to ask you my favorite question:
What do you have to say to your customers, viewers, and peers?
Notice I never asked you what you had to say to a search engine. Your content is king, and if you ever start filling your web pages, press releases, articles, and blogs with randomly placed keywords, they will no longer be keywords. They will then be useless, lifeless gobbledygook that will only make you look uneducated, and there’s absolutely no authority in that.
Using Keyword Research Tools – PT 3
We’ve been giving you the nuts and bolts breakdown of SEO, and we want to make sure you have access to some of the easiest keyword research tools out there. We’ve been using Wordtracker for several years now, but I’ve only recently started using this tool myself. A couple of years ago I had tried it and thought it difficult, but then again I had very little working knowledge about how to use the tool, and they’ve improved the experience for the researcher (you) by leaps and bounds. Anyone can figure this out.
First, make sure you take the tour. I don’t remember taking the tour, if they offered one on my first try years ago, but I’ve taken the tour since then and now think that it’s very helpful and can’t imagine trying to use it without taking the tour. I like things spelled out.
Wordtracker Tour
Very basically, there are four steps that you’ll be walked through in more detail:
- Enter a keyword (one you’ve chosen off of the list we worked on in the last post)
- Find the actual search traffic volume for your keyword
- Evaluate competition for the word
- Export results, and
- Research again from your list
While you’re there, take a look at some of the blogposts in the Wordtracker Academy. I thought Lyndon Antcliff’s post on social media was a really great breakdown for any business owner.
SEO: Where Do You Find Your Keywords? PT2
SO you need keywords, but if everyone in your service industry is using the same words, how will that help you? With that logic, how do the right words help you?
First of all, you’re not completely wrong! Random words aren’t going to be the Holy Grail you’re looking for.
Second of all, start your list already! We’ll discuss where you use what words and how you use them later.
[Read more…] about SEO: Where Do You Find Your Keywords? PT2
Very Basic SEO 5 Part Series
Shari does a great job explaining what SEO is not, a very important read I strongly recommend. This is a very basic synopsis broken down for the small service company that is just now learning that their site can do more for their company than just hold a place for chance visitors.
Search engines are not as hard to understand as it can seem to a smaller, service or product website owner. Most businesses understand by now that they must have a website so their company information can be easily accessed by prospective clients, but just having one doesn’t guarantee that.