Seen sniffer dogs burrowing through the scene of crime in the umpteen police dramas, how their nose never lets them down and the scent trail becomes a mental map that leads them to the source/target? Well, what if the dogs can’t catch a scent to follow? A similar result will befall your website if it is not search engine friendly – invisibility.
I am sure you have heard of Search Engine Optimization or SEO as its more popularly known. Its one of those small business ideas that create a huge impact by make your website/blog a part of every search engine’s “˜most searched list.’ It’s no Rocket Science, and is ideal for small business owners.
Don’t believe me? Read on…
Keenly pursue Keywords
I am sure you have seen the hooks that cranes use to lift goods with. Keywords have a similar function. Identify those terms, phrases or keywords that your target customers are likely to search for and place them strategically in your website/blog content. A couple of pointers:
- Go for specific keywords that will get your desired clients to visit you. For e.g. promotional products is a widely searched keyword, but many companies besides you also know that and will be using it on their websites. Beat competition and ensure that a relevant and exclusive clientele visits your website by incorporating specific keywords like promotional products Made in USA or eco-friendly promotional products.
- Maintaining keyword density is important too. Don’t flood your content with keywords as that may impact the quality of your content. Your keywords may bring your potential clients to you but badly-written, uninformative or irrelevant content will shoo them away.
You don’t need to be a techie to do this
Websites like Google Adwords, KeywordDiscovery.com, wordtracker.com etc. can help you research relevant keywords and also show you the number of hits they generate locally and globally. Most of these are free resources and hence perfect for small business owners who have a tight budget.
Use keywords in the Header and Titles
Try to place your keywords in the heading. Keywords displayed prominently in the topmost space of your website will be picked up instantly by search engines as they hunt for relevant pages.
HTML
Flash may bring in the flashy element and PDF may ooze professional charm…
But whom would you show all of these to “¦ ‘cos the search engines won’t find you!
Code your content in HTML as most search engines can’t find the text on websites that are Flash enabled or have PDF documents.
Small business ideas are about smartness rather than style. Befriend search engines using simple SEO techniques and instantly achieve brand identity.
Image: svilen001