SEO stands for "search engine optimization" -- essentially, the process by which you get Google to notice your website. More accurately, it's the process by which you get Google to show your site to people searching for a particular word or phrase.
But, in my personal experience, learning SEO felt a lot like learning to cook all over again: all the "basic" resources I found began leaps and bounds ahead of my starting point. I had recipes that included ingredients like "1 cooked chicken," but how do I cook the chicken?
The same is true of SEO. When you're not very confident with the terminology, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and intimidated -- especially when you're just beginning.
But don't lose hope. SEO makes a lot more sense once you've conceptualized what it is, what it does, and how you can use it to help you. Let's take a look at a few very basic best-practices when it comes to SEO. When we're finished, take another look at that how-to SEO article that was puzzling you; it just might make a little bit more sense.
Use Google Insights
SEO involves repeating certain keywords in order to give Google (and other search engines) the impression that your page is relevant to people searching for those specific keywords. But how do you decide which keywords to use?
Google Insights is one of the most valuable tools out there for search engine optimizers -- and the best part is, it's absolutely free to use. If you'd like to know whether people are searching for "felt poker tables" or "vinyl poker tables," just a few seconds on Google Insights tells me that more people are actively searching for felt over vinyl, and I can even customize these results by region or year. Not bad for a free tool.
Don't litter your copy with keywords
OK, so you've figured out your keywords. But don't repeat them over and over and over in a way that's unnatural. A high bounce rate is a big no-no for Google (it indicates that most people who end up on your page leave it immediately), and nothing is a bigger turnoff than keyword-spammy content.
Make sure your page is actually about the keywords you choose
Another way to turn people off is to suck them in with keywords, and then show them a page that's not relevant. This will also lead to a high bounce rate; Google likes relevant content, and so do the people browsing the Internet.
Generate content with a business blog
You don't have to be a professional blogger -- or even a writer, necessarily -- to create and benefit from a business blog. Blogs are the best-kept secret of SEO: what better way to write about specific keywords than to craft an entire blog post around them?
Don't get so wrapped up in SEO that you forget about running a business
Take a deep breath. SEO is one tool; it is not your entire toolbox. Fight the urge to focus too narrowly on keywords and page rank -- using these metrics as a guide is a good idea. Constantly obsessing over every detail and update is not. At the end of the day, focusing on any one detail to the exclusion of everything else is just bad business.
SEO can be frustrating at first. But stick to these few tips, and your SEO experience might go a little more smoothly.
Sources:
"Update Content to Improve Your Pagerank," SEO Consult (accessed 12/24/11)
Sarah Kolb - Business incorporation and copyright registration specialist. Freelance book editor. Senior content editor/writer.
