Merudh Patel Discusses 5 Basics to Optimize Your Website Using Search Engine Optimization

Merudh Patel is a Digital Marketer and Entrepreneur with a high level of experience with organic and paid media which include SEO, SEM, SMO, and PPC.

Understanding search engine optimization is difficult for most people, but an error that businesses without an online presence often make is spending money on pay-per-click advertising without even knowing how their site fares in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

With this in mind, here are five ways to optimize your site for SEO and maximize your PPC spend at the same time.

1) Do keyword research

It all starts with knowing what your audience is looking for. Research keywords that are relevant and that your target audience might use when they're ready to make a purchase. By diving into keyword data, you can identify which words bring in high search volume. Once you’ve got a good number of keyword ideas, it’s time to prioritize them by making sure they’re not overly competitive and high-volume. It's always easier—and cheaper—to rank higher in search results when there are fewer competitors trying to capture those same clicks. With research complete, it's time to start planning: Work on increasing visibility through SEO , pay-per-click ads ( PPC ) and more so customers will find you organically before searching for something else. The best place to begin researching potential keywords is Google AdWords Keyword Planner. This tool provides a list of popular search terms related to your topic, as well as estimated monthly searches and competition levels. The goal here is simple: Determine which topics have high monthly searches but low competition. If there are hundreds or thousands of advertisers competing for a single term, chances are it won't be worth your while to bid on that term at all.

2) Use keywords in page titles, meta descriptions, headings, etc.

Using keywords in page titles, meta descriptions, headings, etc. help search engines understand what your site is about and serve up relevant results. Including them can really boost your click-through rate from search engine ads like AdWords or paid posts on Facebook—where you pay a set amount per click—by increasing the relevancy of ads that target your site. If you’re just getting started with SEO, here are some basic tips: Use descriptive title tags: These are those little bits of text that appear under each result in Google searches

3) Use keywords in image alt tags

Alt tags are an opportunity to optimize your images for search engines by including your keyword in a descriptive alt tag. For example, if you were writing an image alt tag for a picture of a cat in front of a house, you could use white cat sitting on sidewalk instead of image0245. Images with descriptive and unique alt tags have been shown to increase click-through rates. There’s no reason not to include keywords when optimizing your site. When used correctly, alt tags can give you an edge over other sites competing for similar terms—especially when combined with SEO best practices like optimized copywriting and sitemaps.

4) Optimize your social media profiles

Social media optimization is another popular way of getting your brand in front of new eyes. When people share your content, it gets re-posted across multiple social media profiles, increasing its visibility and search engine indexing. Adding social media buttons to your website can prompt shares that end up helping you rank on Google and other major search engines. Be sure to optimize your profile pictures with keyword tags, like #smallbusiness or #marketing—it’s a simple but effective trick for making yourself more visible online. And don’t forget about local SEO! If you have a brick-and-mortar business, make sure your address is listed correctly on Facebook and Google+. These small details can make all the difference when it comes to search engine optimization.

5) Update your website content on a regular basis

Website content is a huge factor in search engine optimization. For better ranking and higher click-through rates, update your website content on a regular basis—if not daily, then at least several times a week. Whether you’re blogging, posting on forums or creating valuable original content on your website, make sure what you’re saying is relevant and timely. When you write posts with current information and headlines that are compelling enough to encourage people to click through, Google will take notice of your site as being more active than others with similar topics. If you consistently add new information about keywords that have high search volume, Google will see your site as having fresh content that needs indexing regularly.

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Merudh Patel (link to: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meru-patel/)