There is no magic bullet for SEO, at least not SEO that can stand the test of time. Search algorithms are constantly in a state of flux and those who intend on staying ahead of the curve have one thing they can do (aside from packs of me too sites) to ensure immunity in the SERPs (search engine result pages) as others experience a turbulent or tumultuous ride.
If you want your pages to rise up, up and away from other sites to the top of search engines, then stick to search engine optimization basics implemented slowly over time.
Often in our culture, if something is so simple, it is genuinely overlooked for its effectiveness. Google and other search engines have always rewarded quality content, but you also have to know how to stand out from the crowd by leveraging your websites internal assets.
This is the case with developing quality themed content, giving that content enough time to offer dynamism to the site, chronology (layering your content topically) the more you add, the stronger the website profile is viewed as a resource, trust (also gained over time) and natural link development(varied anchor text to multiple pages).
Simple SEO Tips to Go Up, Up and Away (or Rather Up, Up and to Stay) as you Don your Cape and Rise in the SERPs:
1) Make the best of what you’ve got (don’t overlook your own pages as a source of long-term rankings).
2) Don’t rely so heavily on external links (links from other sites) the more efficiently your content refers to (links to) itself the more search engines assign relevance to your keywords in the anchors externally. Also, less equals more so, focus on quality content and links from authority sites for SERP longevity.
3) Remove blockages in internal linking by addressing navigation and link distribution. This can be done through removing extraneous words in anchor text, keeping the outbound links from each page under 40, using the no-follow tag, having a healthy text to anchor and text ratio and each word that has an internal link, should only be for something you want to rank for (not contact us or about us).
4) Help Spiders crawl the site through sitemaps and sub navigation (such as footer links) or better yet, contextual linking (linking from keywords in body copy). Also, if you have an older site, create a new segment that IS optimized (like a CMS system) that can funnel link juice and spiders deeper into your pages.
5) Post content frequently, the more frequently you post, the more spiders (the bots issued from search engines to crawl, assess and index your pages) will befriend you and your site as a resource. From there it is up, up and away for your targeted phrases if managed properly.
Now for the reading list, the posts below go into further detail about the topics mentioned above. Please note they are listed in chronological order to match the order of occurrence.
- Content Development Strategies and Techniques.
- How to Developing Internal Links and Authority for SEO while sculpting internal linking.
- Tips for Site Architecture and Navigation and Category Development for Content Management Systems.
- How to Use Sitemaps and Tags for SEO.
- Keeping Post Frequency Consistent and Deliberate to Reinforce Topical Relevance.
Although the methods may seem to skim the surface, if you look deeper in their significance you will see the beauty of their effectiveness. We utilize layers of simple SEO tactics (based on proven methods) to rank ourselves and our clients day in and day out for extremely competitive keywords.
To say that we give it all away in an understatement, the only thing missing is the blueprint of the method we use such as which tactic, why and when.
The method in our industry demands that you have to keep some things to yourself. Just call it job security based on core competency and the sheer amount of time it takes to implement effective tactics (months to years).
Sure, you could do it yourself through trial and error, by why would you want to when you could just hire a professional SEO company with a proven track record to do it for you?
This is where the old adage of time equals money and time to market and market share equal optimizing ROI. The benefits of using a source that is not too close to your own site is, lack of bias, objectivity and a plethora of tactics that you may have overlooked.
If the ultimate goal is to see your site reach the top ranking positions, focus on effective and ethical core metrics such as those listed above. Components such as optimizing site architecture, content, internal linking and trust, that is, if you want your website to keep your competition scratching their head as your rankings and website stand the test of time in search engines.
Another [expletive] of words of wisdom, thanks. I’ll put it to good use.