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The easiest keyword rankings to acquire in the results on Google and Bing are branded terms, such as a company name or product name.

For example, if you search for your company name, does your website appear in positions 1-5 in the results?

What happens when you search for your product names? Do they appear in the top 5 results? Probably.

Does your website show up when you search for non-branded terms? For example, if you sell children’s backpacks, and you search for the phrase “childrens backpacks” or “kids backpacks”, do you show up in the search results?

If the answer is no, then you definitely need to optimize your website for search.

As Search Engine Optimization Strategists (SEOs), we expect your brand and product names to appear simply because these phrases are normally used in many places on a website: headlines, footers, navigation, contact us page, alt tags for the logo, to name a few.

Hopefully as site owner you have also entered your site in important directories that confirm products and location. However, sometimes the structure of a website prohibits a search engine crawler from capture these phrases and, thus, the website does not “rank” in the search results.

That’s where a professional SEO can help.

2 Key Things That Proper SEO Must Have

Proper search engine optimization tactics involve two main pieces:

Optimization of on-page factors and link building.

 

Phase 1: On-page Factors

 

Updating on-page factors to include pertinent keywords should be the first phase in any optimization project.

An SEO will research keywords that people type into Google to find your business, check the competition to see if you can compete with the other results on page 1 and then recommend a list of keywords and the details for their implementation.

A writer will also need to improve the “keyword density” on each page by incorporate the keywords into the copy.

Phase 2: Internal & External Links

Once the on-page factors are all in place, the next phase involves creating internal links amongst the pages on the site and generating links from external links.

Various tactics are used to acquire links: entries into online directories, article and press release syndication, outreach to pertinent bloggers, etc. A well-executed link strategy results in a mixture of medium to high-value links pointing to various pages on your website.

These tactics, along with properly optimized on-page factors help create the foundation for ranking prominently in search engine results.

 

Case Study: Redi Shade

In one SEO and social media case study by our agency, Roaring Pajamas, in partnership with Connector Branding, the client, Redi Shade, brought a new product and brand to page one (position 3 or 4) of Google in 3 weeks.

We used simple SEO tactics and a creative and simple social media campaign.

When we first met the client, they informed us that, after many months, their page and product (Simple Fit Custom Shades) could not be found on Google. We optimized the page for the phrases “Simple Fit” (product name) and “custom shades.”

We made sure the links to the shopping cart worked properly. Then we set out to build links.

We reached out to our extensive blogger network of mommy, DIYers and interior designers. Willing bloggers jumped on board to help by testing and reviewing the shade, then writing about it.

Many bloggers made videos of the installation process. Each blog post provided much-needed links back to the Simple Fit page.

Often, we meet people who think they can simply “game” the system with quick fixes and get their pages to rank. While that may be true in the short-term, search engine crawlers may eventually catch on to these tactics and reduce the authority of a page or entire site.

The right thing to do is to start with the basics of SEO – adding proper keywords to the on-page factors, updating keyword density in text and building safe and relevant links.

Always remember that search engine optimization is a long-term effort.

Once you have established your site and content in the search results, you can expect qualified leads for months with minimal investment.

 

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• Creating SEO Content: Think Like Your Customers When Creating Online Content (baybusinesshelp.com)