SEO: 5 Tips For Maximizing Your Website’s Reach

In a world where there are so many sources for information how can a website stand out from the crowd and get a lot of exposure for their cause with a minimum amount of effort? By using something you’ve probably heard about – search engine optimization [SEO]. Don’t worry, SEO is not rocket science, it’s pretty much common sense, and it can be easily implemented on a website. If you have a site already then you can use these tips to make some alterations that can significantly change how your pages are assessed by the search engines, so that your key pages [the ones that will bring in the sales/donations/fans etc.] show up high on their listings. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Okay, here we go:

1. Theme your website. This might sound obvious but step back and think big picture: By breaking down your main theme into smaller themes, or categories, you not only make it easy for visitors to find information but search engines can easily work out what your site is about, which is always a good thing. So, for example, if you own a dog rescue, the categories could be the process of a rescue, the dogs available for rescue, donations and education. Now break down each category into at least five chunks, with each chunk being a page on your site. The theme is strengthened by creating links between each of the pages in a category because links are really important to search engines. Tip number two explains why.

2. Use links the smart way. Search engines see links as votes for pages. The more votes a page has the higher it ranks in search listings. To see the power of linking simply type “click here” into Google. Go on, do it. What was the number one listing? Interestingly enough it is Adobe Reader. Why? Because the default text used for Adobe Reader is often “click here to download…” with “click here” being the link, not “Adobe Reader.” Are you beginning to see the power of your links here? I hope so. Not only should the links coming to your site be relevant to the content of the page they link to, but the links within your site should be relevant too. If your page is about spay and neuter then a link to it should read “spay and neuter” not “…for more information on spay and neuter…”

3. Titles rule. This is a biggie. Make sure that your title is short and succinct, catchy and has your keyword in it. This post is about SEO, so guess what word appears in the title? The closer you get it to the beginning the better, but the main thing you need to take away from content creation is make it sound right – if your keyword doesn’t work as the first word don’t worry. This is also true for the main copy on a page. Write great content for people and you will win every time. Write that great content in a way that search engines like, without compromising your visitors’ experience, and your win is even greater!

4. Repeat your keywords. If your page is about ’spay and neuter’ it is a good idea to repeat that word a few times in the page copy. Add it to the first paragraph and even bold it, if that looks okay. And remember the importance of tip #2 with regard to your keywords.

5. Use Wordpress. The reason i-contact focuses on Wordpress web design and wants your small business to use Wordpress is simple: Wordpress rocks when it comes to SEO. Search engines love it because the code is sound and with a bazillion plugins the platform can be customized to hum like a finely tuned engine.

Now that you’ve learned the five tips to maximize your website you have plenty of information to take your web presence to the next level. Start with number five, over a static HTML site because there are specific SEO plugins that will take a standard Wordpress site and turn it into a search engine magnet. Don’t you think it’s time your website was one of those?

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Small Businesses – Come On, Get A Blog Already

Small businesses need to blog. It’s true. I tried to squeeze the reasons why into a neat sounding five or ten but I ended up with twelve. I’m sure there are even more reasons but let’s take a look at the twelve – why I think blogs are so important for small businesses to use:

1. Blogs are a break from the sales-speak that is the norm on a business website. They are a two way conversation, or at least can be, between a small business and its customers. This type of web format can help build relationships in a way that a regular website never can.

2. Blogs are the perfect platform for being less formal, more chatty, more approachable, and undoubtedly more ‘human’ in content. People like that, so people like blogs and like to follow them.

3. Not only are blogs a way for companies to reach out to their customers, they can be used to show different sides to a business, for example stories behind why a company has decided to support a certain charity. Blogs can be about anything so get creative! (more…)

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Help! My Google Analytics Has Stopped Working!

This little tale of woe is being told so that hopefully, if your Google Analytics has stopped working on your Wordpress blog, you can get it up and running in a jiffy! (more…)

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Where Did The Word Blog Come From Anyway?

Where did the word blog come from anyway? That’s what I was thinking this morning, and then I remembered, “Ah, yes, weblog!” That was a long time ago in Internet years, but then it got me thinking that although the word has been in our lexicon for a good while now, people, especially small business owners, are missing out on the benefits a blog can bring to their online business.

All this thinking on my part came about because I have been working with a client recently who is still, despite my best efforts, resisting setting up a blog. It’s not a financial thing, it’s a mind-block thing.

I get asked questions a lot like, “What exactly is a blog?” or, “Who came up with the word blog?” and “How do I start my own blog?” So let’s look at these questions because they are basic and fundamental, but they are often stumbling points for small business owners who are not blog savvy enough. (more…)

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