Strong SEO is incredibly important to bringing new visitors to your website. However, it\u2019s a tricky art to master for relatively small companies. Here are 10 tips and tricks typically overseen by businesses that can be worth thousands in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know what you\u2019re thinking \u2013 Google Plus isn\u2019t nearly as popular a social network as Facebook. However, it\u2019s an invaluable asset for SEO. When you connect your personal Google+ page to your company\u2019s website, your face is displayed for your company\u2019s search engine results. Although it\u2019s common to click on the top search result in Google, one with a face next to it becomes much more intriguing to a potential website visitor. Even if your page is ranked lower than you\u2019d like, a friendly face next to it will draw more visitors to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s how to make that happen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step 1.<\/strong> Go to your Google+ profile, and click About->Links->Edit<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 2.<\/strong> Go to the \u201cContributor to\u201d section, and add a link to your website. This tells Google that you write articles for that website, which will allow them to include your photo in related search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 3.<\/strong> Make sure you have a Google+ profile picture \u2013 and make sure that it is a photo of your face<\/strong>. Only face pictures are allowed, and Google can tell what is and isn\u2019t a face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Step 5.<\/strong> \u2013 Verification. In order to prove to Google that you\u2019re the real owner of your site, you need to put a link to your Google+ profile somewhere on your website. Hint: you should add this to the bottom of all of your pages (ex. \u201cJoin us on Google+\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s it! Within a few weeks, you should see your face popping up in search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google is increasingly moving towards local search, and most people don\u2019t know how local SEO works, giving you have a huge opportunity. And luckily, this trick works even for sites that generally don\u2019t rank well on search engines. Local results show above most regular results \u2013 regardless of how good the actual website is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how do you improve your Google Places ranking? It\u2019s actually pretty simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take any opportunity you get to get a positive review of your business online. Many of your competitors won\u2019t know about this, and likely won\u2019t have any reviews. Even just 5-6 good reviews should be enough to land you a top spot in search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever Google pairs your business name with your address, it registers that you\u2019re likely to be found at that address. This is called a citation. The best way to get more of these citations is by signing up for social media accounts such as Yelp and Angie\u2019s List, as well as any other site that allows you to list an address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Backlinks from other sites are a big part of SEO strategy; however, it\u2019s also important to check the links within your own website. Choose a poorly performing page on your website, and drive more links to it from your other pages. Additionally, make sure that the content of each of your pages matches its title and keywords \u2013 Google checks for this and pages with content that\u2019s more relevant to the keywords will perform better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a quick checklist to make sure all of your pages are Google-friendly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A common mistake that new businesses make is attempt to do everything from scratch. There\u2019s no need to reinvent the wheel when you can take some ideas from your top competitors. Of course, copying the content and text from a competitor is a bad idea, and will likely result in Google penalizing your site in its results. However, the structure of the site (headlines, word count, links, etc.) should inspire you. Although this isn\u2019t a long-term strategy, it\u2019s a great way for new businesses to generate more traffic to their pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to favoring local businesses, Google also loves to rank YouTube videos highly. So even if your website on its own isn\u2019t showing up on the front page of search results, a YouTube video might. In order to give your video the best odds of ranking well on Google, make sure it has as many views, likes, and comments as you can get. The title should match or at least be related to the keywords you want to rank for. Additionally, it should be of a decent length \u2013 aim for at least five minutes. Such a video can be entertaining, useful, or just interesting; but most importantly, it should be something people are likely to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One great way to get a lot of backlinks to your site is just making your site incredibly informative, and there are few things as informative as a how-to guide. And the more informative and authoritative your guides sound, the more likely people are to visit your site and read them. If you write useful guides, people will be more likely to share them, especially if they\u2019re something people won\u2019t be able to find elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a variety of web platforms, such as SoundCloud, that allow you to link a website to your profile, and they all count toward your backlinks. Although this may not mean as much as a link from a truly authoritative site, every little bit counts. Sometimes just a few backlinks can push you up to the next page in Google search results. You can find a list of 17 platforms that allow you to link a website<\/p>\n\n\n\n SoundCloud and various other web platforms allow you to link to your website from a profile, and yes, these do count toward your backlinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not as much as, say, a link from Harvard or Sony, but any little bit counts. Sometimes a few little backlinks like that can push you up a page on Google\u2019s search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find a list of 17 platforms that allow you to link to your website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Get a Google Places page.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE MORE POSITIVE REVIEWS THAN YOUR COMPETITORS DO<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
MAKE SURE YOUR ADDRESS IS POSTED ON YOUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Check your internal link structure.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Make sure you\u2019re speaking Google\u2019s language<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
tags?<\/li>
and
tags?<\/li>
5. Do competitive research, and don\u2019t be afraid to steal.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Make a few videos and put them on YouTube.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7. Write \u2018definitive guides\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8. Claim your free backlinks.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9. Steal backlinks from your competitors.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n