Web search optimization, or search engine optimization (SEO) as it’s more commonly called, can seem like such a daunting or confusing task to some people.
However, what it really boils down to is positioning yourself properly using the right web search optimization strategies so that the search engines can recognize and index your content.
If you break your SEO approach into smaller, separate steps, it all of a sudden doesn’t seem so intimidating.
In this post, we will go over 4 vital web search optimization strategies to give your blog a serious advantage over your competition.
Before we get into it, it’s important to realize that SEO is a marathon and not a sprint. Approach this with a long-term mindset, set realistic expectations and stick to a plan for the best results.
Let’s take a look at a few specific web search optimization tactics you can start implementing as soon as today.
1.) Build Your Web Search Optimization Foundation by Optimizing Your Meta Tags
This is really the starting point (besides producing content) for any SEO campaign that helps build the foundation for your blog or website.
When I say Meta tags, what I am specifically referring to are your Title Tags, H1 Tags, Meta Descriptions and Image ALT Tags.
These tags will help the search engines really understand what keyword phrases you’re trying to rank for and what your blog is all about.
You wouldn’t believe how many bloggers either mess this step up or don’t even know these tags exist to begin with. Let’s briefly describe each SEO tag so you have a better idea of what you should be focusing on:
Title Tags
Google puts a lot of emphasis on the Title Tags of your website when deciding what a particular page or blog post is all about.
The Title Tag is the blue clickable text seen in the search engines when someone types in a specific term on Google.
It’s crucial that you place your most important keyword phrases first in your Title Tag (without keyword stuffing) so both Google and visitors know what your content is based around.
Try to keep your Title Tags to 70 characters or less for the best click-through rate and utilize hyphens (-) or vertical pipes (|) where necessary.
Meta Descriptions
Meta Descriptions don’t hold a ton of SEO value but they are important from a click-through perspective.
Each Meta Description should be both unique and engaging to encourage people to visit your website and they are located below the Title Tag in the search results.
H1 Tags
The H1 tags are visible on the website (front-end facing) and are generally the main heading that describes what the page is about.
The strategy here should be to make sure each H1 tag has your target keyword phrase or phrases in place while still reading naturally to your visitors.
Image ALT Tags
Every image on your website should have a keyword-rich ALT tag which describes to the search engines and people what that image is about.
Many bloggers don’t write Image ALT Tags, which is a big mistake. They provide additional room for optimization!
2.) Produce, Optimize and Internally Link Your Content
What good is a blog without content right? However, it’s important to make sure you are approaching your content generation in a strategic fashion.
First things first, a blog’s lifeblood is fresh and unique content. You need to start becoming a writer and focus on producing extremely high-quality content that will encourage people to share your posts and come back for more.
A blog is all about building your brand and a following of loyal readers. The way to accomplish this is by producing top-notch content.
Now on the SEO side of this, you will want to optimize your content just like we did with the Meta tags in step #1.
This means making sure you have a good density of your target keyword phrases and also making sure your posts are of at least 500 words or more.
If you match up your keywords in both your content and SEO tags, this will send a really strong signal to Google on what you’re trying to target.
You can also add in variations of terms and longer tail keywords to strengthen your blog posts/pages even more.
Lastly, you will want to make sure you are internal linking in your content to other blog posts or pages on your website.
This helps spread link juice from page to page, reduces the bounce rate and increases the average time a visitor stays on your website.
The SEO benefit of this is obvious. But another side benefit is that internal linking also helps people navigate your website more effectively…leading to a better user-experience and more engagement.
3.) Link Building to Bring It All Together
Now we get to the fun stuff. Link building is really what brings everything together in web search optimization, once steps #1 and #2 are mastered.
The more quality and natural external links you have pointing back to your website, the more authority you hold in the eyes of Google.
Link building is where many Bloggers see the most progress in terms of search rankings and organic traffic. If done correctly and patiently over-time, the results can really be exciting and especially if you’re tracking rankings, traffic etc.
Now the specific link building strategy you should focus on to start is guest posting. Guest posting requires reaching out to relevant websites/blogs in your niche and seeing if they are accepting guest posts.
There are many different strategies to find these websites/blogs, for example, try typing into Google the search query “guest post” + “keyword” or “write for us” + “keyword” and replace “keyword” with a term that makes sense for your niche (this is just one of dozens of ways to find link building opportunities).
It’s a good idea to compile a list of around 20-30 websites to start rather than doing one at a time –it’s a numbers game. When you do find a website that accepts guest posts, pitch them a few topic ideas you’re thinking about writing.
If they want to move forward, you would then write your article up and place a link within the content which points back to your website.
It’s really as simple as that, but make sure you are guest posting on sites that are reputable and non-spammy.
The more authoritative the website, the better (you can check the domain authority by using MOZ’s “Open Site Explorer” feature). Now on to the last step.
4.) Consistency for Sustainability and Growth
If you are consistent with optimizing your SEO tags/copy, producing quality content and building natural links back to your website, you will start to see noticeable movement in search rankings and traffic.
Again, you must be patient with your overall web search optimization strategy and be in this for the long-term. If you really want your blog to grow organically you must be publishing at least one blog post per week.
If you can post more than this without sacrificing writing quality, then that’s even better. Google loves a website that is constantly pumping out well-written and optimized content.
This allows you to target a wide range of keywords and provide your readers with new material for them to indulge in…It’s a win-win.
It’s also crucial that you are consistent with your link building efforts.
If you can get into a constant flow month after month of building powerful backlinks, your search rankings will continue to surge, your organic traffic will see steady progress and as a result your following will continue to grow.
Don’t expect to build a few strong backlinks and take your website from 0 readers to 5,000 readers.
Over the long haul, commit to this strategy every week, month and year down the road and you may be pleasantly surprised at what your blog begins to produce.
Conclusion
In conclusion, having the right web search optimization strategies in place can give your blog a serious advantage.
Remain persistent, follow proven tactics that work and monitor your results. It will start to come more naturally for you with the more practice you put in.
Don’t underestimate the power of proper SEO and more importantly don’t be afraid to make mistakes to start. Now get out there and implement some of these SEO strategies!
What is your experience with these web search optimization techniques?
Or are you just getting started in your SEO journey?
Author Bio
As a Blogger, Digital Marketing Strategist and SEO Specialist, Evan Hoeflich knows a thing or two about what works online. With over 8 years of experience in Internet Marketing, his passion is to help as many people as possible cut through the learning curve and simply see results. He runs his blog Evan Hoeflich Marketing where he reveals the latest tips, tricks and strategies in SEO, blogging, Internet Marketing and more.
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