When you begin looking into search engine optimization for your company, you’ll be bombarded with a variety of jargon such as “algorithm” and “backlinks.” If you’re not familiar with the technological world of SEO, this can be incredibly confusing and difficult to master.
Thankfully, you can still enjoy all the benefits of SEO without years of tech experience. Here are a few basics.
Links in onsite content
Most companies understand that they need high-quality content to boost their search engine rankings, but it doesn’t do you a lot of good without links. Google looks for links in your content, and if you’re not using them, you can actually hurt your ranking.
Your goal is to use links to high quality and relevant content on the web. As you’re writing your article, look for terms or concepts that aren’t fully explained in this particular blog post. Then, look for a non-competitive but high-quality publisher that explains it in detail.
Links published on other sites
You’ll want a healthy balance of linking to your own website/blog as well as to others. You’ll also want to write content that will be published on other sites with your links in them. For example, you could write a blog post about something in your industry and try to get it published on Forbes.
This is a relatively simple SEO aspect, but it’s a lot easier if you outsource it to a company that specializes in this process. Link Graph, for example, will craft a custom link-building strategy for your company involving high-quality content and links that will steadily raise your rankings.
Original content
Because you want other people to link to your content, you need content that’s worth linking to. Try to create content that can’t be found elsewhere so that you’ll draw more attention to your blog.
Expert marketer Neil Patel recommends publishing an original case study or study on a trending topic in your industry. “Publish an interesting set of data from an original study carried out by your company,” he recommends. “If you don’t have data or the resources to work with, then a case study will also attract links. A case study might focus on one fantastic result (and how you came by it).”
Keyword research
When consumers search for content, products, or services, they type keywords relating to your industry in the search bar. Using some of those keywords on your website and in your blog content can help you rank higher in search engines.
“Specific target keywords aren’t as important for SEO success as they used to be, now that Google search is fueled by semantic and contextual understanding, but you should still be able to identify both head keyword (short, high-volume keywords) and long-tail keyword (longer, conversational, low-volume keywords) targets to guide the direction of your campaign,” Jayson DeMers, founder of the SEO company AudienceBloom wrote in a Forbes article.
Try to find the most popular keywords in your industry based on your research and write content that matches them.
Critical thinking
Although critical thinking isn’t a skill you’ll need to learn exclusively for SEO, it can help. “It’s important for SEO pros to be able to have an analytical mind that’s capable of differentiating correlation and causation,” SEO expert Ryan James says.
Being able to understand the problems facing your search engine rankings from any angle will help you come up with better solutions. You can make better decisions and think outside the box. With critical thinking, you can vault your SEO success ahead of your competitors and continue to improve your SEO skills.
