Search and Marketing

Introduction

Hopefully your site is up and running. So it’s time to start building traffic.

This article discusses how to properly optimize for search and effectively start marketing online.

Tips for Search Engines

Search engines (i.e. Google) look at three major categories when choosing where to list your site in its search.
These major factors are:

• The Structure, Content and Performance of Your Site
  This includes the content on your page, as well as your ‘meta’ tags. Your meta tags are your header description and title tag (these are extremely important).
• The Credibility of Sites Linking To You (their “PageRank”)
  Google assigns you a credibility score — called “PageRank” — based on the number and type of sites linking to you. (Which is based on the number and types of sites linking to them.)
• The Content In and Around Links to You
  Another key ranking factor, and one of the most important for ‘difficult’ search terms, is the text in and around links to you. For example, if several people link to you with the link text *cool widgets*, you will be much more likely to come up for this term.

So to perform well in search you need to make sure you are paying attention to, and creating strategies around each of these three areas.

So let’s start by talking about some of the ‘key’ tools, then we’ll give you some tips for beating the competition; and creating results.

Search and Marketing Tools

• Meta Tag Plugins (i.e. All In One SEO Pack)
  Your title and description meta-tags are an incredibly important aspect in search. To set them you need a ‘meta-tag’ plugin like All In One SEO or Yoast’s SEO Plugin. These allow you to set them on a page by page basis.
• Google Sitemap XML
  For optimal content submission to Google, you can get this awesome plugin for WP that will submit your ‘sitemap’ every time you save a post. It’s extremely efficient and effective.
• SEO for Firefox Plugin
  A great way to track your search stats, as well as your competition’s. An awesome Firefox plugin, get it here.
• Alexa Toolbar
  Use the Alexa toolbar as a barometer for you traffic vs. your competition. We love it. Get it here.

Additionally, we recommend checking out: SEOBook.com for more resources and information on how to get your site ranked…

Tip: Custom Permalinks For SEO

Permalinks are what your URL displays for specific pages of your website.

It is important to replace the default permalink structure of WP, with one that is more respected by search.

This is what you want your URL’s and permalinks to look like:

Tip: Internal Linking

As we discussed, linking is really important. Never use the text “click here” for a link.

If you are linking to an article or other website the actual link should contain related information that tells the user a little about where the link will lead them.

Tip: Meta Descriptions

So once you are using the plugins discussed above, make sure to set title and description tags for all your pages & posts.

One consideration, density of your keyword is what’s important. Don’t ‘stuff’ the meta-tags carefully construct them so that your keyword density is high, when compared to the complete text.