A Beginner’s Guide On How To Optimize Your Website For SEO.

You want people to find your website, right? Well, that means making sure that when someone searches Google or another search engine for what you've got on your site, they’ll find it. This will only happen if the text content on your website contains the words and phrases that your target audience is searching for. Sounds pretty straightforward, but there is a lot you can do (and should do!) on your site to get search engines to prioritize your site above others that contain similar keywords.

This guide presents a comprehensive overview of the steps you need to take―and the “best
practices” involved in each step―to optimize your site for best search engine results. Having the right keywords on your site, and using them effectively, is one of the cornerstones of SEO – Search Engine Optimization. In fact, many on-line marketing experts will tell you that keyword research is one of the most critical, valuable and high-ROI activities in the on-line marketing field. In many cases, it’s not an exaggeration to say that ranking well for the right keywords can make or break your business.

• There are two main challenges to SEO

1. Identifying the words and phrases that people are using to find the products, services or information you’re offering.
2. Properly implementing the keywords in your site’s content and code so that your site will rank above your competitors in search engines.

Let’s dive into each one!

• Keywords are the foundation of SEO

How to build a keyword list for your website

Your first and most important step is to compile a list of the most important keywords to target. Your goal is to find the most relevant words and phrases that will lead your desired audience to your site.

Here are some tips to get started:

1. Start with high-level categories and drill down: Make a list of the general topics that describe your business, industry or offering. Brainstorm on all the specific words and phrases that make sense within each one. Include synonyms and alternative terms that searchers might be using. Some ideas to get your creative juices flowing: consider including specific brand names, product categories/names, product functions/features, complementary industry terms (names of items connected to your offering even if you don’t sell them yourself) and terms describing common users/purchasers of your products/services.
2. Think like your customers: Sometimes, business owners see their offering somewhat differently than their customers might. It’s important to put yourself in the shoes of your customers and try to imagine what they might be typing into search engines to find what you've got. Ask some of your customers to tell you how they searched for you initially! Keep in mind that there will be extensive variety among the people searching for your offering – some are looking for initial information, some already know what they want, some are shopping around for alternatives and so forth. Make sure that you are covering all the types of customers, at all stages of the buying cycle.
3. Look at the data you already have: If you use website analytics software, you should be able to generate a report of which keywords customers used in search engines to reach your site (Google used to be more generous with this information in the past, but you might still get some of it, especially if you are using AdWords). Even better, if you track conversions (which you should absolutely be doing!), your conversion reports can include those search terms that most often delivered the customers who converted. Also, if your site has a search box, you’ll find plenty of ideas for keywords in the terms your visitors have already searched for.
4. Research your competitors’ websites: Visit the sites of your on-line competitors to see what keywords they use in their content (pay special attention to keywords used in page and section headings) and in their site code (e.g., title and meta tags – more about this later).
5. Include local terms, if relevant for your business: If you are trying to attract customers who live in one or more particular geographic areas (e.g., state, city, neighborhood), make sure to include all relevant names describing those areas in your keyword list. When applicable, localized search terms are a fast and powerful way to get visibility alongside other competitors in search engine results.
6. Select specific keywords to target specific customers: In addition to the general topics and terms that describe your offering, dive down into very specific sub-categories that may be of interest to certain types of customers, or specific products/services that you offer.
7. Use tools to find similar keywords you may not have thought of: There are many on-line tools that can be a big help in coming up with sets of similar yet different keywords (sometimes called “keyword clusters”), and even in sparking ideas for entirely new keyword categories. This is really not optional – you need to do it! Find one or two tools that you’re comfortable with and take the time to learn how to get the most out of them.

Some widely-used keyword tools you might want to check out include:

• Google Analytics Site Search (free, requires a Google Analytics account) 
• Google Keyword Planner (free, requires a Google AdWords account)
• Google Keyword Suggestion tool (free, requires a Google AdWords account)
• Google Trends (free) 
• Jaaxy (free trial, then monthly subscription) 
• Keyword Eye (free trial, then monthly subscription) 
• Keyword Revealer (free trial, then monthly subscription) 
• KeywordTool.io (limited free version or monthly subscription) 
• KWFinder.com (limited free version or monthly subscription) 
• Microsoft Bing Ads Intelligence tool (free, requires a Bing Ads account) 
• Moz Pro Keyword Explorer (monthly subscription) 
• SE Ranking (free trial, then monthly subscription) 
• SEMRush (requires monthly subscription) 
• SimilarWeb PRO (free trial available, then monthly subscription) 
• SpyFu (requires monthly subscription) 
• Trellian Keyword Discovery (limited free version or monthly subscription) 
• Übersuggest (free) 
• Wordtracker (monthly subscription) 

Refine and prioritize your keyword list

Once you've got your initial set of keywords, you need to select the ones that will likely have the greatest impact, at least as a first step. The limit on how many words you can reasonably optimize your website for depends on the size of your site, but you’ll always need to try to zero in on the best keywords to use.

There are two primary considerations while doing this:

1. Monthly search volume: You want to start by focusing on terms that have the potential to bring the most visitors.
2. Competition: You want to take into consideration which terms involve intense competition, because it might be difficult for you to rank well at first (or ever!) for those terms. On the flip side, look for keywords which may be able to grab higher rankings quickly because fewer websites are using them.

Of course, there is usually more competition for terms with greater search volume (because that’s where the money is!), so there’s not always a lot you can do about it. However, keeping this in mind may help you find niches that your competitors aren't focusing on as much.

The best way to determine the search volume and competitive environment for specific search terms is to use on-line keyword tools, such as those listed above, that report these important details. Something you want to be on the lookout for in these tools is any super-competitive terms – consider placing these lower in your priority list, no matter how much you’d love to rank for them, simply because your odds of winning with them early in the game are probably slim.

Treat keyword research as an ongoing process

Don’t go through the keyword brainstorming and research process only once, this should be an ongoing process that you tackle at least twice a year. As time goes by, you will have more experience and more data to continuously improve your focus list of keywords. Also, things change – such as market trends and your competitive environment – so you need to be agile and change your keywords accordingly.

Over time, you will find that some of your primary keywords just aren't pulling their weight – either because they were of-base to begin with, or because the level of competition is simply too high. Once you’ve determined that certain keywords are simply not working for you, drop them and use your website real estate to focus on more productive keywords.

Also, once you've implemented all the recommended SEO advice for your set of keywords, it’s time to expand the list and target even more terms. Even if you have a healthy set of valuable keywords in play, there are always more “long-tail” opportunities. The term “long tail” refers to a large number of niche terms. While each long-tail term alone may not bring a long of traffic, they can, in aggregate, serve as a significant source of search traffic, and are usually less competitive terms than the primary ones.

For now we've got reach this point as my next post we will see how we can optimize your websites for your keywords. I do also hope this first part has been great of great information to you. Hold on and just stay tuned and in touch.

End of Part One of our Beginners Guide( How To Optimize Your Website for SEO)

Part Two: How To Optimize Your Website For Keywords