1. Do your research. Keyword research is essential for on page optimization. Chances are you are naturally including keywords without realizing it simply by providing valuable content on a topic. However, there are a variety of tools and techniques for finding related keywords relevant to your blog post that you may not have considered. The Google Adwords Keyword Tool and semrush.com both offer great tools that allow you to find keywords related to your topic and even spy on your competition to see what words and phrases they are targeting to bring traffic to their sites.
2. Utilize keywords throughout your post. Once you have targeted a couple of valuable, relevant keywords, it is important to place them where they will have the most impact for humans and search engine crawlers indexing your content. Try to include them in the following places: -Title -Headings and subheadings -Introductory sentence -Concluding paragraph -Anchor text (text you hyperlink to other related pages on your site) -Title tags and meta descriptions A word of caution: Don’t engage in keyword stuffing, which is the act of filling your content with so many keywords that it becomes difficult to read. Not only will this irritate your blog followers, it will also get you penalized by Google. A couple of strategically placed keywords will do the trick.
3. Optimize your images. Whenever you upload a photo to your blog, be sure to include keywords in the file name and fill out the alternate text field with a brief, keyword rich description of the photo.
4. Reference others with links. When you mention another blogger or article in your blog post, include a link to the information you are referencing. Not only is it good blogging etiquette, but you may also get lucky and receive a link back. Quality links are a valuable commodity for any site looking to rank higher in search engine results pages.
5. Give readers the opportunity to subscribe to your blog. Include prominently placed RSS or Feed Subscription Buttons and offer viewers the ability to subscribe to your posts via email when possible. This allows your blog followers to have instant notification of your latest posts without having to periodically check your site for new content.
6. Use social media to broaden the reach of your blog posts. As a small business, you may be utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or other social media sites to create connections with potential and current customers. Why not promote your blog content on these sites for even more web exposure? Free programs like Hootsuite make it easy to post links to your latest blog post on all of your social media sites with just a couple of clicks. You can even schedule your posts ahead of time!
7. Claim your Google Authorship. Google Authorship is a quick and easy way to tie your blog posts to your Google+ profile, which can lead to increased exposure in search engine results pages. If you aren’t familiar with Google Authorship, simply put, it is a way to link your blog posts to your Google+ profile, which appears next to your articles in search results. Google Authorship is great for personal promotion, but can also increase the click-through rate to your articles. And we all know that increased traffic can lead to increased sales.
8. Implement Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a free program offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website. Google Analytics is a valuable tool for any site owner, but is essential for those wanting to optimize their site for increased traffic. Not only will Google Analytics tell you how many people are visiting your site and which pages they are viewing, but it will also provide valuable information about where your visitors are coming from, what type of device they are using, and how long they are staying on your site. All of this information can be used to fine-tune your site and improve your SEO.
9. Keep your site fresh. One of the things that search engines look for when determining ranking is how often new content is added to a site. Blogging is a great way to keep your site updated on a regular basis. If you don’t have the time or inclination to blog, consider adding a News section to your site and update it periodically with company news, press releases, or articles.
10. Seek professional help. SEO can be a complex and time-consuming task, and if you don’t have the time or inclination to do it yourself, there are a number of companies that offer SEO services. A quick search on the internet will provide you with a long list of potential service providers. When considering an SEO company, be sure to ask for references and case studies of their work. Also, be sure to ask about their experience and knowledge of the latest SEO trends and algorithms.