How to Always Be an SEO Wizard

Lexie LuFreelance Designer and Writer
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A UX/UI designer with expertise in marketing, web design, and graphic design.
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Because your company can’t afford for you to make SEO mistakes, you’ll want to ensure you’re taking the right steps each and every time you post a new piece of content. This list of optimization do’s and don’ts can help you become an SEO wizard.
Creating websites that are properly optimized for search engines can help boost business and get your page noticed. But with so many different approaches, strategies and tactics to creating an SEO strategy, it is easy to forget some of the most important steps of optimizing your page.

If you’re continuously missing crucial SEO components, you may not see the traffic to your website that you’re after. Without traffic, you won’t bring in new customers or new sales.

Because your company can’t afford for you to make SEO mistakes, you’ll want to ensure you’re taking the right steps each and every time you post a new piece of content. This list of optimization do’s and don’ts can help you become an SEO wizard.
 

Do Research Keywords and Phrases

Creating a strategy that properly targets your keywords and keyword phrases has long been the core of SEO. But as algorithms shift and keywords become more competitive, researching the right keywords before creating a post is becoming even more important.

Before you begin creating content for your website, look into what keywords should be the focus of your content. Long-tail keywords without much competition will be your best bet for reaching the top of a search engine results page, but you also need to consider how frequently the keyword chain is actually being used by users.

Make a list of the keywords that fit within your strategy before creating content. This can help you stay focused and improve your SEO.
 

Don’t Stuff Your Posts With Keywords

After you’ve completed your research, you’re ready to start writing. While the keywords you select are important in determining what search results you’ll appear in, over-packing your posts with keywords will actually hurt your ranking placement.

When writing your content, be sure to only use your keywords when they fit naturally. If the placement sounds awkward or it doesn’t fit well within the topic you’re discussing, you may need to consider targeting a different keyword set.

After completing a post, search the document for your keyword to see how many times it is used. If the ratio of keywords to total words is over 3 percent, you may want to restructure a few sentences to reduce your keyword count.
 

Do Include Internal Links Throughout Your Copy

Internal links can help your website for a couple of reasons. First, linking to other posts or pages on your site will give your readers the opportunity to explore different pages and read similar content. Internal linking can encourage them to stay longer and visit more website pages. This shows search engines that users enjoy your content, which will improve your ranking.

But internal links are also beneficial for search engine crawlers. Because crawlers cannot move from one page to the next without a link, internal linking gives them a pathway to move on to other content. This can improve your chances of appearing on a search engine results page.

When creating your content, refer back to old posts that you’ve created or other pages on your site. This will give both your readers and the search engine crawlers a better opportunity to explore your site, find the answers they’re looking for, and boost your SEO.
 


Don’t Forget the Details

When you’re creating a new post, you may think the body copy and title are enough to get you on the first page of a search results list. While using keywords in your headers and creating engaging content is a great place to start with your SEO strategy, it usually isn’t enough to be successful.

The little details really matter when it comes to optimizing your website. While they may seem like extra steps, adding a meta-description, alt text, and custom URLs can drastically improve your search engine ranking and give you more opportunities to use your keywords without overstuffing your page.

Optimizing your images, adding a meta-description and adjusting the URL to make it easy for search engine crawlers to read will only take a few more minutes. Put in the extra work to cover the details, and you’ll get closer to the top of a search engine results page.
 

Do Focus on the User, Not the Algorithm

Many businesses try to break the algorithm to get to the top of a results page quickly. While this may bring them temporary benefits, they’re usually thrown back to square one when the algorithm changes.

Search engines want to provide the best user experience for those who use their platform. This means they are always looking for ways to ensure the results they provide answer the right questions, fulfill the right needs and deliver the best solutions. If they feel that a company is simply trying to get around the algorithm, they may be punished.

While you need to know the right SEO strategies to follow, you want to keep the user’s experience at the forefront. When you consider what your audience needs, what problems they need solved and what they may be looking for, you have a better chance of creating an SEO strategy that isn’t dramatically affected by algorithm changes.

Search engine optimization can be overwhelming. With so many different steps to take, mistakes can happen and important items can be forgotten. In order to boost your SEO and ensure you’re not forgetting anything, keep this list of do’s and don’ts handy the next time you’re creating a new page or post.


The more you get used to following SEO best practices, the easier it will become. When you follow these steps consistently, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an SEO wizard.
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Lexie LuFreelance Designer and Writer
CERTIFIED EXPERT
A UX/UI designer with expertise in marketing, web design, and graphic design.

Comments (1)

Kyle SantosQuality Assurance
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Commented:
Nailed it.

This is a great article.  The proof is in the pudding as they say. :)

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