SEO for Beginners 7 Things You Need to Know

If you are new to search engine optimization or SEO in Louisiana, you might think that it will be years before you can catch up to your competitors. But this isn’t true! There are many ways you can optimize your rankings and reach your target audience. Working with an SEO expert like WSI Star Web Solutions can get your SEO strategy up and running in no time! But it helps to pull your weight, too.

Below are seven essential SEO tips for beginners. By following through with them, you can significantly improve your SEO and rankings.

1. Write Longer Posts

Content is a key factor for search engine optimization because it utilizes your keywords, increases the authority, and drives traffic to your site. Longer posts are more powerful because they offer more opportunities for keyword placement. In-depth content also keeps people on your site longer.

2. Update Your Content Often

Fresh content is critical to SEO. This type of content is most relevant to users, and Google sees that you are regularly active. To ensure your website gets relevant content, create new posts, and also update popular posts on your site. This is a huge time saver!

3. Use Primary Keywords

Keywords and SEO go hand in hand, but it’s important to know that not all keywords are created equal. Primary keywords are used by your audience and also define what your content is about. Use a keyword tool to help you identify the best words and phrases to use in your content.

4. Include Long Tail and LSI Keywords

Keywords can be broken down into different categories, and two of them are long-tail and LSI keywords. Make sure you’re using these words and phrases in your content!

• Long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords contain 4 or more words. Because they’re specific, they drive in less traffic, but this traffic is highly targeted and more likely to convert.
• LSI keywords. Latent semantic indexing simply means that the keywords are related to the topic you’re writing about. LSI keywords help Google understand your relevance so that your content can be properly indexed.

5. Optimize On-Page Elements

Once you have a decent amount of keyword-rich content on your site, you’ll need to start optimizing your on-page elements. Doing this will help your content get discovered by the right people. Here is what we recommend focusing on:

• Title tag. Choose unique, click-worthy titles that include your target keywords.
• Meta description. Include keywords in this short description to help Google and users understand your content.
• Headings and subheadings. Include your keywords in your H1, H2, and H3 headings and subheadings.

6. Earn Quality Backlinks

Backlinks happen when another website mentions yours and links back to it. These links help your website rank because the search engines see it as being valuable and credible. However, make sure that your backlinks come from trustworthy sites and not spammy ones.

7. Include Inbound and Internal Links

Outbound links are links that refer to other websites. You’ll want to use these links to build relationships with others and help Google understand what your content is about.

Internal links are also important because they keep people on your website longer, establish a hierarchy within your site, and generate more traffic to your pages. Make sure all links point to relevant, trustworthy content.

SEO in Louisiana has many components, but these seven factors are some of the most critical. As your business grows and you need more help with SEO, contact WSI Star Web Solutions. We can help you build an affordable, effective SEO strategy that takes your business to the next level.