The Simple 2 Step Guide to SEO
Search Engine Optimization. It’s a scary thing for many marketers and organizational leaders. With so many terms, strategies and techniques that must be applied, how will you ever stay ahead? It seems that the only way to get found on Google is to be deploying the latest and greatest of every optimization method!
Despite all of the hype and the marketing that people will scare you with, getting found on a Google is actually pretty straightforward. Here is the simple 2-step process to getting found:
Yes, it really is that simple. If you have a website that is designed and developed well, and you continually make an effort to create quality content, your search rankings will improve. Google wants the same thing that your visitor’s do: the ability to read quality and relevant content on a website that functions great.
I’m not here to dismiss the fact that there are hundreds of small tweaks you can do to tinker with your SEO. However, I am here to say that if you follow these two steps, you will be most of the way there.
Step 1 – Build a Great Website
A great website is one that features a professional functional design. Your visitors should be able to easily navigate your site, and not run into issues with images and text being difficult to follow. The programming of the website should be coded to abide by universal web standards. The more efficient the code, the better the website will perform.
We can start talking about h1 tags, redirects, etc., however, if you spend the time and money to have a professional website built, your site will more likely than not have the correct structure to get indexed properly by major search engines.
Step 2 – Create Quality Content
Content is king. It’s as simple as that. You need to create highly relevant and quality content on your website if you want to get found. You can not “set it and forget it” when it comes to online marketing. Really though, this is no different then any other marketing channel. Your continued effort is what produces results.
Write content that will resonate with visitors: What does your organization have knowledge about? What are your opinions on trends in your industry? What are common questions you hear about your services? This is the type of content that is useful to visitors, and will also be rich in SEO value.
Is it that Simple?
Yes, it kind of is. While there is surely more advanced techniques you can do to further your SEO, most people don’t even get these simple two steps in place. They put the cart before the horse, and end up “optimizing” a bad site with low-quality content. Put the effort in, do these two steps, and you will be leaps and bounds ahead of many organizations.
