Tag : keyword research

5 Simple Ways to Start Your Search Engine Optimization Efforts

Posted by Jonathan Kelp at 12:19 pm

Starting your first search engine optimization campaign can be a daunting task. There is so much written about the topic that it becomes difficult deciding where to start. SEOBoy.com offers a simple guide that will get you started. Here are five small effort changes that can make a big difference along with examples for a fictional Mexican restaurant called Rosita’s in Bloomington, Indiana.

1. Keyword research

   This is where any good SEO campaign will start. Begin creating your keyword list by thinking of what your customers would likely type into a search engine in their attempt to find the products/services you provide.

   For our fake restaurant, Rosita’s, some phrases would include: Bloomington Indiana restaurants, Mexican restaurants in Bloomington, Mexican food Bloomington IN.

2. Meta data

   The title and meta description tags are where you begin to your newly discovered keywords. Your title tag should include your business name along with a specific keyword phrase.

   Ex:  “Rosita’s Mexican Restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana (IN)”.

   Your meta description should provide an quick overview of the products/services your company offers.

   Ex:  “Rosita’s Mexican restaurant has been serving authentic Yucatecan cuisine in Bloomington, Indiana for over 15 years.”

3. Header tags

   Your H1 header tag tells the search engines what the content priority of the page is. It should contain your targeted keyword and should tell the search engines (and your visitors) what that page is about.

   Ex: For Rosita’s View our Menu page the H1 tag may be “Rosita’s Mexican Restaurant Dinner Menu”

4. Image alt tags

   The alt tag provides an alternative text description of an image. Every image on your page should contain a keyword rich description.

   Ex: If Rosita’s website has a picture of their famous lime soup, the image alt tag could be “Authentic Mexican Lime Soup from Rosita’s Restaurant”.

5. XML sitemap

   An XML sitemap lists all the pages of your website and helps search engine find and index your site. You can easily create your sitemap using a free tool like XML-Sitemaps. After creating your sitemap,  submit it to Google Webmaster Tools.

By following these easy 5 steps, you can make a big impact on the search engine optimization of your website.