Easy SEO Basics for all Small Businesses

Most people think SEO is easy or something you waive a magic wand over. The truth is has some simple concepts, but the trick is in how they’re applied. Continue reading →

Feb 25, 2015 /prREACH/ -- When talking about search engine optimization, many people equate an optimized site to a site with impressive search engine rankings. Sprinkle a little fairy dust over here and waive the magic wand over there and voila, a magnificent dish of first page rankings for the Internet's most competitive keyword terms.

The fact is, a business owner need to do some research by typing in their primary keyword terms into a search engine and analyzing the results. The key is to understand the factors that differentiate those that rank on the first page from those that don't.

The attributes that determine search engine rankings can be classified into two basic categories; "on-page factors" and "off-page factors". In the most basic sense, on-page factors have to do with attributes within the web site and off-page factors have to do with attributes that occur outside of the web site. In a way, on-page factors tell the engines what the site think of itself, while off-page factors tell the engines what the Internet at large thinks of that website.

The first step is to determine the keywords that people search for when they are looking for a product or service. There are free and paid keyword tools to see how many people search for a particular keyword phrase. They also can provide suggestions for related keyword terms. Use the tool to match two to three appropriate keywords to each of the web pages within your site.

Offsite optimizations include social sites like Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter and Linked In. It also includes article distribution sites, press releases, and video sites like YouTube and Vimeo. It's important to have a variety of links with different keyword anchors, and only work with reputable sites for the best result.

Lodestone Consulting Services is a California LLC specializing in online advertising and optimizing search engine results.