Harsh words?
Perhaps.
But if you have a business and choose to use the web effectively to market your website, a little “tough love” will save you wasted time and dollars down the road.
And the reason is simple…
Effective SEO (or search engine optimization) requires knowledge, strategy, and attention to detail.
Quite frankly, most people online fail to embody even one of those.
Free Search Engine Optimization Tips
Remember the old expression “you get what you pay for” (one of my dad’s favorites)?
Well, it’s true.
Let’s get serious for a moment. I can understand why you might want free SEO tips to optimize your online business. But why would anyone who knows this stuff offer to help you.
And for free no less.
You might not like to hear this, but there’s a real “Catch-22” in action here.
Because anyone who REALLY KNOWS SEO has no interest in helping you — free or otherwise — for the simple reason that those of us “in the know” make our living from what we know…
Not that you care, but we now charge a success fee to our clients for improving their online sales. That means a percentage of the increased sales they received based on our efforts.
And we’re not alone.
Think about it… Google and the other search engines still only display 10 results for any search on the first page, yet there are millions of more websites out there than even a few years ago.
As you can imagine the chances of getting on the first page of any search result is, at best, a pipe dream.
So what can you do?
Well, I’ve compiled a list of common mistakes that I have found over the past couple of years working with clients — those working with a supposed SEO firm and those doing it themselves.
So here’s a list of factors holding you back from achieving any meaningful results, in no particular order:
- No keyword research
- Poor keyword selection
- Lack of keyword implementation
- Failure to use effective “meta descriptions”
- Lack of keyword inclusion in your content
- Failure to use sub-headings
- Failure to use “alt text” for images
- Lack of “interlinking” on your website
- Failure to optimize EACH page of your website
- Poor (or no) back-linking
- Submitting your site to Yahoo or DMOZ
- Lack of original content
- Poor use of social media
- Lack of effective “off site” SEO
- Use of link farms or link directories (the #1 tool for most SEO companies, and sure to kill your results)
- Reliance on “meta-keywords” or “tags” for your content (completely irrelevant today)
I guess that about does it for now.
There are just a few notes you should consider in addition to the points raised above.
First, you can submit your site to Google and any other search engine out there, but the fact remains that search engines don’t care about your submissions.
For real. That “technique” is OBSOLETE by about four years. At least.
If you want to have your site indexed by the search engines, give them a reason to index your site.
And no, I won’t tell you how to do that on your own.
Secondly, without proper keyword selection, you are flying blind. Through a thick fog. Near mountainous terrain.
Seriously, without knowing what keywords REAL PEOPLE use to find what you have to offer, you have ZERO chance of online success.
Normally I would close with a call to action, but not today. Because frankly I’m just not in the mood…
If you want to be unsuccessful online, don’t do what I said.
If you want it done RIGHT, do it right the first time.
