Basic search engine optimization, SEO, is essential.

Because, it will help you position your website or blog properly and help you be found by users online.

What Search Engines Are Looking For?

Search engines have one basic goal: finding a match being a person searching for content and the content that exists online.
That’s it. They take a few elements into account when deciding what content to deliver:

1. Great Content. Is the content well put together for your reader?
2. Performance. Is the website or blog built and hosted for speed and performance?
3. Site trust, or authority. You can see this in action by the rank of a page, and build it by following some of the search engine optimization tips in this post.
4. Experience. Have you made it easy for users to browse and navigate? Are there contextual images in your posts or pages? Is it easy to read and read further?

You can read more about what SEO is and small fixes for your website to help you get started. In the meantime …

Here are 5 search engine optimization tips to increase visibility and search engine optimization online.

1. Choose one targeted keyword and use that to create your title and content. | After you’ve chosen your keyword, include it early on in your title, headings and meta, and high up in your content.  Make sure you don’t use your keyword too many times.

2. Write a followup post for expanding upon your first topic, or create a parallel topic, and link from both. | By expanding upon your post or creating a parallel topic, you’re providing more valuable information to your reader and increasing your opportunity for engagement.

3. Signup for Google Authorship (and at Gravatar.com) with a headshot. | You want to show who you are in order to start building a community. Overtime you’ll build authorship, especially if you signup for Google Authorship. Make sure you add a user on your WordPress blog or website with your personal name and email, and use this user to write posts from. Tip: include biographical info within your user profile that contains your target keywords and phrases.

4. Write your posts to fit your blog’s keywords, style and readership. | Always write for relevancy. If the keywords on the site are branding, web design and digital marketing, for example, focus on articles surrounding those topics. To increase value to your reader, you can write on supporting topics, such as search engine optimization, but don’t go too far off base.  This is important for two reasons. First, articles that connect with the interests of your readers are more likely to be shared and commented on, thereby boosting your SEO. Second, by staying within your focus keywords and phrases you strengthen the overall keyword positioning of your site or blog.

5. Make sure your posts are easy to read (and pass Flesch Reading Ease) | Just like if your writing style doesn’t fit the style of your website or blog, you’ll waste time and your articles won’t deliver results if they are hard to read and understand. Bots don’t like posts that are difficult to read just as much as people don’t. Also make sure your articles are free of typos and poor grammar. Take some time to tell your story well and make each word count.

Doing well in SEO and building your page rank and authority sounds good, but it’s not so easy. Be prepared to do your homework, to take time to learn and generate a content strategy and to invest in being successful online
– or hire an SEO agency to help you.

So hopefully these search engine optimization tips have helped. Either way, have fun out there! – Christina