Search Engine Optimisation needs to be taken seriously if you want to bring a wider audience to your website. There are three main areas to concentrate on – making your website visible to search engines, making your content attractive to your readers and circulating news of your posts far and wide. There is overlap, but follow these top ten tips and you will be on the way.
The tips
Register your site url with Google and Bing
Adding the url or your site (unique locator or web address) to these major search engines will add you to their directories and encourage them to read your site content and add your web pages to potential searches. Why Google and Bing? -Yahoo charge money, the others copy Google.
Put metatags in your html
These give extra clues to search engines looking for relevant content to recommend to searchers. Add a description of your site, keywords and your name if relevant to the html to give them a clear idea of what you think your site is all about.
Use keywords wherever you can
Again – keywords (words which are essential to the description of what your site is about – e.g. fashion, cars, chess etc) are a big help to search engines to help them know who to recommend your site to. Use them in page titles, and in the opening paragraphs of yor pages and articles. That is where search engines will be looking most.
Get linked
Search engines, particularity Google, rate your site not only according to how many visitors you have but also according to how many other sites link to you. People looking for you will also be able to find you through links on other sites. Try asking relevant sites to put up a link to you – give them a good reason to, and offer to link back to return the favour. Try similar interest groups, local and national directories and also friends and colleagues.
Add Google Analytics and see who loves you
A free but amazing service. Register, add a strip of html code to your site and within 24 hours you will be able to monitor information which will help you understand who is searching for you, how they found you, what they like on your site and what turns them off.
Make your content interesting and original
Use the analytics info to see what people find interesting, and write more of it. Keep content original, relevant and let it express your passion. People prefer that, and so do search engines
Add photographs to your pages
Photographs can replace a thousand words, but research also shows that people are far more likely to read text that is illustrated. Try Google images – there are 1,000s of pictures and images on every possible subject – most free to use. (Don’t forget to add searchable tags and titles to your photographs too).
Email your articles to friends, colleagues and fans
Send people a taster and a link to your site or one of your posts. Find interest groups who might be glad to read some of your articles and invite them to read it. Or reply to other articles with a link to yours.
Comment on social forums and other discussion threads
There are many forums with wide ranging topics that may be relevant to your interest. Be newsy or relevant and you may interest people in a link back to your own comments or content on a topical issue.
Use social media to advertise your content
Last but not least use the existing networks to get noticed. Use twitter or send links to those who do, and get into hash-tag discussion threads of relevance to your site. Or use Facebook to post news, photos and links to friends and networks. Don’t overlook other social media like Reddit which, if you can think of relevant punchy stuff to catch peoples eye, can bring a new and wider audience to your posts.