How to Tell if Your SEO Is Doing Well!
By Stu Leventhal - Guru Marketing Tips Editor
Listen, there are plenty of people online that will sell you a song and a dance and even the Brooklyn Bridge, if they thought you were naive enough. When it comes to SEO, Search Engine Optimization, which is pleasing Google so they recommend your website to seekers and web browsers, everyone has an opinion about how to get some more Google Love.
The thing is, it (SEO, Keywording, tags, coding...) can all get very confusing which usually leads to you spending needless amounts of money to find out things you could have found out in a snap just by using a little common sense. Now do not get me wrong. Most website owners are not the savvy coders that they would all like to be, so there will be plenty of opportunities for you to spend money to get special stuff done on and to your website. That stuff though should be the things you really can't complete on your own.
I say spend ($$$) your money for experts to do amazing things for your site visitors. Do not waste your money paying someone to tell you that your site or blog is not ranking well on Google searches for the search phrases you wish to be recommended for... You can Google those desired search phrases yourself and then just scroll down until you finally find your website page or blog post or site home page. I recommend you do that right now... and then record your position for all those key, for your business, search phrases.
Why keep a record of where your best website articles and blog posts are landing when their topics are searched for? So, you can monitor the search results. Two weeks from now you want to go back to see if your efforts are paying off (working). Is your SEO doing the job? Are you getting results, moving your web content to the front of the recommendation line?
Pleasing Google and other search engines is key. People have to see your sales pitches and read your words of wisdom for you to influence them to buy from you or hire you. We have to get those visitors (web-traffic) to your site first...right?
Of course I'm right!
Visitors are needed or your whole site is worthless. Think about all that time and work you put in and no one sees it or benefits from it because your site and all on it does not rank!
We hear often that SEO is all about making your website more attractive to search engines. What does that really mean though?
Well again we need to get back to basics... Google likes websites that people like. Yeah, it is not much more complicated than that! Sure a lot is said about this mysterious algorithm of Googles but know that it ain't so mysterious. Google's job is to recommend the best sites... period!
Google wants to be known as the go to place to find websites on all sorts of topics but they also want to be known for recommending the very best sites and greatest content on those specific topics. You obviously want to be included as one of those top sites that Google loves and thus ranks high; but on your terms, for what you actually wish to be ranked high for.
You have specific goals for each page on your website. reaching your goals always includes Google understanding what you are trying to say and to whom you want to say it.
But how is that done? How do you get Google to see your site as you wish it to be seen. Equally important is how do you convince Google that your web-content is far superior to what is published on all the other competing sites that they could possibly recommend as being better than your publishing?
Well, again recognize that there are all sorts of hucksters online that are going to try to sell you the magic dust that you can just sprinkle over your keyboard to hypnotize Google's search algorithm into believing your site is the best for your field or specialty!
Do not fall for those get-rich-quick, first page search ranking cons.
Just like with any other biz problem you have to analyze the whole situation from all angles. Set your goals (Determine which search phrases and keywords will get you the most business if you ranked high for those pin pointed searches). Then you'll go after dominating all others that are targeting those same phrase searches. This just means you have to make your page better than everyone else's page on the subject your page discusses.
First you do some research (who is already ranking on the first page where you would like to be for those exact searches?). Next make a informed plan of action (Your action plan is to replace those who rank higher than you)... Now you act!
You'll have to test some ideas out then go back to those search phrases results that I told you earlier to write down (remember). Now the monitoring of how well you rank for certain key searchable phrases begins to make real important sense. You will need to see what works for moving your web property (posts and articles) up the rankings. Obviously you'll do more and more of what is getting you the most (best) results.
By searching for your targeted search phrase you see how your last SEO work performed. Did your page go up? Great! Now lets go back to those still beating you in page ranking and try to figure out what else we can do to catch up to them and eventually pass them by... with getting Google to like us better than them.
LET'S RECAP:
So how do you judge your SEO quickly and inexpensively (without paying someone else to do it for you).
How do you know what to do to increase your rankings without paying someone to tell you... Again you look at those who are out-ranking you for a particular search phrase. All you really have to do is try to figure out why Google thinks their publishing is better than yours.
Simple right! Just use your own common sense. Seriously, if you just look the top ranking pages over for an instant, you usually realize quite fast what they are doing that you are not. Do they have more photos? Better photos? Now you have to compete and make your page better. In the case above you would start by adding better photos than the site that ranks above yours. Be sure to add meta data so Google knows what your images represent.
Your page has to be better in Google's eyes and in the eyes of real people too who will visit your page... But, don't you remember, earlier I told you those are the same things. Google does not wish to recommend web pages that robots and software likes. They, as well as other search engines, are in the business of figuring out who created the best web page per topic...for people!
Read the articles and copy writing on the pages that rank higher than your pages. Be honest; is the copy and text, better written than what you are publishing? If so you may need to re-word your post or article. Get creative! Now you may need to consider hiring a pro copy writer with experience writing on your industry's topics. Remember, your page must be better, the best!
So you are starting to see that all this hocus-pocus about SEO being all mysterious is just babble to get you to open your wallet and purchase, purchase, purchase.
Now, once again, I am not saying that there is never a wise time to buy internet website help. You need to purchase what you cannot do yourself. First of all let's assume if you run a business then your time is limited. Let's also assume you are not that hip on techie things nor are you keeping up on new internet trends.
Obviously if more orders and new clients can make you lots of money and if hiring (affordable) helpers to manage your website for you will pay you back for the contractor's costs then you would be smart to hire some help. What I am saying is that if you can hire someone for $100 dollars to do some SEO on your website and their work gets you a new client that spends $2000 dollars with your company then that SEO was worth you hiring. It is simple math.
Plus that new client you gained now knows about you and could potentially keep buying from you for decades to come!
in the above case, you might now consider having your SEO contractor do even more work on your site because you know the return on every $100 dollars you pay that SEO brings in about $2000 dollars or more of real business. You see, you just need to justify the expenditure (spend wisely) and be sure your SEO bought services are paying off.
Also know what exactly you are paying for, meaning; before you buy SEO services you should research and learn a little about SEO in general before you spend. Plus, as mentioned avoid buying what you could get or do for free.
*Want to know and learn more about doing your own SEO... Check out our SEO Section.
The thing is, it (SEO, Keywording, tags, coding...) can all get very confusing which usually leads to you spending needless amounts of money to find out things you could have found out in a snap just by using a little common sense. Now do not get me wrong. Most website owners are not the savvy coders that they would all like to be, so there will be plenty of opportunities for you to spend money to get special stuff done on and to your website. That stuff though should be the things you really can't complete on your own.
I say spend ($$$) your money for experts to do amazing things for your site visitors. Do not waste your money paying someone to tell you that your site or blog is not ranking well on Google searches for the search phrases you wish to be recommended for... You can Google those desired search phrases yourself and then just scroll down until you finally find your website page or blog post or site home page. I recommend you do that right now... and then record your position for all those key, for your business, search phrases.
Why keep a record of where your best website articles and blog posts are landing when their topics are searched for? So, you can monitor the search results. Two weeks from now you want to go back to see if your efforts are paying off (working). Is your SEO doing the job? Are you getting results, moving your web content to the front of the recommendation line?
Pleasing Google and other search engines is key. People have to see your sales pitches and read your words of wisdom for you to influence them to buy from you or hire you. We have to get those visitors (web-traffic) to your site first...right?
Of course I'm right!
Visitors are needed or your whole site is worthless. Think about all that time and work you put in and no one sees it or benefits from it because your site and all on it does not rank!
We hear often that SEO is all about making your website more attractive to search engines. What does that really mean though?
Well again we need to get back to basics... Google likes websites that people like. Yeah, it is not much more complicated than that! Sure a lot is said about this mysterious algorithm of Googles but know that it ain't so mysterious. Google's job is to recommend the best sites... period!
Google wants to be known as the go to place to find websites on all sorts of topics but they also want to be known for recommending the very best sites and greatest content on those specific topics. You obviously want to be included as one of those top sites that Google loves and thus ranks high; but on your terms, for what you actually wish to be ranked high for.
You have specific goals for each page on your website. reaching your goals always includes Google understanding what you are trying to say and to whom you want to say it.
But how is that done? How do you get Google to see your site as you wish it to be seen. Equally important is how do you convince Google that your web-content is far superior to what is published on all the other competing sites that they could possibly recommend as being better than your publishing?
Well, again recognize that there are all sorts of hucksters online that are going to try to sell you the magic dust that you can just sprinkle over your keyboard to hypnotize Google's search algorithm into believing your site is the best for your field or specialty!
Do not fall for those get-rich-quick, first page search ranking cons.
Just like with any other biz problem you have to analyze the whole situation from all angles. Set your goals (Determine which search phrases and keywords will get you the most business if you ranked high for those pin pointed searches). Then you'll go after dominating all others that are targeting those same phrase searches. This just means you have to make your page better than everyone else's page on the subject your page discusses.
First you do some research (who is already ranking on the first page where you would like to be for those exact searches?). Next make a informed plan of action (Your action plan is to replace those who rank higher than you)... Now you act!
You'll have to test some ideas out then go back to those search phrases results that I told you earlier to write down (remember). Now the monitoring of how well you rank for certain key searchable phrases begins to make real important sense. You will need to see what works for moving your web property (posts and articles) up the rankings. Obviously you'll do more and more of what is getting you the most (best) results.
By searching for your targeted search phrase you see how your last SEO work performed. Did your page go up? Great! Now lets go back to those still beating you in page ranking and try to figure out what else we can do to catch up to them and eventually pass them by... with getting Google to like us better than them.
LET'S RECAP:
So how do you judge your SEO quickly and inexpensively (without paying someone else to do it for you).
- As mentioned you conduct web searches yourself and scroll until you find your website, posts and articles. If your web content or page does not get recommended for the first 25 pages of a search for a topic (targeted phrase) that you wish to be known for knowing a lot about; then your SEO is bad on that page!
- Do you really need to pay someone to tell you that you are not satisfied with the performance of your website or blog? Of course not! You are reading this post because you are unhappy with the low amount of customers, clients or orders you are getting from your website. Thus your SEO needs work...END of STORY!
- To determine which particular web pages, articles, videos and blog posts need the most SEO work you could certainly have someone analyze the traffic you get to those publishings. But why? If your phone is not ringing from that particular content then it is not doing its job...Do you follow? Each of your pages tries to attract a different searcher because it talks about different things. So you know if you are getting emailed from certain posts and pages... Correct? You have a call to action (sign up for this or that) on each page and if you get no one responding (signing up or emailing you for more info) then you need more SEO work on that page!
How do you know what to do to increase your rankings without paying someone to tell you... Again you look at those who are out-ranking you for a particular search phrase. All you really have to do is try to figure out why Google thinks their publishing is better than yours.
Simple right! Just use your own common sense. Seriously, if you just look the top ranking pages over for an instant, you usually realize quite fast what they are doing that you are not. Do they have more photos? Better photos? Now you have to compete and make your page better. In the case above you would start by adding better photos than the site that ranks above yours. Be sure to add meta data so Google knows what your images represent.
Your page has to be better in Google's eyes and in the eyes of real people too who will visit your page... But, don't you remember, earlier I told you those are the same things. Google does not wish to recommend web pages that robots and software likes. They, as well as other search engines, are in the business of figuring out who created the best web page per topic...for people!
Read the articles and copy writing on the pages that rank higher than your pages. Be honest; is the copy and text, better written than what you are publishing? If so you may need to re-word your post or article. Get creative! Now you may need to consider hiring a pro copy writer with experience writing on your industry's topics. Remember, your page must be better, the best!
So you are starting to see that all this hocus-pocus about SEO being all mysterious is just babble to get you to open your wallet and purchase, purchase, purchase.
Now, once again, I am not saying that there is never a wise time to buy internet website help. You need to purchase what you cannot do yourself. First of all let's assume if you run a business then your time is limited. Let's also assume you are not that hip on techie things nor are you keeping up on new internet trends.
Obviously if more orders and new clients can make you lots of money and if hiring (affordable) helpers to manage your website for you will pay you back for the contractor's costs then you would be smart to hire some help. What I am saying is that if you can hire someone for $100 dollars to do some SEO on your website and their work gets you a new client that spends $2000 dollars with your company then that SEO was worth you hiring. It is simple math.
Plus that new client you gained now knows about you and could potentially keep buying from you for decades to come!
in the above case, you might now consider having your SEO contractor do even more work on your site because you know the return on every $100 dollars you pay that SEO brings in about $2000 dollars or more of real business. You see, you just need to justify the expenditure (spend wisely) and be sure your SEO bought services are paying off.
Also know what exactly you are paying for, meaning; before you buy SEO services you should research and learn a little about SEO in general before you spend. Plus, as mentioned avoid buying what you could get or do for free.
*Want to know and learn more about doing your own SEO... Check out our SEO Section.
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