From the Classroom
Once again, live from the classroom. I was speaking about the power of social media with search engines and a student stopped me mid sentence and asked, “hope this doesn’t sound like a lame question but can you explain what SEO means?”
So we had a brief conversation and then I went to the expert. Randy Eager, a friend, fellow instructor well versed in SEO joined me on a webinar where we discussed what SEO is. Here are some of his simple thoughts.
First though, SEO defined:
- Search engine optimization, the use of various techniques to improve a website’s ranking in the search engines and thus attract more visitors
Okay those work for me. So this is what I learned and now share with my students
First “natural” ranking on a search engine, Google, Yahoo and MSN is the goal of SEO. We try to get as many first page rankings on as many phrases as possible.
To accomplish this there are 3 major areas to change:
- Research the right keyword phrases for you
- Tie these phrases into your domain name
- Create a keyword rich title on your website or blog posts
We learned that there are very popular keyword searches, which means the probability of getting it is impossible. The point is to get as many keyword phrases that are not as popular.
Websites are likely to receive most of their search engine visitors through a large variety of low volume search queries.
So to break it down. If people are looking for Denver Real Estate and those words are in your domain name, you will show up. Even if you don’t have the perfect fit, your site will still show up.
Don’t focus on just “Denver” for keywords. Be more targeted with a whole bunch of keyword phrases. Don’t just take the large area of Denver, but put where you really live, local communities like Aurora and Lakewood. This will create more traffic and better leads.
Keyword phrases should not only be in your domain name, but metatags, title tags, alt tags and all throughout the content. make sure it is in the title of every page of your website. A different title on each page. Each title should include key words and then what the page is about, luxury homes, condos, financing, etc.
Metatags are the hidden code in the html. The Alt tags are the description of the graphics on your website.
The sum of all your minor keywords can be much more popular that the most coveted domain name.
Remember the Long Tail – Long Tail – Keyword phrases with at least three, sometimes four or five, words in them. These long tail keywords are usually highly specific and draw lower traffic than shorter, more competitive keyword phrases, which is why they are also cheaper.
