Quite simply, if you put all the other tips and tricks aside, the real key to SEO is regular, original content.
It’s really simple. Google et al want to see content written by humans, for humans. So write some.
1. Regular
Search engines work out how often to scan your website and specific pages within that based on how often it has seen those change in the past.
If your pages are all fairly static (meaning there aren’t any elements on them that change regularly, like text or images) the search giants (Google, Bing, Yahoo!) will stop coming. Google might only index your site every few months.
There’s some massive missed opportunities there. Not only will your site be deemed to have a low Page Rank (not very important in the search results) but even if you do update with some new amazing, original content—it might not be noticed until it’s well out of date.
2. Original
Search Engines are clever. Google is adept at scanning text and knowing if it’s the sort of thing a human would read, rather than a bunch of words strung together to try to fool it. They also know very easily if your work is a copy and paste from somewhere else.
Apart from simply making money, search engines all have an ethos behind them. Google for example wants to see a helpful, information rich Internet that answers users’ queries quickly and efficiently. So they rank sites they believe fit into that plan more highly than those that don’t.
If your site has too much content pasted from elsewhere, you do not fit into this ideal.
What does is original content. Something you’ve written (or someone else has written exclusively on your behalf).
It’s not as hard as it sounds. Pick a subject that relates to your business. I do this with my blog all the time—and then in your head explain it as you would to one of your customers. Type out your side of the conversation, and you’re basically done.
3. Keywords
Before you even ask the question, the answer is yes. You do want to target keywords in your blogging. Bear in mind that as long as you’re writing on topic, they’ll come out anyway. You want people to find you because of the sort of products and services you offer, so as long as you’re writing about the subject you sell, they’ll flow naturally.
Rather than ensuring I type specific words, I do my best to hit a variety of terms.
The sentence you just read is a case in point—it would have seemed normal to use “words” in there twice; where I did and then again at the end of the sentence. By using “terms” the second time, I’m improving my SEO because I’ll be indexed for both “words” and “terms”, rather than just one of them.
I do this all the time. Synonyms are are important but often overlooked aspect of SEO. A potential client might enter either “social media” or “social networking” for instance, and if that’s your industry you want them to find you regardless of the phrase they’re most familiar with.
Search engine optimisation is all about people—people finding you. Make sure you’re giving them what they need to do precisely that.