When it comes to marketing, SEO (search engine optimization) is the name of the game for most B2B organizations. However, for many people, this whole SEO thing is baffling. Complicating matters, it’s always changing.
So, let’s try and make it easier to understand.
Here are 11 Quick SEO Tips to Help Get Your Web Content Read that should explain things and make it all a bit easier:
- Keywords: Keywords are key. There is no mystery to keywords. Typically, your keywords are what your article is all about.
- Title: Make sure the keywords are in the title of the article. Also, keep the title short, preferably around eight words.
- Meta: Place the keywords in your meta description. This is the 160 characters picked up by the search engines, describing what this content is all about.
- Frequency: Make sure the keywords are in the first 40 words of the article. After that, they should be used every 100 to 150 words. Avoid keywords “stuffing.” A 600-word article should only have the keywords repeated about four times.
- HTML: There should be no HTML (links, images, videos) at the top of the article or within the first 150 words of the article. This can impede SEO.
- Subheadings: Make sure all are H3 headings; if keywords have been used sparingly in the article, the subtitle can include one or more.
- Links: A 600-word document can have up to three links. Search engines like links. This includes one or two links to your product page and others to an information source mentioned in the content.
- Images: Include one photo with the content. The image should be of a person using the product or service being discussed. The ALT text behind the image should include the article keywords.
- Branding: Place your logo in the upper right-hand corner of each content post. That way, when the image is picked up in search engines, it will have your organization’s name on it.
- Meta tags: Meta tags help get your content found, but they are not keywords. Meta tags look at the bigger picture of the article. For instance, meta tags for this article might be: #contentstrategy; #seostrategy; #contentwriting; #seotips
- Content Research: Web content should be well researched, interesting, and useful information written so that it will benefit your target readers. If the content is not worth reading, there is no reason to bother with SEO. It’s just not going very far.
We need to expand on this last point because it is essential. As important as keywords are in web content, do you know what attracts a search engine to your content and improves your SEO?
It’s how many times people share it. An article that is shared ten times will get little search engine notice. However, shared 1,000 times, and all of a sudden, the search engines take note.