Search Engine Optimization or SEO is that practice employed by business strategists to improve and promote a website in order to have more visitors as directed by search engines. Here are the must-know tips in maximizing your SEO as an effective marketing tool for your business:
- Keyword Research and Resources
Typing the words in the search box is where it all begins. Keyword research is one of the most critical activities for the search engines. Ranking for the ‘right’ keywords matters the most for your website in terms of achieving the target goals. Some of the resources available where you can get the information about the keyword demand include: Google Adwords, Google Insights for Search, Google Trends Keyword Demand Prediction, Microsoft Advertising Intelligence and Wordtracker’s Free Basic Keyword Demand.
- Right Analytic Tools
In search optimization, measurement is critical to success. If you can measure it, then it can be improved. Several analytic tools are available to track data about links, referrals, rankings and more to create the road map to success. Most used analytic tool is Google Analytics, mainly because of its feature to cross-integrate with other Google products like Webmaster Tools, Adsense and Adword. Other analytic tools include Omniture, Fireclick, Yahoo Web Analytics, Clicktale, Coremetrics, Clicky Web Analytics, Mint, Woopra Website Tracking, AWStats, Sawmill Analytics and Piwik Open Source Analysis. There is one that will be right for your site.
- Link Building Tools
An essential element of web site marketing and SEO programs to increase traffic and online sales is quality inbound link. The more relevant and authoritative links there are to a website, the greater the potential for higher search ranking. Some of the available tools include Majestic SEO, Buzzstream Link Building, SEOmoz Linkscape, Raven SEO Tools, SoloSEO Link Building Tools, Yahoo! Site Explorer, Page Link Analyzer, plugin SEO Beta Linking Tools, Sheer SEO Backlinks Watchdog and HubSpot Website Grader.
- Website Rank Checkers
Google and other search engines use a variety of methods and tools to determine which pages are displayed first when the search engine is activated for a specific query. Some of the more popular website ranking tools or checkers include Alexa Traffic Rank Checker, Compete Ranking Checker, Compete Statistics Checker, Fake Rank Checker, PageHeat Checker, PageRank Checker and Site Rank Checker.
- Social Media
Social media is used everywhere by everyone. As the number of social networking sites increase, so does the number of services to measure track and monitor the effectiveness of your social media efforts. Some of the available social media tools include EditFlow, TweetReach, Argyle Social, HootSuite for iPad, TweetLevel, ReFollow, TwitterSearch, Traackr, SocMetrics and Social Scope.
In the world of SEO, maximizing the efficiency and productivity of a website is very important and one that cannot be dismissed altogether. By utilizing the available tools to help determine where your site would land in a search query, you will be able to identify the site’s weaknesses for further improvement. Any SEO effort will prove an exercise in futility if it is not measured for strength, weakness, effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. It will not achieve its goals of increasing the traffic to your site because the search engines do not understand what your site wants or where it wants to be.