Importance Of NAP Consistency For Local SEO And E-A-T

Importance of NAP for My Business’s E-A-TBrand consistency is an important thing when it comes to marketing. Your logo, slogan, and colors help your customers to recognize and trust your brand. For online businesses, focusing on NAP consistency is an important element for both E-A-T and Local SEO. NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone Number, and E-A-T stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.

Defining SEO, NAP, and E-A-T

Most of us are familiar with the acronym SEO which stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a practice for optimizing a website in a manner that appears on search engine result pages for relevant search terms. For instance, if you are a dentist in Jacksonville, you would always want to appear among the top results for search terms like “Dentists in Jacksonville”. Small business SEO requires you to optimize your website by integrating the most searched keywords so that you start ranking organically.

E-A-T as mentioned above stands for expertise, authority, trustworthiness. Every business wants to be an expert and a trusted authority in its industry. Besides your customers, it is important to increase trustworthiness with Google and other search engines too.

Importance of NAP consistency for Small Business SEO

Online business listings are an integral part of any business’s digital marketing strategy. These listings act as backlinks and help in build the ng authority of your website. Essentially a link from another website pointing to your website endorses your website which is picked by search engines. However, all such endorsements must provide the same information about your business.

The three big listings on the internet today are Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places. Each listing needs to be identical to each other and match every other listing or social media profile you have created. It is important that they also align with NAP information published on your website.

Consistency is important as consumers looking to connect with a local business look for relevant and reliable information. Having inconsistent NAP across the internet affects your trustworthiness making it difficult for your business to appear in search results for local queries.

Importance of NAP for My Business’s E-A-T

NAP inconsistencies adversely impact your local SEO as search engines aren’t confident about the information you are sharing. Your business website can affect a person’s health, professional decisions, or financial health. Google in particular holds websites to the highest standard. Accurate NAP information is a part of this standard.

E-A-T is important as inconsistent NAP information adversely impacts your potential clients or customers. As a customer, if one calls a business and learns that it’s a wrong number or out-of-order, the impression of the business takes a hit. Similarly, if a customer searches for your business online to visit your office and learns that the address was wrong, it creates a negative experience regarding the business.

How to Ensure NAP Consistency for Your Business?

Summarizing the discussion above, we learn that consistency is important. You might not use the same business name as per your business license, but whatever you choose, it has to be the same everywhere.

Some questions you should answer to ensure you are being consistent are:

  • Do you have a limited liability company? Would you like to include “LLC” in your business name?
  • Does your business name contain “and” or an ampersand? Which one will you prefer to use? Never use them interchangeably.
  • Do you have commas in your business name? Stay consistent by keeping them in or leaving them out.

Additionally, consider the manner you wish to list the business address. If it includes a suite number, ensure you spell out the abbreviations and include the specific suite number. Search engines intend to offer their users the most relevant and valuable information. Giving them consistent NAP information everywhere ensures they reward you. Most importantly, your potential customers have a positive first experience with your business.

In case you think you need professional help to take care of NAP, E-A-T, and Local SEO of your business in Jacksonville, FL, contact Local SEO Jacksonville Company. They are an experienced team of professionals who have been serving both big and small customers.

Improving Shopify SEO For High Sales

Improving Shopify SEO For High SalesAn E-Commerce Website is a great way to increase sales with little expenditure. It can generate sales from all over the world and you need not appoint a dedicated staff for operations. The online version of a business can be successful however various obstacles can hinder its success. With more targeted traffic to your website, you can expect better sales. E-commerce marketing success depends on the content, responsiveness, user experience, and more factors that we are going to discuss below.

Customer’s Oriented Website

Regardless of the business, a website should deliver all the information required by the customers and it is the best way to connect. A website should have an organized and clean design for easy navigation. This is because when customers do not find anything on the website quickly they leave. Therefore, it is necessary to organize the content and provide important information related to your business. A professional website is necessary otherwise it is of no use.

Evaluate your Content

It is necessary to evaluate your website content from the perspective of your customers. This will help you know the value of a website for your business. Your content should be about the services and products you provide so that people can make the right decisions. Well-written, effective and relevant content opens the success path for your business. If your website does not have the latest and refined content, then it is the right time to publish new materials.

Lack of Location Details

Effective Shopify SEO focuses on location details of any business but it is the major mistake that most websites often make. Numerous websites have a Contact page without an address. Several customers do not like to purchase anything from a website that does not show a postal address. You should focus on trust-building rather than only selling products when you start an e-commerce website. Customers need assurance and it is your responsibility to give information about your business location. Get a PO box number if you are not comfortable with providing location details on the internet. PO box number is better than nothing. Also, an email address without the site’s domain is not a good choice and kills credibility.

No Customers’ Opinion

Customers’ opinion is important because it is a real social proof. Reviews or testimonials on your website or review sites, external articles, and blogs linked to your website are a must for trustworthiness and credibility. New customers can know about your services and products and this eases their confusion too. Customer reviews are a trusted and effective sales tool.

Not using Targeted Keywords

A successful SEO is based on keywords. The words used to search businesses and products are keywords. You should always aim to know the right keywords so that more traffic can be directed to your Shopify site. Think like a customer so that you can know the words that are used in the search bar of your site to find products.

Not Technically Updated

Many e-commerce website owners are self-funding. They do not take professional help for technical issues like SEO or mobile device support to keep costs low. Any online store must have nice and optimized images. Thus keep an eye on image resolution, sizes, and type to make your website attractive.

Little work can maximize your success and Local SEO Jacksonville Company, based in Jacksonville, FL, will help customize the SEO of your e-commerce website. You can call us or schedule an appointment to consult and discuss the best SEO practices for your business. Effective online store SEO can make a big difference for your business.

Do I Need To Hire An SEO Expert?

Do I Need To Hire An SEO Expert?SEO is the short form of Search Engine Optimizer or Search Engine Optimization. One of the big decisions a business has to contemplate is hiring the services of an SEO expert as it can lead to an improvement in the website and can save time as well. But a wrong choice can lead to damage to your website and can cost you in terms of reputation as well. However, there are several SEO agencies out there that provide useful services to different website owners.

Services provided by an SEO expert

Advertising by using Google does not have any impact on the website ranking in search results. Google doesn’t accept payments for ranking websites. You do not need any money to rank in the organic search results either. If you are running a small local company you can complete most of the SEO work by yourself. If you believe that you need help from pros read on for selecting the right SEO agency. Some of the significant services provided by the SEO agencies include,

  • Technical advice about the site development.
  • Review of the content on the website and its structure.
  • Content development.
  • Keyword research.
  • Management of the online business development program.
  • SEO training.
  • Expert advice in niche markets and geographics.

Selecting an SEO agency or a Search Engine Optimizer

In case you are thinking about hiring the services of an SEO expert, it is a good idea to get started immediately. A good time to do this will be when you are thinking about re-designing your website or while planning a new one. This way you and the expert can make sure that the website is designed to be friendly for the search engines bottom up. A high-quality SEO expert can improve the existing website. Here are some considerations while selecting an SEO expert for your website.

Interview the prospect: Some pertinent question you can ask the prospect are,

  • Do you take into consideration the Google Webmaster Guidelines?
  • Can you produce examples of prior work or share your success stories?
  • Do you offer other marketing services to complement the SEO business?
  • What results can you expect?
  • What is your experience in the area?
  • What are the significant SEO techniques you will use?

Check their business references: You can talk to the prior clients of the SEO agency to find out whether they were satisfied with the services provided by this agency, whether they are easy to work with, and did they provide positive results?

Ask for search and technical audits: Ask the experts to perform an audit of your website and report what is required to be done. You might have to pay for this work. You may provide read-only access on Search Console for this purpose. The pros should be able to provide realistic estimates about the work involved and possibilities of improvement. If they say they can guarantee first place in SERPs, go look for another expert.

Be committed to making the changes: You have to be devoted to making the changes recommended by the experts. It takes a lot of time and effort for making the changes recommended by the pro. If you are not serious about making these changes, it is not worthwhile taking the trouble to hire a professional. Finally, decide who you wish to hire.

While selecting the SEO it might be a good idea to perform some research about the industry. One of the better ways of doing it is by using Google. You need to be careful while selecting the agency because many firms follow practices that are not ethical. If your business operates from Jacksonville, FL you can get in touch with reliable experts, Local SEO Jacksonville Company for estimates and advice.

Reasons Behind The Failure Of Your SEO Performance

Reasons Behind The Failure Of Your SEO PerformanceThere can be many reasons for the failure of your SEO strategy but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have fallen in the eyes of Google and other search engines, or you are suffering because of some mysterious penalties imposed by Google. Although it is tempting to blame the failure of your website on advancements in the organic SERPs and cite the failure to something outside your control, the reality is different. There are many mundane reasons behind the failure of the SEO performance of your website. Consider some of these reasons that may be causing the downfall of your website.

1. Impatience: Keep in mind that SEO is a marketing strategy that always pays off in the long run. In the first few months of your SEO campaign, it is pretty much guaranteed that you will get a negative ROI. As you begin to invest more in the development of the strategy the ROI will gradually rise. So, do not be unduly concerned if you have spent a few months already and into your SEO strategy without clear results.

2. You may not be targeting the right clientele: It is not sufficient to rank highly in the Google SERPs. You must rank well for different search terms that matter. When you are a car dealer and you are ranking for keywords and keyword phrases that are dealing with some class-action litigations, your website is not likely to rank too highly or get you a lot of traffic from the rankings. Ensure that you are targeting correct segments from your demographics and you update the strategy accordingly.

3. Priorities are incorrect: You will find several priorities you must address during an SEO campaign such as the creation of regular content, ensuring onsite optimization, developing inbound links, social engagement, etc. But, if you end up spending a lot of time on lower priority areas of the strategy such as posting news updates on the social media platforms rather than spending the time on higher-priority work such as establishing a relationship with useful publishers from the niche area, it is pretty much guaranteed that you will not get results.

4. You are not paying attention to valuable metrics: Some people describe a term called vanity metrics to refer to the numerical metrics that do not matter to the bottom line. For instance, having plenty of followers on Facebook may seem significant but remember, the follower count cannot be the indicator that tells you how engaged the audience is with the brand. When you spend a lot of time trying to arrive at these numbers rather than developing relationships that count, your SEO performance is not likely to improve.

5. Low-quality content: Bad or low-quality content refers to the poorly researched, hastily written, plagiarized, or otherwise boring content in the eyes of the followers. When you post a lot of such content, Google takes notice of it and, you are likely to earn an algorithmic penalty thanks to the Panda algorithms. Panda algorithms were developed for detecting thin and spammy content. It penalizes the websites if you have too much of it. It is not sufficient to just write blog posts regularly. You must offer something valuable to the audience.

When you are only getting started with SEO practices, these are some of the things you need to avoid. If you are already in the thick of things, you have to resolve these issues. Do not be surprised if this requires some fine-tuning but, there is no guarantee, and there is no certain formula that assures success. It might be a good idea to reach out to the professionals such as Local SEO Jacksonville Company if you reside in the Jacksonville, FL area.

SEO Tips For Getting More Website Traffic

Around 40% of the website traffic comes via searches. More than 60% of the clicks go to the top three sites in the search engine results. The more the website traffic greater is the chance of generating qualified leads. In the long run, larger website traffic will mean the difference between a good sales performance by the online store and an average one. It also helps you build a reputation. Keep in mind that all traffic is not good. Therefore just focusing on the numbers in case of traffic is not sufficient. You are required to raise the quality of traffic as well. SEO is the best way of pushing your website to a greater ranking in the eyes of search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

SEO tips for boosting the website traffic to your online store

1. Research the keywords

Keyword research is performed to find out and analyze the search terms that are used by the net users while using search engines for marketing and SEO purposes. The best places to use the researched keywords are page title, subheadings, Meta description, URLs, and content. You can research the keywords for their search volume and popularity. It allows internet marketers to find out the needs and interests of the usual internet users including the target clients. You can use these keywords to create topics where you can deliver the relevant content to the customers.

2. Optimization of business listing

As there are many competitors on the internet it is not easy to rank high in the SERPs. But, there is one area of SEO you can use that will make a big difference regarding where the business appears in the SERPs and that is local SEO. The checklist for the optimization of a local business listing is,

· Enter all the information about your business in Google My Business.
· Modify the information so that the clients can find you.
· Update the name, address, and phone number if there are any changes in them.
· Add high-resolution and relevant photographs.
· Put accurate business hours.
· Respond and encourage reviews.
· Use the local listing service.

3. Develop more content

Although your website is an e-commerce store it is necessary to create content. Various statistics and studies have indicated that optimized content is the most effective way of generating organic traffic and increase visibility. Greater numbers of blog posts you have better are the chances of getting indexed traffic to your site. While creating content you need to concentrate on the brand, use bullet points to distinguish the different benefits and features, and use minimal jargon to keep your description easy to read. All the content you have on the product pages must concentrate on the buyer persona.

4. Update your web structure

Two parts of the web structure will influence your online store performance. They are breadcrumb navigation and URLs. Breadcrumb navigation is a displayed type of navigation that allows the users to know where they stand on the internet without having to check the URL. This places a positive impact on the organization of site structure and site mapping. Keep in mind that a clean URL is readable and it makes things easy for both Google and visitors seeking your site.

You may have realized the significance of SEO for the online store after reading through the post even if you are not an expert on the topic. But keep in mind that SEO for the e-commerce endeavor is not an easy job and it does not provide immediate results. If you live in the Jacksonville area you can get in touch with a Local SEO Company for getting help from professionals.

Signs Indicating Your Business Needs Local SEO

Signs Indicating Your Business Needs Local SEOWhen your business has a certain physical location then it is likely that you are already aware of the significance of achieving and maintaining visibility in the eyes of local search engines. Almost half of the searches on the internet are intended to be a local search. They use search queries such as [keyword][city][state] for finding out about the products and services specific to the locations where you are running your business. In most cases, these searchers are ready to spend money. If they cannot find your locations listed on the first page of SERPs they are likely to turn to your competitors. Let’s see some signs you can observe when a business needs the services of professional local SEO services.

1. All locations of the business are listed on a single page of your site: This is a common oversight that can cripple the visibility of your business. For optimizing every location effectively you will need a specific webpage that gives you the capability to target important locations and keywords in the Meta description and HTML title. This is impossible with a single landing page mentioning all the locations.

2. Illogical site structure: Don’t make it difficult for the users otherwise they will find the information they need elsewhere. The location pages have to be structured with a logical hierarchy for the search engine to understand how every page can fit into a section of content. Although it depends on the number of locations you have, here is a typical structure for the content: domain-URL/locations/state/city/store. Independent pages can also give you an indexable content area required for adequately describing unique services offered by that location.

3. No deep links to the locations: While you are updating the listings on Google My Business or any other map feed, you need to give deep links that will take the searcher directly to the location details they are looking for instead of leaving them on a high-level page or a Home page where they will be left stranded having to further search for the best alternative. In most cases, the local searchers are looking for a phone number, address, or other services that are specific to a location. Do not make it even more difficult for them.

4. Lack of knowledge about the amount of traffic coming to the site by using local search: Sometimes you are struggling to monitor the performance of your local landing pages. This is the right time to talk to pros that can get into the local analytics and give you a report mentioning the action-to-be taken items. The two sources of data viz. organic local traffic and maps can provide valuable insight into your local search campaign. They need to be tracked and reported to have granular insight into the current performance of every location.

5. Being unaware of the business citations needing work: One of the significant aspects of local SEO that is overlooked many times or avoided is the management of citations. A citation is the mention of NAP information of your business with or without a link that is present on the local-based sites or directories across the internet. Some of the common examples of the influential sites that keep the listing data are Yellow Pages, Yelp, Merchant Circle, and Facebook.

First, decide whether you are in the need to take the plunge and optimize the local search for making your business grow. In the beginning, you can start by assessing where your company stands at the moment and develop a list of tasks according to priority to decide the areas where a direct impact has to be made quickly. If you are looking to investigate the local search services available in Jacksonville, you can place a call to Local SEO Jacksonville Company.

Adapting SEO And SEM Strategy For Coronavirus Pandemic And After!

Adapting SEO And SEM Strategy For Coronavirus Pandemic And After!The effect coronavirus has made on the way we live our lives is not news any longer. Various disastrous consequences such as unprecedented unemployment rates, a huge amount of people working from home, etc. has become a new reality for people. Everyone is aware of how the coronavirus pandemic has affected our lives on a personal level but even the search behavior has changed quite a bit as a result of coronavirus and this trend is likely to continue in the upcoming months. Even consumerism has seen a huge shift in demand from desire-based purchase to buying what is deemed necessary for overall health and fitness. Here are the changes you need to consider in your SEO campaign to stay relevant.

1. All websites need to have a page related to coronavirus: This is particularly significant if your business has been directly affected by the coronavirus situation. By having a page devoted to all coronavirus traffic you will ensure quite a bit of traffic loss. You can educate your clients about the efforts you are taking to deal with the COVID-19 situation. This will lead to instilling trust in your brand and as everyone is at home you may find some ways of marketing your products and services to counter the pandemic.

2. Find new and emerging topics for your content: Finding out new and upcoming topics is necessary for capturing the new search traffic. Having the right content at the right time can be the difference between customers visiting your website or going to the competitor’s site.

Google Trends: To understand the changes in customer search behavior the first place to consult is Google Trends. Other keyword research tools such as Keyword Planner may not be as effective because they consider monthly search volumes. “Trends” collects real-time data and this will ensure that you lay your hands of trendy topics for content.

Exploding Topics: Exploding Topics is another great place to look to aggregate data from search engines and various conversations or mentions on the internet to decide the emerging topics. This list can be curated by the tool to create an easily digestible interface that takes into consideration industry and time. After you have identified the topic you may view it on Google Search for assessing the intent behind the question and also check the other content pieces showing up in the results. This will also make it easier to decide the content type for your efforts. You can also decide the structure of your messaging based on these results.

3. Keep adjusting and not discarding: As the onset of the coronavirus pandemic continued several business owners and marketers froze their marketing expenditure as they were forced to close their offices. There is uncertainty still looming large about whether they should open with the possibility of another wave of coronavirus pandemic. A lot of businesses may continue to pause their efforts as they adjust to the new normal. However, it is the businesses that take a cut-back yet active approach to SEO will have an advantage over their competitors.

4. Working on conversations: Another significant thing to do is testing. You can work on the traffic you currently have to actively work on the capability of your website to convert this traffic. Even though your traffic may have declined to make certain SEO strategies not feasible, there are some things you can do during the period. Identify the keywords customers are using to reach your website. Identify the pages that are seeing the greatest declines and high bounce rates. Identify the friction points in conversations and work on them.

It is difficult for businesses to predict how long the coronavirus situation will continue to have an impact on the economy at the moment. However, they should be able to identify the role of SEO in the short-term and long-term strategies for understanding how effectively they can be used for planning the SEO activities. It is difficult to shift prioritize at short notice for the SEO. Both organic and paid marketing priorities need to be constantly evaluated in the upcoming months. In the event, it may be a good idea to consult the Local SEO Jacksonville Company especially in the Jacksonville area for a better understanding of the efforts required.

Should Dental SEO Be Stopped During The Coronavirus?

Should Dental SEO Be Stopped During The Coronavirus?The Coronavirus has made our world take a complete turn. With some dentist offices closed, and others seeing only a percentage of their patients, dental SEO is most likely something that many dentists may not be concerned about right now. Others are not sure how to handle SEO through a pandemic. Some offices are decreasing their dental SEO attempts, while others have completely stopped. This leaves the question to be answered…should dental SEO be stopped during the Coronavirus outbreak?

SEO is a much-needed practice for many businesses. This strategy can help a dentist’s office succeed better than those that have opted not to use search engine optimization. While many dental offices may feel that if they are not seeing the patients during such a pandemic, they can cut costs on their SEO efforts. While all this may sound good in theory, it is not a wise move. In fact, stopping dental SEO can hinder search engine results.

As soon as the Coronavirus makes its run through the United States, we will see many dental practices open back up. Appointments will be filled, and chairs will be full of patients ready to have their dental procedures. However, you should always keep in the back of your mind that if you continue to do SEO during COVID-19, you will fare better than those dentists that decided to completely stop.

Did you know that 3⁄4 people will scroll down the first page only, never making it to the next page? Or that over 90% of web traffic goes to the first page! These are significant points to remember, as it will assist in reminding dentists that dental SEO truly is important. You, as a dental office proprietor, can perform SEO if you desire to do so. By doing these practices you’ll be capable of having traffic that is engaging. The following are some ways you can make it happen.

Once you’ve been cleared to resume your practice, you’ll want to connect with the ground running. You’ll be required to advance ahead of the competition. During a pandemic, it can be easy for your competition to get ahead of you if you’ve stopped doing SEO. Those that continue to perform SEO strategies will be capable of recovering quicker than you if you suspended SEO altogether.

Throughout the Coronavirus, more people are spending time online as they’re at home. This means 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, people are online. With this being said, it’s essential to be certain that you produce content on your site that will help those that are seeking information about a particular dental issue. By making more individuals aware of your dental practice, you’ll be capable of ranking higher on the search engines.

Through this experience, you can consider supplementing with telehealth along with your content. This will help patients be able to see you if they’ have inquiries or concerns. You may also desire to rewrite the past blogs into ebooks, do online meetings, or place graphics on your site from existing articles.

When a pandemic strikes, it is a great time to continue on SEO. This is because many people are under the impression that it will not matter if you do it during rough times. But if you stop now, everything you have done SEO wise will be lost. And that means that your competition is getting ahead of you.

No matter what, people will always need a dentist. By making use of dental SEO, you can be sure to stay ahead of the game. If you are uncertain how to do SEO on your own during the Coronavirus, consider calling a professional, such as Local SEO Company.

Effective tips for bettering the local SEO position of your site designed using WordPress

Optimize your WordPress Site for Local SEOOf all the open-source CMS platforms that exist, WordPress is definitely one of the most popular, thanks to its resourcefulness, flexibility and convenience of use, including the fact that the system can be used for free. No wonder then that, nearly 29% of all sites are based on WordPress and the CMS system has been downloaded over 47 million times till date. Another good reason for the CMS platform’s widespread popularity is that it is highly SEO-compatible in that the system can be used easily even by those who are technically not savvy.
A site designed and developed using WordPress can be incredibly crucial for local or smalltime businesses, intending to improve their local SEO ranking but may not have the wherewithal to opt for across-the-board online optimization strategies. Following are some simple yet effectual improvement techniques you can take advantage of so as to make your portal claim a position on the first SERP of Google or Yahoo.

1. Focus on organic link building

Your site’s local SEO standing is considerably influenced by the linking profile-the domains connecting to the site, back links quality, and link anchor text optimization. Do not expect to have organic links overnight and also do not anticipate quality links to start delivering instantly.

The emphasis should be on quality more than quantity-Strive towards having as many quality back links as possible simply because just one such back link is always more valuable than innumerable links with questionable quality.
Be on the lookout for prospective link building openings-Maximize your opportunities for link building by taking advantage of a competitive analysis apparatus that will redirect to competitors instead of you.

Anchor text optimization-Make the anchor text optimal for local SEO search, like integrating the name of your practice or the locality of the city where your business is situated.

2. Content optimization is the key

The textual and visual content of the site is as important as its security standard, loading time, and structure. Pay attention to creating persuasive and engaging content first before you can think of optimizing the same. You do not need to tear your hair out when it comes to on-page optimization; just use the Yoast SEO plugin.

3. Make your site smartphone friendly

You can take it for granted over 70% of your customers will find you using their smartphones. Additionally, Google is according greater significance to sites that are more smartphone-friendly. Use a perceptive WP theme, design the site keeping smartphone users in mind, and make the most of a mobile app for heightening the smartphone friendliness of your site.

4. Make the site more responsive and speedy

Take all the necessary measures to ensure that your website loads within 2-3 seconds on any handheld or tabletop device.

5. Let your URLs reflect location keywords

In case you have several landing pages, where every page is devoted to attracting clients in a specific locality, make sure you embed the location keyword in the URL in order to enrich the experience of the user.

6. Consolidate your WordPress portal with Google My Business

Get your Google Your Business (if you do not have one yet) that will club together significant parameters influencing local rankings including but not limited to business description, user feedbacks, and physical nearness.
If you own a local business and want to increase its visibility across the web, you can visit www.localseojacksonville.biz or make a call to 904.425.9679.

Making Order Out Of Chaos The SEO Way

Making Order Out Of Chaos The SEO WayIn the rush to get a website up and running, marketers and webmasters often overlook the simplest things or the most important things that make a website successful. Then, down the road, they end up in confusion as to what to do and how to solve the various problems that keep their webpages in the lower search engine results. This is where a good analysis, objective, and impartial analysis comes in and no ego tripping allowed.

Believe it or not, that is one of the biggest factors in why some websites go south. Because of ego tripping. Somebody swears up and down that they know everything about web mastering, or they hired their spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend or even kids to design their sites and if anyone comes along and says their sites are rotten, they go into a fit and want to practically destroy their own online business. You have to put your egos on the sidelines. A website is only as good as its webpages since Google doesn’t list websites, but webpages. That means each webpage has to be optimized to professional standards, especially the way Google likes them.

The first step is that awfully painful impartial and objective analysis. Hire someone or if you do have colleagues or friends who are real webmasters, have them do the analysis. Tell them to pull no punches and give it to you straight. If they tell you the graphics your wife did suck, then get better graphics done. If you’re told your videos look like something from a 1940s war documentary, then get new videos made. The same thing goes triple for a copy. Do not have a rotten copy on your site that’s packed with keywords, keyphrases, and key groups. It’s just spammy and Google will penalize you for it. Google’s new software is very sophisticated and has started the industry with its superior ability to separate the chaff from the wheat. This means making sure your pages are pro level or no level.

Speaking of keywords, nowadays you don’t have to use some complex keyword strategy. Just have copy and tags that are natural as well as variations where applicable. Google’s algorithms will know what your site is about by reading the entire webpages and your keywords are listed automatically. The challenge is if you’re using keywords that the top sites are using. That competition is monstrous and difficult to defeat except if you’ve got some edge, some proprietary named product that no one else has the authority to use. In that case, just don’t worry, you’ll top out for those keywords with no sweat. The on page optimization and natural keyword use will speak for itself.

Your copy is your lifeblood here. You’ll need at least 10 to 20 good articles about 1,000 words each. Google likes the longer authoritative articles as they’re hip to spam sites that use only 300-500 words. That small word count is a red flag to Google that you’re trying to use SEO to gain an irresponsible advantage. This means you have to hire writers who are professional and you’ll have to pay that extra amount. Don’t try writing mills or software or any shortcuts. Google will know and if they detect anything screwy they will penalize you. With your pro level copy, you’ll need some link building too but you just can’t slap any links there. The links have to be relevant and from authoritative sites. The bottom line here is that your copy has to describe your site, provide usefulness to the surfer and be professionally written.

Now that you’ve got your site analyzed and ready to rock, you’ll need two more things often overlooked, mobile friendly and social media effectiveness. This means using some of Google’s mobile-friendly tools to make sure your webpages look good and function on mobile devices. Let there be no mistake about this. Your social media presence can be of major effectiveness and calls for a lot of work. You just don’t slap up a Facebook page and hope for the best, you want to engage the social media audience like a friend, a good mentor, and that will lead them to your webpages and any upsells or subscriptions you’ll want. This will be that organic traffic that you just can’t beat.