It’s time to wrap up this 3 part series on improving your SEO – aka how you are found on search engines!

In part one we talked all about CONTENT.

In part two we talked all about TOOLS that help.

In part three we will be bringing it all together and talking about the most important thing you can do today to make a difference!

But first, let’s talk about a few things you should be doing with each blog post.

To start: Keywords.

In a lot of blogging platforms, there is a place for keywords. These used to be very helpful, but don’t make much of a difference now. The only thing keywords really do is show your competitors what you are trying to rank for! The main things Google is going to look at is the HTML title (whatever your hyperlink is for that page or post). The title should be the phrase you want to be found for – or at least part of it. Whatever is first in the title is given more weight. Keep these easy to use and well organized. Think of them as folders on your computer – so use a hierarchy. For example: www.edmistonphotography.com/blog/wedding photography/hotel-roanoke-wedding and as shown here use a hyphen if there is more than one word! Not an underscore or a pipe! This is also easy in WordPress by having categories where you keep your posts organized.

Also, keep your titles all lowercase – this helps because if you have different case types Google could see that as separate pages. You can update these on most blog platforms and remember to keep them as short as possible. Also, try to use the location or venue name in the title. The more that appears on your site the more you will show up when people search for that venue or area!

You can edit your hyperlink here in WordPress:

The description is also important and while it doesn’t count toward ranking it shows up under the title and so will entice more clicks. So have your descriptions tell what the page or post is and a call to action! The best and easiest way I’ve found to do this is through a WordPress plug in called “All in One SEO Pack“. It has helpful places to change the title, the description, and a few other things if you want to dive deeper into SEO tools. Plus it shows you a preview of how the post will appear in an online search.

Secondly: Let’s talk about Social Media.

The descriptions for your posts on different platforms don’t affect ranking as much, but still put some thought behind it, since that is what will cause people to click through. And, because the more people visit your page and share it, the more valuable you seem to Google and that helps you rank higher! More shares become more links back to you Google sees but if they are shared in places other than Facebook or Twitter it is even more important because these websites carry more weight with Google. So a HUGE thing that will help is getting featured on other blogs, guest blogging, or other websites using or linking back to your content. Whether it’s submitting your work or writing an article – find others that are in your area of interest and collaborate :)

And as part of social media an aside about blog comments: Searches don’t take these into account. If you leave a link to any of your content in the comments of someone else’s site they ignore it! Unless you are sharing something valid and including a link with it as a helpful addition (again content!). Links alone for relevance will get dinged. Let it come naturally and partner with each other for relevant links. Also, the number of comments don’t affect ranking, only in the fact that more people have seen the post – this is not the place to focus your time and energy, though.

We have covered a LOT so, where to begin? The quickest and easiest way to make a difference is to claim your business on Google my business with your key phrases. Local searches are at the top and will always show up before actual web pages.

Then start developing your content. Remember Google is not a person, so you need to tell it who you are, what you do, and why people need your business in their lives!

Last thing I’ll mention: SEO packages that you pay for (for example the ones GoDaddy or other hosting companies offer) for less than $500 a month are NOT worth it. These will not help you and are a waste of money. Everything they do you can do and most of it is listed here. You would have to pay someone thousands a month to make a difference, especially in such a saturated market. Instead, come up with good content and use these tips.

Now go out there, get all your Google accounts set up and start creating awesome blogs!

Want to learn more? Some great resources are:

http://searchengineland.com/
https://moz.com/blog

And a huge thanks again to my sister for taking the time to sit down and share all her SEO knowledge! Find out more about her here: http://www.sphericalstrategies.com/about.html