My SEO tips! What to avoid and what you should be doing!

And if you have not guessed already, I am going to be writing this SEO Tips page as if the search engines use sniffer dogs. Sniffer dogs have an extremely sensitive sense of smell to pick up on keywords and link trails. The sniffer dog does what he or she is told to do with precision but also animals, as much as I love them, are not as bright as humans. (maybe search engines do use sniffer dogs for SEO…. who knows!)

Should I write for SEO or for the readers on my website?

I agree to consider both factors when writing a post. It has to be pleasing to a human in order for them to read the post and be motivated to take action.

But also the correct recipe includes the right ingredients- a sprinkle of keywords without giving an aftertaste similar to that of a spam sandwich. As a human (most of the time) I tend to be thrown off scent when I sense a bit of juicy spam. It’s a no go area for me and my bitches!

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization (to state the obvious)

And when you understand basic SEO tips then depending on what you are trying to rank for, gives your website a better chance of ranking on the front page of search results so your customers can find you better.

Lets face it, SEO is amazing! Once you send your content out for the world to see then the search engine sniffer dogs are constantly picking up your scent to bring you more targeted traffic and to help the viewers find the most relevant sites. And its FREE! Everyone wins! So in my eyes, if you put SEO and PPC in a ring then I think that SEO will win on the first round. (if you are going to use PPC then use facebook)

Willy Nilly Silly SEOy

Be warned!!! There are a lot of  “SEO GOO ROOS” that will claim to get your site on the front page of Google for you. Do your research. Or ask me, I am more than happy to do the research for you (I don’t like blowing my own trumpet but I have saved thousands of dollars to a highly respected group of people who were looking to invest in a similar type of company).

Second warning!!! If you have the right ingredients for a spam sandwich then the search engine sniffer dogs will eat you up and spit you out. Be natural, don’t keep repeating your keywords. Statistics vary but 2-3% of keywords to a page is ideal. If every other word is a keyword then prepare to be busted!!! AND NO ALL CAPS! This is not rocket science. Who let the dogs out?!

Two Types Of SEO And Two Types Of SEO Dogs

Right!… We have two types of SEO angles to take and two types of SEO sniffer dogs to consider.

On Page and Off Page SEO Tips

On page stuff is basically what we do in the back office. Making sure we do our keyword research to make the site smell nice and juicy is a good start. Also applying the right amount of links, text and general maintenance is important (too much to go into here).

Off page stuff could to do with the number of visitors to your site, the number of sites linking to your site and who is linking to your site.

And the two types of SEO dogs?

The old SEO dogs like to go around making sure that static sites are doing just that, being static. “Nothing to see here boss, lets move on and see what is happening else where…”

Then we have the little new content searchers that are looking for fresh blood. Be it on a new or old site, they love new content. And with their keen sense of smell they report this back to head quarters so they can keep track on what is going on. These are the terriers of the SEO dog world. It’s a dog eat dog world!

Where To Place Your Content For SEO?

So you could place your content on sites that already rank high like article directories, hubpages, forums and youtube? If so, cool. You are placing your content on a site that already has a high amount of traffic, so ranking can be very easy depending on what keywords you are trying to rank for. But Google changes the rules from time to time. Don’t rely on these kind of sites, a self hosted WordPress site is the way forward in my eyes. But hey, every dog wags his tail to a different song! And what are considered SEO tips now could be considered to be dog shit soon!

If you have the balls to get your face on youtube then your marketing efforts will be the dogs bollox! (but again, provide great content and don’t pitch your business. You would hate to be slapped by Google and attacked by an angry sniffer dog! )

More SEO Tips? Introducing Blogging!

The true power from these SEO tips comes from blogging. Specifically self hosted WordPress blogs. Check out my post on How To Set Up A WordPress Blog. Your WordPress blog is your nerve centre. You own it! And Google loves it!

What Keywords Should I Be Using?

Good question. Well lets keep it simple for the sniffer dogs to be clear as to what you are trying to rank for. And try and put yourself in your customers shoes, what would you be searching for? Choose a few of your hot keywords. Be mindful on your blog posts to use the keywords in your title, description, subject, URL and tags.

But remember to be natural about it! Be real! And use a variety of keywords! If your blog is about sweet chilli sauce then don’t put sweet chilli sauce in every title of the posts. This is not cool!

Make it easy for the sniffer dogs to understand. For example, I love travel, personal development, Buddhism, green living, teaching internet marketing techniques, cars, music and nature, but if I did blog posts on all of those subjects then I think that Google would consider my blog to be a bit disorganised. Remember to narrow your focus and keep your finger on the pulse of your niche. Dig deep!

Secondly, what kind of content do you want sniffed?

So to get the dogs on the right trail, you have to sprinkle your site with the right keywords without looking spammy (and we all know how much a spam sandwich wreaks!)

You Need Traffic To Get Ranked

But you need traffic to get traffic.

SEO Tools

All In One SEO Plugin for WordPress is a must? Or is it? Now I use WordPress SEO Plugin- see my post on recommended WordPress Plugins to find out more!

What SEO Scent To Pick Up On

Check out this free keyword tool from Google

When choosing short keywords then keep in mind that the people searching this are less targeted, instead you could aim for longer keywords (long tail keywords) but these are less likely to be searched for yet when they are then these people are more likely to be interested in exactly what you have to offer. Are you making notes on these SEO tips?

Sort of like when sniffer dogs are on the hunt for drugs. Are they on the trail for a specific drug? Or are they on the trail for any kind of drug? Hey, I don’t know how they train the dogs! Nor do I know anything about different kinds of drugs. You can hand the dogs the drug on a plate if you want to, why not highlight your specific keyword, hyperlink it to a specific related post or page and even give it a deeper link. The deeper the better, then link various pages to this page to give it authority.

Are you still with me?

So ask yourself this…. what are your keywords? Are they short and fat or tall and skinny? Are they like Garlic or like Bay Scallops in Puff Pastry with Lobster Cream Sauce and a hint of Garlic? Make a note of a few of your best keywords and be mindful when writing your content to sprinkle them in your posts and pages. Preferably in the first few words and the last few of each post or page.

More Golden Nuggets That Used To Be Only Available To My Customers And Business Partners

I use GODDADY to purchase all of my domains.

And quality links are links from more relevant sites. Simple! Go fetch doggy!

Create A Buzz On Your Site!

Ask questions and encorage people to share your content to other sites. I love the Retweet pluggin and some people prefer to use the twitter share pluggin. Please discuss. Just make sure your Retweet button is linked to your Twitter ID.

Use Anchor Texts! Obvious when you know how…

And there you have it! What started to be my brief overview of SEO turned out to be an action packed smelly pile of quality content.

For much more detailed SEO tips and techniques I recommend watching these videos from Ray and Ferny who have done some of the courses I purchased from Magnetic Sponsoring from Mike Dillard.

Useful links

http://www.seonetworker.com/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

http://fernyceballos.com/search-engine-optimization/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization come back soon for more tips…….

For more posts and videos about SEO Tips click here!