Search engine optimization is essential if you want people to visit your website, but learning the ins and outs of SEO can be a long and daunting process. The most important step on the road to ranking is to simply get started. Once your site is up and running, you can work on learning the finer points of SEO in time. Until then, you just need to get the site out onto the internet so that the search engines and potential customers can find you.
Step 1: Get a Site for Less Than $10 Month
WordPress is the easiest platform from which to start a site from scratch, especially if you are a beginner. Through Dreamhost you can get a wordpress ready hosting services, a domain name for as little as $6.95 a month. You also have access to pre-made yet customizable templates for those who lack design skills.
Remember when choosing your domain name to pick a name that makes sense, is concise, and matches up with the service your site provides.
For more information:
- Get a domain name and hosting services with WordPress
Step 2: Monitor Your Traffic / Blog Subscribers
Once you’ve got your site set up, you’ll want to see how people are getting to your site, how long they stay, what they click on, and where they go when they leave. It also helps to know how Google “sees” your site. In order to gather and use this information, you’ll need to install both Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools. Once they are installed and your site is verified, you can use this valuable information to optimize your site and maximize your traffic. You’ll also be notified if your site has problems. In addition to monitoring your site’s traffic you can track how many subscribers are following your blog posts using another free tool from Google called Feedburner. The information below will help you not only setup these tools but integrate them into WordPress, making it a one-stop-shop for all your website needs.
For more information:
- Get Google Analytics(includes video) for WordPress
- Get Google Webmaster Tools
- Video: Verifying your WordPress Site with Google Webmaster Tools
- Setup Feedburner.
Step 3: Install SEO Plugins
SEO plugins can help you fine tune your site. There are a multitude of tools available to help you:
- Fine tune or generate your meta tags
- Help you find duplicate content, finds keywords in your posts, pages and comments and links them to your other posts, pages, categories and tags
- Hone your navigational links
- And much, much more.
Most plugins are very easy to use once you get the hang of them.
You should also use an XML Sitemap that allows you to inform search engines about URLs on your website that are available for crawling.
For more information:
- Guide to getting higher rankings for your blog
- Video: Install all in one SEO Pack
- Video: How to install XML Sitemap plugin
Step 4: Copywriting
Writing content is the key to getting your page ranked. Without copy on your site, bots and crawlers can’t find you. Make sure you have good keywords in mind that are relevant to your business or service and include them in your copy. Make sure that your copy is informative and readable. Don’t just stuff keywords, as Google has caught on to keyword stuffers and penalizes them accordingly.
Hosting a blog is also very important. It provides a steady stream of new information to your readers, keeps your site fresh with new content, and helps you build a regular audience, which thereby helps you build regular traffic. Wordpress can host your blog directly on your website, invaluably streamlining the blogging process.
Readable content also keeps users returning to your site. If they like what you have to offer they’ll not only return to your site, but they’ll recommend it to others. A blog is also a good place to write informative articles on keywords you’d like to rank for.
For more information:
- How to create a static front page/splash page for your WordPress site
- Guide to creating good, Google-friendly content
- Tactics to increase your blog traffic
Step 5: Promote With Social Media
Social media is becoming more and more vital to a company’s internet presence. Social media allows you to stay in touch with customers and have greater control over your brand’s online image. When your site is up and running, you can promote new blog posts and information via Twitter and Facebook. There are applications like HootSuite that allow you to update your social media sites at the same time.
For more information:
- How to get your business started on Twitter and Facebook
- Calculating the ROI of your Social Media campaign
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