I’m often asked about the importance of SEO so I thought I’d compile a few thoughts from the last year.
Moz.com summarizes it perfectly.
“SEO is the practice of improving and promoting a web site in order to increase the number of visitors the site receives from search engines. There are many aspects to SEO, from the words on your page to the way other sites link to you on the web. Sometimes SEO is simply a matter of making sure your site is structured in a way that search engines understand.
Search Engine Optimization isn’t just about “engines.” It’s about making your site better for people too.”
(From http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo)
However SEO isn’t simply a technical exercise to get more people to your website; it must work in conjunction with the content you have and if the two work hand in hand then you will see results over time. The bottom line is that whilst a website that is optimized for search engines may start to attract more traffic there has to be something meaningful when a visitor gets there otherwise the point is lost.
Clear navigation, concisely written copy, non-ambiguous content as promised and a site that works are all equally, if not more important.
A site that people return to or recommend is worth a lot more than a site visited once and forgotten.
Start the year by spring cleaning your dead or erroneous content and give something back to your visitors!
Here are a few links to help optimize your content.
http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
http://www.thewonderforest.com/2013/06/seo-basics-for-bloggers-10-tips-for.html
http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2013/10/22/blog-seo-tips#.
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/10/02/50-one-sentence-seo-tips-for-bloggers/
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/6-ways-to-optimize-your-blog-for-search-engines/