Welcome back! Let’s jump right in on part two of our three part series on reaching your target audience with great results. In the last installment (click here for Part One) we discussed how to identify your target audience, how to stay engaging, and styles of writing for different sources. Now we will discuss SEO, Google and Google’s newest algorithm. So let’s begin with SEO and what it means to your posts and articles.
What is SEO?
The phrase itself stands for Search Engine Optimization. What it means is something a little bit more complicated. When we go online to find information on a topic that we either need or want to know about, we typically use a Search Engine such as Yahoo, MSN or the king of all search engines, Google. So how do these engines determine what information to show you? In part it involves the use of keywords. Keywords are specific terms that are contained in an article or post that the search engines recognize as pertaining to your search.
For example, you are looking up local shoe shops, so you type “where’s the nearest shoe shop in Tullahoma” into the search engine of your choice. The engine will then give you a list of results containing information about your local shoe shops. They do this by looking for keywords found on the particular pages that show up in the results.
Keywords should be included in your site copy, blog articles and posts as well. In order to get the search engine to display your site when a person searches for your specific service or produce. When writing keep in mind the type of things a person would want to learn about from your particular website. Include this information in a natural and conversational manner. Definitely do NOT overload your writing with the same phrase over and over thinking it will get the search engines attention.
Google is the world’s most popular search engine. This search engine company has fully embraced how people use SEO. Google uses keywords and phrases in algorithms (mathematical formula that organizes and orders information) that determine what articles and posts will show up first on any particular search.
The latest Google algorithm update is called hummingbird. This algorithm uses a more conversational search than ever before. This means that it searches in the way that we tend to speak in everyday language. Before, Google and others used very specific words to trigger what results displayed but now not so much. This is because we are using mobile devices more and more to search the web and to get our news and information. When we use these devices to search we use language that reflects the way we speak to one another. Many of us simply speak into our devices to search in Google. This certainly plays a role in what results appear.
Next up we will talk about pictures, grammar and other important factors that can affect how your articles are viewed and how they will bring return visitors to your webpage.