Search engine optimization

Day 11: #atozchallenge

All Bloggers are, theoretically, familiar with the term keywords. If you’re like me, understanding what they are and what they do for our blogs is still a mystery. I’ll admit, this is one area of blogging, I haven’t gotten a complete grasp on, yet.
Keywords are words or phrases used in search engines to find the information we’re seeking. For example, place any word or phrase (best is 3-5 words) into Google, Bing, or Yahoo and a list of content reflecting your topic will appear. Keywords are either short tail (one word) or long tail (a phrase). Every article or blog content can be reduced to a few key topics. The trick is to choose your keywords carefully. Common keywords will receive thousands of clicks per day, others a few. As a blogger, you want the find and use the keywords that increase traffic to your site.

How to Find the Right Keywords:

Research keywords.
Keep track of your keywords in a spreadsheet – include the number of clicks per day.
Don’t spam – using keywords arbitrarily.
Write great content that people want to read.
Once you find relevant keywords, place them where they’ll give you the biggest bang.

4 Keyword Mistakes:

Too many keywords – best for search engines to use one per post.
Using exact phrases – Google understands related words and phrases. Don’t be so rigid.
Not using keywords in photos – photo optimization is essential.
You don’t research keywords

Resources for Finding Trending Keywords:

• Hubspot – Download your SEO template to organize keywords
• Google Adwords Keyword Tool
• SEMrush.com & Market samurai – find out what keywords are competitive.
• Keyword Finder

Where to place the keywords:

Title.
Heading and subheadings.
Introduction sentences.
Concluding paragraphs and meta descriptions.
Title tag.
In the text, you hyperlink to other pages.
When you use photos, include keywords in the file name
When you reference other links.

Want more information on keywords? Check out these articles:

So, what about you? Do you have a grasp on keywords?

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently

Welcome to another, You Asked, the Experts Answer, segment. This week ‘s question is: SEO, what is it, and how do I use it?

For those of you who are as confused, as I am most of the time about SEO, I’ll try to make this easy to understand. First off, if you have a WordPress blog, they take care of all the technical stuff related to SEO.

What is SEO? The acronym stands for Search Engine Optimisation.

“… the name given to activity that attempts to improve search engine rankings.” In search results Google™ displays links to pages it considers relevant and authoritative. Authority is mostly measured by analyzing the number and quality of links from other web pages. In simple terms, your web pages have the potential to rank in Google™ so long as other web pages link to them.” Redevolution.com

Why is SEO so important? Simply put, SEO is a way for your website/blog to be found in search engines from relevant keywords or phrases.

What are Keywords? Keywords are words or phrases that your target audience might use when searching for your site. Example: if I want to find information on iCloud. I might type into Google, “Tips on using iCloud.”

SEO and keywords are nothing more than how we find things, information, or websites on the internet. Knowing that, we certainly want our website or blog discoverable.

And the more often your page is found or linked to by someone else, the higher your website is ranked by Google. The higher the rank, the more Page Authority Google gives your site.

What is Page Authority?

“Higher page authority means greater chances of your page showing up on search engines, and that your page will be placed closer to the top of the search results. Note that page authority is related to the pages within sites, not the site itself.” Drumbeatmarketing.net

Images can give your blog/website a big boost in rankings as well, but you have to label them correctly. Google doesn’t know an image is about the Eiffel Tower unless you provide a clue. ie. the image name, the URL of the image, or using a keyword to tag the image.

WordPress handles the technical aspect, but it’s up to you to choose the right keywords and phrases. The good thing about that is you can search for trending keywords or even tags right in your WordPress Reader.

Like everything else, there is a knack to using keywords:

Use some broad words: ie. Dogs
Then get specific: Bichon Frise’
Don’t overdo it.
Don’t use the same word, repeatedly.

Want more Information? Check out the following articles and always remember WordPress support is always available.

So, before you write your next post, check out what’s trending.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.