Continued from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Beginners: Part 1
In part one we were introduced to Eclectic Martial Arts and their challenges to being found on the first page of Google’s search results.
There are over 71 million web pages flagged as “Martial Arts.” It doesn’t do any good if someone searches for “martial arts” on the other side of the globe and they find Eclectic Martial Arts on the first page of Google. That person won’t be a customer. They are better off trying to be on the first page of results for “martial arts Plymouth MN,” “Jujitsu Twin Cities” or “Kenpo plymouth” searches.
When we work with our clients on SEO, we recommend they focus on who their client base is. From Eclectic Martial Arts’ homepage, we learn that their focus is:
Adults & Children in the Plymouth, MN area who are interested in Martial Arts, Jujitsu, Kenpo & Self Defense.
That statement is where we will pull our initial keywords: Martial Arts, Jujitsu, Kenpo, MN, Plymouth
Test Subject: “Little Dragons”
The keywords you want to target should to be incorporated into into your Page/Posts title, headings, and body. We’ll help Eclectic Martial Arts with their “Little Dragons” page.
Little Dragons description:
Designed specifically for children between the ages of 3 to 6, Little Dragons is a fun, activity-based Martial Arts class that contributes to the development of life skills, in addition to physical fitness.
The Title Says it All!
Add some keywords to the title: It’s the first thing visitors (and googlebots) read when they visit the page. Give them a more descriptive title, both in the actual site and on the optimized back-end, and the result will be much more fruitful. We updated the title from “Little Dragons” to “Little Dragons: Martial Arts for Children (3-6).” WordPress allows us to be even more specific in the custom document title, which shows up on the Google results page.
If you use Headings in your pages & posts, be sure to integrate the keywords into them too — search engines look for heading tags (such as H1, H2, etc.) so including keywords there helps.
Don’t Neglect The Body for SEO
Don’t forget to ensure that targeted keywords are listed in the body of the page/post, but don’t overdo it… for a typical 300 – 500 word post, the keywords only needs be used 3 to 4 times. An optimal “keyword density” is around 3 percent.
We added the keyword “self defense” as a bullet point, and recommended that Eclectic Martial arts write at least one or two additional paragraphs expanding on what the “Little Dragons” program is about, incorporating their keywords where appropriate. This will also help bring the word count up from 43 words to the desired 300 words.
Go Pro or Go Home? Not Always… at least if you do it right
You have some keywords to target. You’ve updated your titles to be more descriptive and made sure that the body of your pages and posts have keywords. How do you move up in the rankings and stay on top?
The biggest key for optimal results: Google loves sites that get updated on a regular basis.
Take this scenario between Company A and company B:
Company A:
- Has a targeted list of keywords.
- Hired an SEO company to come in and optimize the titles on every page to include their keywords.
- The SEO company also optimized the body of their pages to insure the keywords are mentioned and worked into the content.
- They also went into the behind-the-scenes technical web stuff for further optimization.
A few weeks after optimizing their site, Company A finds they are on the first page for several of their targeted keyword phrases. They celebrate their success and move onto other facets of the business, forgetting about their website now that “their work is done.” 3 weeks later, they are off the first page of search results, and back to being buried several pages deep. The SEO company has moved on to other customers.
- Has a targeted list of keywords.
- Optimized the titles on every page themselves to include the keywords.
- Optimized the body of their pages to insure the keywords are mentioned and worked into the content.
They also find themselves moving up a few pages from page 5 to page 2 of Google a few weeks after optimizing their site. They also celebrate their improvement, but unlike Company A, they allocate an hour a week to at least one (optimized) blog post or news item weekly. They stay dedicated and publish one or two new items content weekly that are also search engine optimized.
Company B gradually climbs in the Google search results. Six months later, they are on the first page of several Google searches and have seen their website traffic increase steadily. This has directly translated into more customers and an increase in business.
Why did Company B succeed where Company A failed?
Even though Company A’s site was “professionally optimized,” Company B wound up getting better results long-term. They understood that search engines are always on the lookout for updated, relevant content and that the fresher that content is the more tasty it is to the googlebots.
How to keep it fresh? Post weekly about your latest product. Post about what makes your company unique. Post about your newest specials. Post about happenings in your industry — but above all, post!
Dedicate yourself to posting a new blog or news item on your site at least once a week. Put it on your calendar, make small updates and watch your company rise up the results pages. Current content is best, and you can only stay current by being consistent and posting regularly.
Next steps
There are tools to help you work out SEO — our favorite is to have an active WordPress-powered, optimized blog. Next, consider using a tool like Scribe SEO, which can research your keywords and analyze your content to make sure it’s fully optimized. Finally, contact a professional to get you off on the right path from the start. We can help.
Also: Check out Google’s handy intro to SEO (pdf) for more tips.
What did we miss? Anything you’ve had luck with that we didn’t mention? Care to weigh in on your “ninja tips” for SEO? Let us know below!
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