Before you jump right into your optimization campaign — STOP!
You may know or think you know what keywords you want to target…but blowing past the in-depth processes outlined here in order to “get to the work that matters” is a mistake — A BIG ONE!
Optimization is a process that can only be done once the keyword foundation has been carefully considered and the road map for implementation has been developed. If your keyword research is well considered and well organized from the very beginning you’ll be giving yourself a much greater chance for success.
You’ll be presenting less cluttered and a more streamlined page designed to achieve the results you expect from the marketing campaign you are investing your time and money into in the first place.
Advanced Keyword Research Tools and Resources
For existing websites use a program such as WebLog Expert Lite to gather data on current searches that are being used to find the website.
Use a tool such as http://www.givemebackmygoogle.com that cleans SERPS of affiliate pages and low quality results. This information can help you determine the type of competitive arena in which each keyword exists.
(Editors Note: Unfortunately MSN no longer lists these tools. As replacements are found, these links will be updated and activated.)
Discover search phrases that surround targeted keywords in regards to the actual search cycle. http://adlab.msn.com/searchfunnel
Discover groups of related keywords. http://adlab.msn.com/contextSim/default.aspx
Detect frequently used alternative spellings. http://adlab.msn.com/keyMut/default.aspx
Predict seasonality trends in search volume. http://adlab.msn.com/Forecast/
Collect demographic information related to a particular search phrase. http://adlab.msn.com/DPUI/DPUI.aspx
This site is very useful for determining the appropriateness of contextual synonymy. http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~lindek/demos/depsim.htm allows you to find dependency based word relatedness.
Competitive Analysis
Will you be the Hottest Dot.Com or the latest Dot.Bomb — The basic rules of business still apply in the ‘Digital Universe’ of WordPress.
Know who your competition is —
Who’s ranking with your preferred keywords?
What’s their online authority?
There’s a reason they call them competitors
Know what it will take to rank with or above them on Google.
Consider creating a new, useful service that no other site offers. Are you willing to position your business as one with the resources or expertise to write original research, break an exciting news story, or leverage your unique user base.
Search engine friendly site development
- How to design your site and develop your content to usable and accessible so search engines can EASILY find, crawl, and index your pages.
- Develop sites content and structure to reinforce your keyword themes and help search engines understand what topics the site considers most important and should be considered in ranking.
- Some search engine optimization tips:
- Avoid or at least correctly manage duplicate content
- Develop search-friendly URLs
- You can’t be found unless you are indexed, so get indexed
- Avoid Flash and images for the navigation of your site
- Create an html sitemap and link to it from all pages on your site
- Minify files — Google counts speed as a ranking factor
- Internal links are an important part of SEO — every page on your site should link to other pages on your site
- Test fix or remove any broken links on your site
- Use breadcrumbs — they help people and search engines understand the architecture of your site.
Leave a Reply