You invest an incredible amount of effort to craft your website copy. And you want to make sure that as many people see it as possible. That’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in.
Whether you want your website to create awareness or generate leads, SEO can help get the results you need. Although SEO sounds complicated, it is not. SEO is actually a simple process that can get you to the top of Google. And you can get it done in five easy steps.
- Step 1: Keyword Research. What’s the difference between an attorney and a lawyer? When it comes to SEO, word choice is everything! And you can use the Google Keyword Tool to see which words your audience is searching for. To do keyword research, type in a word or phrase that describes your business. For example, I did keyword research for the phrase saving eyesight. The Google Keyword Tool showed me that a paltry 46 people search for this phrase every month, but 6,600 people search for a similar phrase, prevent blindness.
- Step 2: Update Your HTML Page Title Tag. Ever wondered how Google determines the text that shows up on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP)? You can control the hyperlink text on the SERP by making a simple edit to your HTML Page Title tag. For best results, put your keyword phrase at the start of the tag. Then, type a dash followed by your company name. For example, to optimize a page for prevent blindness, type the Page Title as Prevent Blindness – Your Company Name.
- Step 3: Update Your HTML Page Description Tag. The HTML Description tag controls the descriptive text that displays on a SERP. (This is the block of text below the link to your web page). So, write something catchy that will make search engine users want to click your link! And be sure to include your keyword phrase (from step 1). Once you’ve updated this HTML tag, the next step is editing your page text.
- Step 4: Edit Your Page Heading. The content on your web page is also critical to SEO success. Be sure to add your keyword phrase to a Heading on your page. It is best to add it to the first Heading on your page. But adding it to any Heading on the page will work.
- Step 5: Edit Your Page Text. Last, but not least, you need to include the keyword phrase in your web page text. You can add the keyword twice per every 100 words on the page. But, I suggest starting out with one time for every 100 words. This is usually enough to get the job done.
I’ve had great success with this approach. In fact, several pages I used this SEO strategy on have reached page 1 of Google. To give your page some extra SEO horse power, you can also add internal links to your site that include your keyword phrase and increase the keyword density on your page (up to two percent). But, whatever SEO tactics you use, remember your readers! Be sure that any SEO edits you make do not take away from the readability or value of your page.
