![\"Make](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/HostGator_GoogleLove.png\")
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I consider myself to be a very active participant of social media, and agree that it offers a lot of interesting opportunities. However, I think it\u2019s important for us to avoid getting so caught up in the social media whirlwind that we forget about good old fashioned SEO<\/a> (Search Engine Optimization).<\/p>\n Think about it this way: When you go to your financial advisor, he would never recommend that you put your entire net worth into a single stock. Well, any good Internet marketing consultant will tell you the same thing about your online marketing strategy. The most effective strategies are those that are well diversified between social media, natural search and paid search.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s post, we\u2019re going to focus exclusively on the natural search piece of the puzzle. Since paid search and Google+ Local would require their own dedicated posts, hopefully HostGator will invite me back in the future to discuss those topics.<\/p>\n To help you get started in the right direction, I\u2019ve assembled a list of twenty-one ways small businesses can make their websites more 'Google friendly.'\u009d This will also benefit your rankings in Yahoo and Bing. Before we dive in, I want to point out that this list assumes you\u2019ve already done keyword research to identify your target keywords. If you haven\u2019t had a chance to do that, bookmark this page, research what\u00a0keywords you should optimize your website for,<\/a>\u00a0and then come back and dive right in:<\/p>\n Have good title tags:<\/b>\u00a0Not only do title tags<\/a> tell search engines what your site is about, but compelling title tags will also give users a reason to click through to your website when it appears in their search results.<\/p>\n Have well-written meta descriptions:<\/b>\u00a0Since a meta description<\/a> is used to provide the text under the title link in search results, you want to write really good ones that contain keywords and accurately describe the different pages of your site. If you\u2019re using WordPress, you can use the WordPress SEO by Yoast<\/a> to help with both title tags and meta descriptions.<\/p>\n Use keywords in your internal link anchor text: <\/strong>Search engines pay a lot of attention to the links on your site, along with the words that you use in them. Instead of using phrases like 'click here'\u009d or 'for more information,'\u009d use anchor text that contains keywords and tells users where they will be going. However, only do this when it\u2019s natural and will make sense to visitors. Be sure not to get too key wordy with this. Example if your business services page is about blue widget repair you could use 'blue widget repair'\u009d for your internal link anchor text or maybe just 'widget repair'\u009d is you do more than just blue widgets, but you wouldn\u2019t want to use 'blue widget repair in Houston'\u009d because it sounds forced and unnatural (too key wordy).<\/p>\n Use relevant keywords in your general copy (but don\u2019t overdo it):<\/b>\u00a0This can be tricky, but it\u2019s worth the effort. While some people will say you should ONLY write for humans and others will say you should write for search engines, the truth is that you need to find a balance between the two. While stuffing a keyword into your content dozens of times will sound ridiculous when humans read it and could trigger an 'over-optimization penalty<\/a>'\u009d, you can find creative ways to include a couple of keywords for search engines to come across. It\u2019s usually sufficient if you use your keywords a few times in your copy, as well as once in the title, heading or subheading of the page. Use descriptive alt text and titles on images:<\/b>\u00a0All images on your website should have alt tags (alternative text) and titles<\/a>. Alt tags are used to describe the image, and in the event that the server cannot find the image it\u2019s looking for, this text will display to visitors. This text also improves the accessibility of your pages, and helps visitors like those who have a visual impairment and use a screen reader. Alt tags are also a great opportunity to legitimately add some extra keywords to a page.<\/p>\n Use descriptive filenames for images:<\/b>\u00a0If you have an image of a frog, instead of something generic like 1.jpg, you should name the file frog-1.jpg.<\/p>\n Have an XML sitemap:<\/b>\u00a0An XML sitemap is a coded sitemap that makes it easier for search engine spiders to index all the pages of your website. WordPress users can create one with the\u00a0Google XML Sitemaps<\/a>\u00a0plugin, while other website owners with a standard HTML site can use the\u00a0XML Sitemaps Generator<\/a>. Once it\u2019s created, you\u2019ll want to register your sitemap with Google Webmaster Tools.<\/p>\n Have an HTML sitemap:<\/b>\u00a0Putting an HTML sitemap on your website will not only make it easier for Google to crawl your deep content, but will also provide users with a better navigational experience.<\/p>\n Use keywords in heads and subheads:<\/b>\u00a0An important aspect of basic on-page optimization, this allows you to tell Google and users exactly what your website is all about.<\/p>\n Have a clean link structure:<\/b>\u00a0Instead of cluttering your HTML with style attributes, use\u00a0CSS<\/a>\u00a0to style your website without hindering search engine spiders from crawling your code.<\/p>\n Validate your source code:<\/b>\u00a0Like the tip above,\u00a0validating your source code<\/a>\u00a0will ensure that search engine spiders don\u2019t run into any technical difficulties when crawling your website.<\/p>\n Focus on homepage optimization:<\/b>\u00a0This is the most important page of your website<\/a>, and the key to your site being found by search engines. Your homepage should be easy to understand and summarize the rest of your website. Your homepage should also have your main keywords spread throughout the title, heading, content and alt tags of the homepage. Just remember to keep things natural and avoid the temptation to stuff in too many keywords.<\/p>\n Start a link building campaign<\/b><\/a>: Having quality inbound links shows Google that your site can be trusted. When it comes to inbound links, 'quality'\u009d is the most important word. For example, a link you get from publishing a great guest post is going to be worth a lot more than multiple links from borderline spammy directories. Also be sure not to go nuts with 'exact match'\u009d anchor text, or you could actually see yourself losing rankings for your desired keyword phrases. Click here<\/a> for a quick primer on the different kinds of anchor text and how to use them.<\/p>\n Guest post frequently:\u00a0<\/b>In addition to helping you build links, this will also allow you to network with other people in your industry, which can lead to them linking to you on additional occasions. Just be aware that there\u2019s a big difference between the right way<\/a> and the wrong way<\/a> to do this!<\/p>\n Have a company blog on your website:<\/b>\u00a0The nice thing about this one is it can also aid in your social media efforts. A blog can be used to communicate directly to your customers, as well as demonstrate your expertise in your field. And in regards to SEO, publishing new content will ensure your website is being crawled on a regular basis. Consistent blogging is also a great way to naturally attract incoming links.<\/p>\n Avoid most WYSIWYG HTML editors:<\/b>\u00a0The reason it\u2019s generally best to avoid most WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors is because they will add a lot of clutter and junk to your source code. This can make it difficult for search engines to pick out the content that\u2019s actually important. While I haven\u2019t had many problems with the editor in WordPress, an example of a troublesome editor is the one included with cPanel.<\/p>\n Add your site to Google Webmasters tools:\u00a0<\/b>There are multiple reasons to add your site to\u00a0Google Webmaster Tools<\/a>. For an in-depth look at all of the reasons, check out this post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Have a robots.txt file:<\/b>\u00a0As mentioned above, you can create this file with Google Webmaster Tools. The main benefit of a robots.txt<\/a> file is you can tell Google if there are any pages of your site that you don\u2019t want indexed.<\/p>\n Add your business listing to<\/b> Google Places for Business<\/a>: While Google\u2019s frequent name changes of their local service can be confusing, all you need to do is click that link, add your business listing and then you\u2019ll be good to go. While optimizing for Google+ Local (which is the current name of this Google Maps section) is beyond the scope of this post, if you just add your business listing there, you\u2019ll already be way ahead of many businesses. Also, you can check out a breakdown of Google\u2019s recent changes in this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last but not least:<\/b>\u00a0While this one only applies to WordPress users, because it will automatically do many of the things we\u2019ve discussed today, I highly recommend installing the free\u00a0WordPress SEO<\/a> plugin.<\/p>\n Now that I\u2019ve covered a lot of the things that you should do, I\u2019d also like to list a few common but deadly Internet marketing mistakes I see businesses make on a regular basis. You can also click here<\/a> for a more extensive list.<\/p>\n If you have any questions about the tips outlined in this please let me know in the comments section.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Gerald Weber is the founder of sem-group.net<\/a> in Houston Texas and co-founder of viralcontentbuzz.com<\/a> which is the free platform that helps bloggers generate REAL 'social buzz'\u009d on quality content. Follow Gerald on Google+ to learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I consider myself to be a very active participant of social media, and agree that it offers a lot of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-web-and-hosting-tips"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"google-love\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/google-love.jpg\")
<\/center>Having spent a little over a decade as a search marketing professional, I can tell you with absolute authority and conviction that a well-targeted SEO campaign will result in highly targeted traffic and conversions, which in turn will add to the bottom line of your business.<\/p>\n
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\nUse a good link structure:<\/b>\u00a0Instead of domainname.com\/page.html, it\u2019s better to use a structure like domainname.com\/descriptivekeyword.html. If you\u2019re using WordPress, you\u2019ll want to\u00a0change the default permalink structure<\/a>. As with most keyword tips, moderation is key. Don\u2019t go 'over the top'\u009d with long keyword phrases!<\/p>\n![\"Tourists](\"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/0102041401400.jpg\")
<\/center>6 Internet Marketing Mistakes to Avoid Like the Plague<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n\n