Recently Klout added SEO to the list of things I’m influential about. That has absolutely nothing to do with this but I just wanted to share, because I so love SEO. I have over the years studied SEO and have grown from having a basic knowledge of SEO to understanding SEO best practices to building my business around it. About 70% of my business is SEO related. Everyone wants to make their website more visible, and to do that you need basic knowledge about starting a blog and search engine optimization. Understanding SEO for your blog will be an important part of both your content strategy and social media growth.
The number one reason why you should blog for your business is SEO value. This will connect you to your customer closer to the purchasing decision. And that means more potential sales for you. 46% of people who open up their computers and search for something on Google are looking to purchase a product or service. When you position yourself to be there when your potential customers are looking for your product or service , your conversions will increase and meaningful traffic will bring you more leads.
What exactly is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process in which you optimize something for the best results in search engines. There are many elements to SEO and many things that can be optimized. For instance you can optimize your blog post, website, you can even optimize your social media profiles-all to be easier for the search engines to find you and connect you with who is looking for you.
Search engines, though complex and evolving rapidly, don’t read things the way you and I do. Being able to speak the language of the search engines is an important part of SEO. If your blog post is about how to tie a bow tie for instance, you would want your post to show up in Google under some terms related to tying bow ties. If you don’t know how to convey what your content is about to the search engines then you may get traffic, but not targeted, ready to purchase traffic.
Blogging regularly increases your websites SEO value One of the greatest benefits from blogging when it comes to SEO is the fact that the more you update your content on your website, the more often search engines will crawl your site. The more search engines crawl your website, the more it can connect you to the people who are searching for exactly what you are writing about. This is one of the reasons the blog has become so essential to businesses.
Keyword phrase usage
An important part of SEO is choosing the right keywords. With a blog you have the opportunity to use more keywords, in more places which will bring more targeted traffic to your website. Traffic means something and nothing Traffic alone means absolutely nothing to your business blog. Don’t be fooled when you open your Google analytics to find your traffic is skyrocketing to think that you are finally getting it. You can have a whole lot of traffic, and a whole lot of nothing.
If you are not getting the right traffic, meaning the people who are looking for your product or service, then you may as well throw your analytics out of the window. Who cares? Who cares if you get 1,000 hits on one blog post? Are people buying what you are selling? I have to admit, the initial rush of accomplishment when seeing those numbers rise is very gratifying. But the real numbers you want to see are the numbers of people who you are converting. Real leads generated by the right keywords and relevant content.
Using Google Keyword Tool
Now that you have some idea of what you think people are looking for to find you, it’s time to do a little more digging. SEO for your blog is a very important part so just “assuming” anything is not a good idea. So to test it, enter Google Keyword Tool.
Once you pull it up try typing in your keyword phrase in the box on the top of the page. At the bottom of the page you will see results of your search. It will tell you how many estimated people are searching for the term, and then the “competition” or how many other people just like you are using the term. It is a common mistake to see a word that is highly searched and choose it for your keyword right away thinking that will yield you the best results, but the truth is, it is more important to pay attention to the competition.
What you want to do, unless you have a powerhouse blog, is to choose keywords that have high number of searches and a low amount of competition. This way you will have a greater chance of getting on the first page in search.
Who Are You Trying To Reach?
The more you begin to understand your target market (aka the people who want to buy what you are selling) your keywords will get better and better. Doing a little research to understand the demographics of your market will help to bring those targeted (buying) customers right to you. SEO for your blog is complex and has many components but choosing keywords is a great place to start and if you can get that right then you are on your way to attracting traffic that WILL convert!
I must admit the topic of SEO baffles me! But I am still determined to ‘get it’! This article helped clarify things for me! Thanks!
denny hagel recently posted..Tantrums, Acting Out and Attitude: How You Can Diffuse Them!
Understanding SEO for your blog can be tough at first, but it’s not as scary as it seems. understanding using keyword phrases is a great place to start your SEO journey!
Great information. Thank you fro sharing your knowledge!
Thanks so much for this, Angela! I just finished changing my blog keywords thanks to your advice as I was using the commonly searched terms before. Very much appreciate your help!
Lisa Frederiksen – BreakingTheCycles.com recently posted..Alcohol Abuse Going On in the Family? – If Only My Doctor Had Asked
Great tips Angela. I think remembering who your client is is so important.
jean recently posted..To Create Your Dream Life Let Go Of Grief And Pain
I’m a student of SEO myself… I began for myself and now help others with it. It’s quite a learning curve but once you can begin to fit the pieces together, it begins to make sense. Still have lots to learn as it is ever changing! Great post.
Norma Doiron@Where Aspiring/Budding Business Owners Start, Grow & Strenghten Their Online Business recently posted..SEO What to Do And Not Do
Thanks for sharing such great information. I still have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to understaning SEO. Have bookmarked this and will read with a huge cup of coffee in hand!
Alexandra McAllister recently posted..“I Still Think Network Marketing is a Pyramid Scheme.” Sound Familiar?
SEO has been a confusing topic for me, so thanks for shedding some more light on it! : D
Sherie recently posted..Is Worry Stealing Your Confidence?
Thanks for this great explanation of SEO, Angie. I admit it’s one of those things I’ve tried to keep my head in the sand about until recently. Your post helps me see the value and get clearer on what to do. Thanks!
Ruth Hegarty recently posted..5 Important Things Kids Can Teach You About Growing Your Business
Hi Angie, Congratulations on having Klout in SEO. That’s a useful knowledge base to have.
I keep forgetting about Google Keyword tools, thanks for reminding us.
My confusion always comes from knowing which is best: a) using a keyword that isn’t very popular so you can stand out but realize that not too many people will be searching for it or b) using a popular keyword that a lot of people search for but know you’ll be lost in the crowd.
What are your thoughts on this?
Carolyn @ Wonder of Tech recently posted..Bing It On! Which Search Engine is Best for You – Bing or Google?
I get lost and confused with SEO . Thank you for sharing yor knowledge.
SEO is so important to understand ! and at the beginning not always easy but it will pay off. Thanks for your article
Awesome post. I always tell everyone to start with a keyword search when putting together a blog. It is so important to know what you are blogging about and who your targeted market is. Thank you for sharing. Great job breaking it all down.
Katrina recently posted..Increase Your Business with Facebook Marketing
Had to leave you another comment Angie after I used the Keyword tool you suggested. I had two options for a title of a blog post and the results were hugely different! Thanks for the tip!
Carolyn Hughes recently posted..Happily Ever After.
Just took a look at the Keyword Tool and can see where that would be very helpful. I do some SEO on each of my posts, but to find our targeted market – very important. Thanks.
Cathy Taughinbaugh recently posted..Life Lessons From My Dog about Serenity, Joy and Living in the Moment
Wonderful post Angela! I like it really! By the way friends, SEO isn’t that tough and on the other hand it isn’t so easy either! It’s basically a long term procedure, needs a lot of time, money, energy, R&D, hard work and most importantly “PATIENCE”. Because the results aren’t visible as quickly as one might expect. To achieve results in SEO you need to research a lot, read a lot and experiment a lot. But above all it’s a proven fact that a successful SEO campaign can outperform any other marketing and advertising campaigns.
If you do a small research on SEO, you’ll get to know that even now (when most of the popular brands and companies are investing money on PPC/AdWords campaigns to achieve faster results) 96% of all the clicks on the web/internet are coming from organic search listings and 68% of all the searches results in users click on the top 3 search results. So SEO can really produce outstanding results if you can do it properly and keep patience!
SEO is so important the right traffic is the key – thanks for such a concise explanation!
Estelle recently posted..Visioning – A Transformative Process to Help You Achieve Your Dreams
Thanks for this Angie – SEO is like ancient Greek to me! But I know it’s important so it’s great to have an article like this that explains it clearly and simply – thank you!
Jo Casey recently posted..3 Ways Exercise Can Help Relieve Stress
Not only do you want to be aware of the keywords you are targeting but you also want to be sure of where you are using them within your blog posts. Having your keyword phrase in the H1, H2, and H3 tag is very important. Also having an image (relevant of course) that has the keyword in the description, alt, and title is important. Along with all of this in mind dont forget to make your content epic so people not just search engines read it!
Chris Hufnagel recently posted..The Secret to Starting Your Own Online Business
Thanks for the great article on SEO. It is a never ending learning experience…
Alan Moore recently posted..Should Couples Combine Finances?
Thank you for explaining SEO for your blog. I will definitely be bookmarking this to use as a reference. Great stuff!
Susan Preston recently posted..I Needed A Mindset Coach
i’ve got this blog post bookmarked and refer to it often. Great work!
Matthew Reed recently posted..Toxic Leadership
Thanks for giving us this helpful information, Angie!
Great intro article on SEO, Angie.
Annie Sisk (Pajama Productivity) recently posted..When to Ignore That “One List” Rule
Thanks for sharing, Angie. I never turn down more info/training on SEO. Love to learn this stuff!
Designer Rob Russo recently posted..3 in 365: Reading ONLY 3 Books in the Course of a Year
Angie… Really good article. I use to be really good at SEO about 3 years ago. But things have changed like 3 times in the last 12 months,that I have even gotten myself confused when writing the blog article from within… meaning, not just the title of the post, and H1 tag, but other things such as the title tag and other things. I need some refreshers.. Question, you talked about Google keyword tool… I have a hard time using this properly. Are there any other good tools that you would recommend? Thanks and again, good article.
Jeff Belonger recently posted..Mummies Visit the Penn Museum
What an awesome blog! I’m going to study this blog thank you so much
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