It all starts with good content – interesting, compelling and relevant. Search Engines use semantic (what are you saying) and contextual analysis (who links to you and how they link) to figure themes and topics.
Here are Dave’s 10 Things (plus a Bonus Tip) to Know About Search Engine Optimization:
1. Importance of titles- is the title good enough to draw attention? Does it contain a keyword or concept about the post?
2. Keyword Density – think keywords when writing – use the keyword several times in the post and not “it” or other pronouns. Don’t use click here – make the keyword text a link.
3. Smart image file names – Rename your images with relevant keywords for the particular post.
4. The alt and title attributes -Take the time to fill out the alt and title tags for your uploaded images and files – again with relevant keywords/concept.
5. More is definitely less – Reconsider the use of the Read More in the post. Change the link from “more” to the keyword heavy title for example. Consider not using “Home” but the name of your Website in Navigation.
6. Use savvy permalinks - Each blog post has it’s own unique URL – choose the most powerful words to describe the content of your post. Wordpress has plugins to customize your URL.
7. Use HTML too, not just CSS – Search engines like HTML – All blog platforms have easy HTML editors (header tags <h1> <h2> for example).
8. Minimize exit links – scrutinize who and how many links are in your blogroll. The more outgoing links you have increases possibility of visitors leaving your site.
9. Use internal links to cross-promote content – Use Related/Similar Posts at the end of your post (Use Wordpress plugin); Title of the blog post is the link.
10. Encourage easy commenting – Don’t require login or registering in order to post comments.
11. Bonus Tip: Use Keyword Research Tools to see what combination of words and word phrases people use and how often people search for certain keywords.
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