SEO Tips for 2014

5 Tips on Better SEO & Improving Traffic Quality for 2014

Organizations of various size and scope throughout the internet industry have invested millions of dollars on technology to figure out how search engines display and rank websites on page one of a search engine results page, organically.

Google is always trying to improve their “Search Experience” for their users, this includes how web properties are displayed based on users search criteria, and the keywords used in their search query to find information online. These results are displayed based on Googles “Search Algorithm’s” which are continually being updated in order to prevent companies from cheating the system, with the popular algorithm updates even given code-names like, Panda, Penguin, and most recent Hummingbird.

Our technical staff is hyper focused on how these changes affect our clients websites and most importantly, we are proactive in researching and understanding the changes and are quick to take action if a problem results, reasons we are now one of the fastest growing SEO companies in Florida.

To have a successful online “Web Presence”, you need traffic but must first start by designing and developing a website that is receptive to traffic, meaning as visitors come to your site, they can easily understand what you do, how to find what you sell, and have a simple means of contacting you, either through a form submission and their email, or call you directly.

Without a steady stream of traffic to your website you have to work much harder at promoting your products or services using other main media channels to gain exposure, this can be cost prohibitive.

We use the 80/20 rule or work smarter, not harder… as the old saying goes, and hear are important considerations for Building your online asset rather than just Buying online advertising and setup considerations for a successful SEO campaign.

Here below are 5 Very Important SEO Considerations:

1. Use Keywords in Your Meta Tags!!

Pages without meta tags have a harder time ranking. Know what a meta tag is? The meta tags are a quick way for the search engines to determine what your site page is about before they “read” the rest of the content on the page. The 3 most important tags you need to know are:

• Meta Title – This is the title of the page and shows up at the top of the search browser. If you want your page to rank for specific keywords, use them in your meta title. This tag is visible in the search results.
• Meta Description – This tag gives a brief description on what your page is about and is also visible in search results.
• Meta Keywords – The meta keywords tag is often neglected because it doesn’t help your page rank in Google. This tag also is not visible in search engines. However it can still boost your rankings in Yahoo & Bing so it should not be ignored.

2. New Content-Fresh & Frequently

Search engines like fresh content. Think of it this way… if you had friends come over for dinner would you rather serve them old bread from the back of your pantry or new fresh bread hot from the oven? Google, Yahoo & Bing feel the same way. If your website is old and stale the chances they will find it relevant enough to serve up in results are small.

Also, make sure the new content you are adding is relevant to the audience you want to attract, and includes keywords related to the products and services your offer. If you have a blog about vacuum cleaners, don’t add a new blog post about what you had for dinner the night before. The more on point and relevant to your business your posts are the stronger of an authority you become on search engines in your space. This is something that we practice to rank above everyone else for keywords like “Fort Lauderdale SEO Company”, “eCommerce SEO Services” and more! 

3. Get Some Link Juice!

This isn’t the kind of juice that can be found next to the OJ in your local grocery store.  Link juice is in reference to the power that comes from having other sites link back to your website. As you get quality sites to do this, the search engines will start to see your site as more valuable, or have “authority” and you increase the potential  of  moving up in rank. For example we recently got a link from SEMRush.com/blog about our SEO company which is the blog for one of the most powerful SEO tools known to SEO professionals. That back link is worth 1000 backlinks from free back link sources because it comes from a really powerful website with high page rank and it is highly relevant to SEO.

On the flip side, if you gather these links through shady practices, more commonly known as “black hat” or falsifying link authority or just flat out buying them, the search engines can and will penalize your website and this is not easily resolved, in fact it can ‘blacklist” your domain/url and have unfortunate long lasting negative effects.

Good link building takes time, so don’t cut corners or try and cheat the system as when it is done properly it will have long lasting effect on your organic ranking.

Various types of links are:

• Direct Links – These links look like the webpage they are pointing to.
• Links w/ Anchor Text – These links appear to be a keyword but take you to a webpage.
• Deep Links – These links take you beyond the homepage of a site. It can be direct or have anchor text.
• External Links – These are links from a domain other than your own. Direct links, links w/ anchor text & deep links can all be external links.
• Internal Links – These are links from your own website to your own website. You can have direct links, links w/ anchor text & deep links to your own site. While internal links can help the engines decide what pages are most important on your website, external links give you a vote of popularity which provides more value overall.

4. Get Social- Engage your customers, participate in Social Media.

Building online community is very important, as “Likes”, “Shares” and “Tweets” are now considered as organic votes and affect your ranking in the search engines. It’s also best practices to include links to all your social pages on your website.

Being social online easily makes connections with others who are happy to promote your products and services. That social community becomes a support system increasing traffic to your website, and a means in which to manage and promote your brand.

5. Pay per Click Campaign Management-“Pay to Play”

Why should you pay for traffic? Paid ads can be a great supplement to boost your brand recognition which can lead to more free traffic, most importantly the PPC (pay-per-click) model is the best way to gain new customers, you only spend money if an interested person clicks on your ad with clicks targeting interested buyers.

In summary, to gain and retain shelf space on the search engines organically takes time and money, with the focus on generating a regular stream of fresh content relevant to your business.  Of course there are quick ways to generate business in the form of calls and emails by using Pay per Click, but don’t wing it or you can waste a ton of money, and many have.  Do your research and use an experienced pay per click management service for generating leads quickly, and a website design company using best practices and understand the value of both buying advertising and building long term organic presence.

About The Author

Jason Hawkins / http://www.themiamiseocompany.com

Jason Hawkins is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Miami SEO Company. He has over ten years of experience in search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization and lead generation. His core responsibilities include identifying ways to increase value of services rendered, training staff on advanced SEO topics, and A/B testing internal processes to consistently improve client return on investment.