Managing Your Own SEO [Basics]

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If you have found this post after receiving a LinkedIn Sales Message from a company called ZENO, please notice that their links have been omitted from this post because of  complaints and unethical spamming of this site.  (The Author of this post has been edited as well)

There are hundreds of search engine optimisation (SEO) companies out there but chances are, you’ve made the move to handle your own SEO.  I made the same decision, being fairly knowledgeable about the web already.  I have to say, if you’re willing to find out exactly what’s involved, it’s relatively straightforward and can save you a lot of money.  If that’s something you’re short of, you’re making the right decision too.  However, if you’re churning out a decent profit but struggling to fit everything in, your SEO is really something that should be outsourced if possible.  Here are just a few tips to get you started.

Google Analytics

If you’re like me, you’ve probably started to wrangle with Google Analytics already.  One of the first things I did when I launched my website was to set up an Analytics account and it’s probably my most valuable marketing tool at present.  As you know, SEO is all about driving as much interested traffic to your website as possible.  Google Analytics can provide you with exactly the information you need to capitalise on your current traffic.  For example, you can use the system to analyse your incoming traffic and even see which keywords and phrases are sending the most people your way.

Keywords

The phrases and words that are already delivering lots of traffic can be tweaked and massaged to generate even more.  Use these words to form as many different ways of saying what you do as possible.  Try to avoid rabbiting too much though, there’s a fine line between positive keyword use and plain old keyword stuffing (a technique applied by ‘black hat’ SEO marketers involving overuse of keywords).  You need to make sure your content is readable and relevant, and this can be a very delicate balance so it’s worth doing some research.

Secure Some Incoming Links

Linking is delicate too.  If you get it wrong, you can end up being blacklisted by the major search engines and boy, can they hold grudges.  And rightly so – the reason search engines are so sensitive is to protect the people who are doing it properly.  People like me and you.  A lot of people dedicate energy to securing reciprocal links, a ‘you link to mine and I’ll link to yours deal’.  While this is not a terrible idea, it’s not half as effective as one-way linking.

It’s a tricky area so it’s definitely worth spending a couple of hours reading up on one-way links and researching the best ways to achieve them.  Some you may have to pay for, others you might be lucky enough to score for free.

Create a Site Map

A site map is a good idea on any website (unless you’re a two-pager, in which case it could look mildly patronising).  On the separate site map page, each page of your website must be hyperlinked using HTML and you can also use this opportunity to employ synonyms for popular searches (for example, if you sell baby stuff, you might substitute the word ‘dummy’ for ‘pacifier’ to cater for a US audience).  Search engines like lists, so try using a bulleted layout of your pages.  Site maps provide you with extra SEO and your users with a genuinely handy tool for navigating your site.  So everyone’s a winner!

If all of this sounds like a lot of hard work or if you don’t really know what you are doing you should take a look at the Zeno SEO website.

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Jordan Kasteler

Latest posts by Jordan Kasteler (see all)

• SEO Jobs for All Types of People - April 7, 2012
• Managing Your Own SEO [Basics] - September 29, 2011