SEO
SEO: What's it Good For?
Before you begin creating and posting content, you need to make sure that not only does the content make sense and is easy to understand, but that people can find it if they are searching for that topic (or related) on the web.
If you don’t have the tools set up to let Google efficiently index your site and the content within it, then you have already hamstrung your efforts.
A quick primer on SEO. First – it’s not the end all be all. As mentioned earlier, it is ONE tool that connects the dots for search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo to index your site and content efficiently so that it can deliver a SERP (search engine results page) that includes your site and the associated page of content you are trying to promote. This principle holds true for both organic and paid search results. For a search engine to deliver a SERP, it does so based on two types of SEO; On-Page Optimization and Off-Page Optimization.
ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION refers to the actual programming of your web pages. This includes detailed metadata for each page and the elements on them like keyword development and their use within headings, subheadings and body copy. It also considers the coding of images, “clean” html, page speed, site maps and the use of canonical (preferred) tags to help search engines index what you want them to.
On-Page Optimization: refers to the actual programming of your web pages.
This includes detailed metadata for each page and the elements on them like keyword development and their use within headings, subheadings and body copy. It also considers the coding of images, “clean” html, page speed, site maps and the use of canonical (preferred) tags to help search engines index what you want them to.
Content is the second leg of the “SEO Stool.”
As we mentioned earlier in regards to landing pages, content must be easy to understand, but it must also be relevant to the one searching for information. Google is the top of the heap when it comes to search engines, so we tailor our SEO strategy primarily towards their ever-changing algorithms.
Sites that are updated constantly, with fresh, new content, are rewarded by Google in their index. This does not mean that you have to post new content every hour of the day. It does mean that you should try once or twice a week. Mix that in with some curated content and you have a recipe for success.
We should mention that your original content has to be good. Poorly crafted content not only is a sure way for people to bounce off your page, but it’s a poor reflection in who you are as an organization.
Oh by the way, your original content also needs to include relevant keywords that you are trying to push. If you are a roofing company and you never mention roofing in your content – it doesn’t do you any good.
We know what you are thinking… “One or twice a week? Plus curated content? Make it good? Keyword synergy? Who has the time for that?”
The short answer is – we do.
Lighthouse can help create an editorial calendar, create content and post it for you to your site and social outlets on a regular basis. We also build upon this by emailing a newsletter to your leads and clients that has a summation of this content.
QUALITY BACKLINKS are the final leg of the “SEO Stool.”
A backlink – also called an inbound link in some circles – is a direct connection from another website to an indexed page (or your homepage) on your site. When another site that is considered authoritative links to a page on your site – it generates that mythical “link juice” and increases your relevancy to Google.
A great live example is video on your site. You don’t want to host video yourself, you post it to YouTube and embed the code on your site for people to view. You leverage the popularity of YouTube, which gets MILLIONS of hits daily, to enhance the search results of your linked video. At Lighthouse, we will not only optimize those links, but we will run routine audits on your site to discover and remove potentially dangerous backlinks and send the “toxic” ones through the Google Disavow tool.
Some content was borrowed from “The Difference Between UX And UI Design – A Layman’s Guide” by Emil Lampricht
