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’s 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, preventing 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 preventing blindness, type the Page Title as Preventing 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.
How to Get Started on Twitter in Five Easy Steps
Whether you’re looking for new customers or a new job, Twitter is a great way to spread the word. Your customers and potential employers are already on Twitter. So, it’s important to get yourself out there too. Twitter is actually a simple (and somewhat addictive) social network. And you can get going in just five easy steps.
- Step 1: Create an account. Go to Twitter. Then, fill in the Full name, Email, and Password fields on the home page and click “Sign up.” Congratulations … you’re officially on Twitter!
- Step 2: Complete your bio. Type a description about yourself or your company (see mine for an example). Then, upload a photo to give other users a glimpse of who you are.
- Step 3: Find your peeps. Find folks in your network on Twitter. There are a few ways to do this. You can import your email contacts. Or, search for folks by name.
- Step 4: Send your first tweet. On Twitter, you’ll communicate in 140-character messages called “tweets.” Some find it challenging to convey a message in so little text. But, for a word nerd like me it’s highly enjoyable!
- Step 5: Connect with new people. While Facebook is for old friends, Twitter is all about meeting new people. Use the search feature to find the topics you’re interested in. Then, check out some of the profiles that come up. If you find some interesting folks, click the Follow button. You’ll receive their updates (and they may follow you back).
Five Easy Steps: How to Get Started on Facebook
With more than 800 million users, Facebook is the most popular social network in the world. While most people use it to connect with old friends from high school, college, and past employment, it’s also a tool you can use to promote your company, favorite charity, or anything you care about! And, you can get started in five easy steps.
- Step 1: Create an account. Go to Facebook and create a personal account by entering your name, email, password, gender, and birth date and clicking the “Sign up” button. (I’m a bit concerned about privacy on Facebook, so I suggest not putting your real birth date and/or year.)
- Step 2: Find your friends. Facebook makes it easy for you to get started. Just enter your email address and password in the “Search your email for friends already on Facebook” to import your email contacts. You can also use the “Find People You Know” search feature to find friends, family, and coworkers.
- Step 3: Complete your Personal Profile. Just follow the prompts to upload your profile photo (or one of your cat, dog, kids, etc., if you prefer) and fill in your profile information so your friends will know it’s really you.
- Step 4: Create a page: If you’ve got a cause or company to promote, create a fan page at www.facebook.com/pages. Then ask your network to “Like” the page via email, blog posts, and your website.
- Step 5: Write a wall post: Facebook is about sharing your news (and daily life, if you’re so inclined). So, go to your wall and post something. Share what’s going in your life, or with your company or charity. Post a link to fun stuff you’ve found online. Or “Like” other pages and share their content on your wall. You can share what matters most to you.
Whatever you do on Facebook, they key is being “human.” Post information that is timely, helpful, and useful to your audience. Give fans a chance to interact with you by posting content such as polls and open-ended questions. And check your page often to see what your fans are saying and respond to their comments. Most importantly, be sure to balance your promotional messages with interesting content that will engage fans who visit your page – and keep them coming back for more.
One of the most challenging steps to starting a new blog (or website) on WordPress is creating a photo header for your site. Sure, most free themes include a stock photo, which is great … until you realize that thousands of other blogs are using the same photo! You’re one of a kind, so you need a unique header to brand your blog or website.
I’m a writer, not a designer. I know some basic image editing tricks and enough HTML to get myself into trouble. But, a graphic designer I am not. If you’re in the same boat, here’s a quick and easy way to create a great header for your blog or website (like the one at the top of this page).
- Step 1: Determine the image size you need. On WordPress, go to your Dashboard. Then select Appearance > Header. This will show you the image size you’re allowed to use (e.g., for my theme, Vigilance, the size is 920 x 180 pixels).
- Step 2: Find a great stock photo. There are actually several sites that provide access to free photos. You can try Google Images, or a free stock photo site such as Stock.XCHNG.
- Step 3: Edit your photo. Once you find a photo, you’ll need to edit it to fit. If you don’t have fancy software like Photoshop, no worries. You can use Picnik to upload and crop your photo. There’s a handy “Upload Photo” button on the homepage that will allow you to import your photo into an “Edit” pane. Once you see your photo, just select “Crop” in the left margin, type the image size allowed for your header and click “Apply” (you may need to play with the image a bit to select the exact part of the photo you want to use).
- Step 4: Add text to your photo: You’ll also want to add your company name or blog title to the photo so you can use it as a header. (I have to admit, this is the step that prevented me from doing a header for a long time!) Luckily, Picnik has got you covered. Just click the “Text” tab, type the content you want to display, and crop the text to fit it into your photo.
- Step 5: Save your header to your desktop: While still in Picnik, select the “Save & Share” tab. Type in the filename (including file type, such as .jpg).
