How to make SEO actionable
Your SEO just gave you a keyword analysis or a link building report. It looks like there’s a lot to do, but don’t get overwhelmed. The good news is you can do a little at a time, and here’s how:
Website
Update your titles, headers, and meta-descriptions to incorporate your keywords. Each page on the website should target a specific set of keywords – and these three spots are the most important places for them.
Then, work to update your copy. For static websites that may not need many copy changes over time, it’s still a good idea to take a look at every once in a while. Ask yourself: is all of this information correct and up-to-date? What other (new) things might my site visitors want to know? With keyword analysis in hand, see where you can add any to make your page copy more keyword rich – without going overboard.
Finally, add alt tags in order to optimize your images.
Then, constantly try to acquire incoming links to the website. Use your SEO’s link building report as a guide. Then think: who would be interested in linking to you? What could you offer for a link (free sample, free e-book, etc.)?
Blog
Add more content by blogging. Here’s where you can target niche keywords that you may not otherwise in the website. So take your list of keywords and leverage those low competition, highly searched longtail titles.
The blog is also a great way to acquire incoming links – as it’s less of a sales pitch than the website. Then, any links coming to the blog will push link juice to your website, since they are linked to one another.
Articles
As far as using keywords, article marketing is quite a bit like blogging. The difference is, you might post an article with a distribution site that will put your content on a high ranking website. (Again, just another way to rank at the search engines.)
Also, be sure to include a short bio at the end of the article, including a link back to your website and/or blog!
Social Media
I could talk all day about how great social media is for your search visibility, but I’ve always been a hands-on learner. So take the time to sign up. Create a Facebook fan page, Twitter account, and LinkedIn profile for you and/or your business. Then play.
Social media can be leveraged in very different ways for different businesses. So find out what people in your industry (nudge, nudge..your competitors) are doing (right and wrong) and you’ll be well on your way!
To recap: how to put SEO into action…
- Content: No SEO can say it enough – search engines love content. The more unique content you create in the more places, the more opportunity you have to be found.
- Link building: Link building is best done slowly, and over time. Search engines like it better that way, plus it makes it a little easier on you too
- Analytics: Now the fun part – check to make sure what you’ve been doing is working!