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The power of strong keywords

How search engines think

Using algorithms, search engines push websites to the top of the search page, based on what they think is relevant. Over time, these algorithms have been updated and improved to show the best search results possible. For instance, algorithms designed by market leader Google are made to anticipates a users intentions. It does this by combining other factors besides what is entered into the search box, such as IP address. For example, when someone searches for a Chinese restaurant, Google displays the Chinese restaurants that are close to him, based on IP address. Looking at the intention behind search terms entered in the search box is what is called “semantic search”. These search terms entered in the search box are called keywords. It is useful to pay attention to those, so you get found on the right keywords.

How these algorithms work are usually kept very secret by these search engines. Fortunately, there is a lot of general information available, that can significantly help to boost your page in search results.

Metadata & Metatags

One way of describing to search engines what your page is about, is by using metadata. Just to briefly explain, metadata summarizes basic information about data. This metadata is included in the page in the form of metatags.  Search engines evaluate the metadata to determine if the page is relevant. If it is, it will display the page in its search results.

Metatags consist of keywords. These are words people use in search engines to find what they are looking for. There are keywords that are very popular and get thousands of unique searches every day, whilst others get only a couple. As you can imagine, these popular keywords are highly competitive between websites because getting a high ranking on one of those, will generate a lot of traffic to your website. To clarify, these are examples of keywords:

Keywords shown in search engine

The repetitive keyword trap

After reading this, you may be very tempted to use a lot of keywords to get more traffic. With the goal to make your website seem more relevant than others, you may be tempted to use too many keywords. This will result in “keyword stuffing”.  Nowadays, search engines have reduced the reliance on keywords in metatags. Its algorithm is built in such a way to recognize these tricks and ignore them. To improve your SEO performance and to convince search engines your page is more relevant, you will need to consider other strategies also. I will write about these soon!

Where do they show up?

Meta tags are included in the form of HTML elements. There are two elements that are most important to a webpage:

  • Title tags
  • Meta description

A title tag is part of an HTML element that specifies the title of a web page. It shows up as a blue header in search results. If it’s done right, this should include at least the name of your business and a main keyword that you are aiming for. In some cases, it may be wise to include a location in this title tag. A title tag looks like this when it shows up in search engines:

The meta description is the short description that appears in search results below the title tag, after you hit the search button. This description gives you an idea what the page is about. Like the title tag, it should contain the target keyword and a short summary of the page. The meta description looks like this in search results:

Meta description shown in search engine results

Tips to get found on the right keywords

Of course, this article wouldn’t be complete without giving you some useful tips on how to improve your keywords implementation. I have summed up three that can be very easily implemented!

  • Get suggestions from the search engine. You have probably seen the words that show up in the form of a drop-down list, when you are typing in the search field. Besides suggestions, these are keywords that are popular! See if there are keywords in this list matching your page content and use them in your page!
  • Once you hit the search button, scroll down the page. There is a list there with all the related keywords that are often used. They basically act as suggestions of keywords you would want to consider.
  • Use the free Google Keyword Planner. This is one of the amazing free tools Google provides to help you improve your website. I will write about it soon!

What about images?

It is common and advised to use images on the webpage. For images, alt tags are included. Alt tags consists of alt text and a title attribute. The alt text is information, which tells search engines what the image is about. The title attribute is the name that is given to the image in the HTML code. It shows up when you hover over it with the mouse. Google highly values these attributes. But apart for SEO purposes, they also serve for visually impaired people. In this case the text that is included in the alt text is read to the person by a reading tool.

This is a complete HTML image tag:

<img src=“image.jpg” alt=“image description” title=“image tooltip”>

To conclude

As you can see, using the right keywords can boost the SEO performance quite a bit. This topic can be a whole study on its own! So getting your keywords setup correctly is a must, which will immediately improve your website performance and give the desired ranking. However, because some websites tend to over use keywords or don’t use them correctly, search engines have now reduced the reliance on keywords in metatags. Therefore, other elements which are of significant importance should be considered and not be compromised on. But setting your keywords up correctly is a great start!

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Shine with online marketing

The world of online marketing

Almost everything we do nowadays involves taking some kind of action online. Internet has become so integrated into our lives, that we cannot live without it. This online revolution has been good for consumers, since this development has brought a lot of innovations that make life a lot easier. But for a business trying to utilize the power of online marketing, it’s a different ball game. In this article, you will learn about some easy to implement strategies that will work for almost any business. Let’s see how the power of online marketing can be of great help to you! 

Traditional versus online marketing

All the online tools you use to promote your product or service to generate traffic, leads and eventually sales, is online marketing. Online marketing is a broad term and it includes content marketing, email and newsletter, social media, paid media, affiliate marketing and much more. For now, we will focus on content marketing. Unlike traditional marketing, which takes a more local approach and places the emphasis on selling, content marketing leans towards a more personalized approach, trying to establish a relationship with its audience, no matter where they are located throughout the world.

Start doing content marketing

Regardless the size of your business, content marketing can be one of the most powerful digital marketing strategies. The idea behind content marketing is to help the audience. Here, valuable and relevant content is created in an article that focusses on solving a problem the target audience has. A good article gives the solution that solves this problem. 

Building the connection

Content marketing creates a connection between you and the audience. This makes content marketing a two-way interaction. With your knowledge and expertise, you provide solutions for the challenges your audience is struggling with. This becomes a win-win situation for both parties. You, as a content writer, are looking for this audience and the audience is looking for someone who can help. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are providing truly relevant and useful information to your audience and customers to help them solve their issues.

The power of online marketing: establish authority!

Now that you have solved their problem with useful information, you can be sure they will return to your website in the future. A form of trust has been created and this sets the basis for a long-term relationship. Your role in this relationship is that you are the authority and your audience is the follower. They became your followers because they see you as the expert. This powerful connection can now be used to transform these leads into sales.

Content marketing displayed in a diagram

Versatility of content marketing

There are many highly performing types of content marketing, such as infographics, tutorials, video, blogging, podcasts, case studies etc. Let’s have an overview on the most popular types here:

Infographics

Infographics are strong eye-catching visual elements that provide useful information about a topic, often to simplify complex information. Often a playful setup is chosen to bring the message across like a puzzle, quiz, mathematical formula etc. In general, infographics are fun and easy to share on social media.

Videos

Videos are very powerful instruments and perfect for grabbing the attention of your audience. With all the smartphones enabling you to record video, it requires a very small investment to create. You have probably noticed the use of video has increased significantly over last few years, especially on social media adds.  That’s why it’s vital you find a way to appeal to your target audience’s attention and engage them quickly.

Case studies

Case studies are based on real life researches where a cause of a problem is described and a solution is given. Often case studies are written about a client who you have worked for. Because the target audience reading your case study may be familiar with a similar issue, they can identify themselves in the situation easily. So presenting a feasible solution, creates trust, thus a loyal audience. Now is a good time to conclude with a call-to-action so the audience can act whilst they are still excited. Case studies usually take up a lot of time to create, but it’s a perfect way to promote yourself.

Blogs

Blogging is extremely popular and requires a very small investment. Therefore, blogs are perfect for any small business. Consider them as a “light” version of content marketing because they tell the story without giving too much detail. On a rainy afternoon, just make yourself a cup of tea and start writing an article about your niche. Creating a good layout for your blog with clearly defined headers and paragraphs that includes keywords you are aiming for, can give it a very high SEO value.

What about SEO?

Getting found in search engines (SEO) can also be seen as online marketing. But this is such a broad field of expertise that I would like to consider it something that stands on its own. See my other article here where I talk about search engines.

Make it sharable!

By applying content marketing in your daily business routine, you are aiming for maximum exposure, the snowball effect. The more your content is being shared, the bigger the snowball becomes. Because it is shared easily by others, it can reach out to the far corners of the internet. Here it can be picked up by everyone including bloggers, influencers and search engines. Imagine the potential traffic it can generate back to your website! This characteristic is probably its biggest benefit, especially when it goes viral. So start publishing your articles, and don’t forget to include social share icons before you uploaded them!

Mouse Pointing At Social Media Sharing Buttons

Insert links and create back links!

A good practice is to place links in articles that link to other pages and posts on your website. These internal links transform your website into a small Wikipedia. Yes, Google likes links, and there is a reason why Wikipedia performs well in search engines. Indeed, links! It becomes even more powerful when your content is being shared on other websites. Now that they picked up your content by placing it in their article, it will link back to your website. These are called back links and search engines love them!

Start doing it!

As a passionate entrepreneur, starting this process should not be difficult. You are a source of valuable knowledge that can help many people! Start sharing this and become the authority in your branch. By achieving this status, traffic to your website will explode and your online business will do too!

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