Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is great for attracting the right visitors to your website. However, without keeping new arrivals either entertained, informed or satisfied, it won’t really matter how visitors found you if they have the impulse to click the back button before your content overwhelms their curiosity.

It is a simple fact that all traffic is not created equal and it is the synergy between the searcher and the searched that determines if you get the thumbs up (in reference to user engagement) or fail to impress your target audience as they slip away (often times never to return again).

There is a remedy however, which involves developing topical relevance with fresh content and cross-linking it with other useful pages (much like Wikipedia). As each page gains a foothold in search engines, this reciprocates back to the homepage and the homepage then redistributes even more relevance throughout the rest of the site. The more pages that appear for a given topic, the stronger relevance score your website has for that topic.

#1 Stay On Topic

Continuity is important for establishing the theme of your site - Aside from inbound links from other sites, design and usability, reputation is important. Based on its reputation (such as referrals from other sites, RSS subscribers, editorial links from trusted sources or word or mouth) each page has the potential to set off a chain reaction and virally spark interest to funnel traffic to your pages.

If your website or blog is not focused however, you will be sending conflicting signals to search engines, who if left to their own demise could devalue intentional areas of interest.

By staying on topic and maintaining a regular posting schedule (for your blog), the website benefits from increased spidering activity and indexing in search engines. This is one method to fast-track website authority (which is the ultimate SEO goal).

#2 Create a Compelling “Click-Worthy” Headline

Does your headline make you want to click and read more? - To increase click thru rates in search engines use an appropriate headline – Your page can rank or tank based on this vital piece of information. Not only is your headline your first line of offense in acquiring an “exact match” position in the SERPs (search engine result pages), it also is your ticket to grabbing and maintaining the readers attention right from the start (which will determine the effectiveness of the content that follows).

#3 Link to Yourself with the Keywords You Want to Rank For

Link to yourself to increase relevance - Inter-linking relevant content using your main keywords you want the target page to rank for is one sure fire on page SEO tactic. This sends a clear signal that these keywords are a solid part of your optimization strategy. You can also incorporate keyword prominence along with deep linking to enhance search engine positioning.

Prominence can essentially be categorized as proximity of keyword placement. For example, if a page starts with a particular topic/keyword (within the first 25 words), then that topic/keyword is also consistently mentioned and reinforced in the middle and end of the page, this is an indicator that this subject saturates the page and the keywords used can appear as part of any broad match or long tail search.

#4 Don’t Assume, You Either Know or You Don’t Know

Use keyword research tools and analytics data to craft your content – Don’t leave search engine positioning to chance, use conclusive research to systematically increase traffic. Methods such as using a keyword research tool to find buzzwords to integrate into your new pages can provide bursts of new visitors to your site.

This is one tactic that should not be overlooked. In addition, you can look at your analytics to determine which keywords delivered the most traffic to your pages over the last 30-90 days, then incorporate semantic variations to drive the theme home.

#5 Fuel Creativity Using Trend Analysis for New Ideas

When in doubt, look to others for inspiration - Use Google Blog Search to keep abreast of hot topics for the chosen keywords – If you running short on ideas, just visit Google Blog Search and enter a few keywords to set up an alert. It’s a fast, free and effective method for staying on top of trends in real time to consolidate for your next masterpiece.

In closing, the main thing to remember is, if your content is lackluster, then it will only fuel higher bounce rates (people leaving your site).

Your websites’ reputation is based firmly on the content it contains, which is why it is important to view each word and each page collectively as an opportunity for optimization. Put simply, sculpting your content is a cost-effective method to reach a specific demographic or targeted niche for increased search engine visibility.

Each page when aged gains additional authority in search engines, which can deliver hordes of long-term relevant traffic from hundreds of possible keyword combinations. Many of which you have control over based on the content you develop and how cohesive your overall SEO game plan is executed.

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