SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization which means optimizing your website so that you can not only be found on Google, but come up high in the search ranking.
How Search Engines Work
Search engines basically “crawl” your website’s content and evaluate whether that content is relevant to what the searcher is looking for. This is generally based on four things:
- backend stuff (loading speed, mobile friendliness, security, plugins, and xml sitemap)
- engagement (writing content of value to your audience)
- links (both incoming and outgoing), and
- keywords…which we’ll talk about today.
Choosing your Keywords
When it comes to determining what keywords to focus on, you want to think like your visitor. What would they actually type into a search engine?
- jobs vs employment opportunities
- Research vs. Research at Carleton
- Long tail keywords (key phrases made up of three to five words) are more targeted which means it will likely bring in a more relevant visitor (higher conversion rate)
Where to put Keywords
Once you’ve chosen your keywords, you then need to place them strategically throughout your content. You should try to put them in the following places:
- Page title (title has the most weight when it comes to SEO)
- Header tags (H2, H3, etc.)
- First paragraph
- Throughout your content: Mention keywords a few times. But don’t get carried away, write naturally using keywords where it makes sense.
- Anchor text for links
- Alt tags of images
- URL
- Meta description (use YOAST)
As important as it is to place your keywords throughout your content, it’s imperative that you use them naturally. Do not key word stuff, meaning using the keyword over and over in places that don’t fit. Google won’t like this and neither will your visitors.
And that’s what SEO really comes down to at the end of the day – writing content that is of value to your visitors.
Want to learn more? Check out our SEO workshop material.