Many online marketing newbies read blogs such as this looking for some quick and easy solutions that will vault them to the top in the search results. Unfortunately, SEO is just as much art as it is science, which means that the same factors on one site will produce different results on another. And as much as we can follow common procedures and strategies that we know work, we really don’t know how well they will work for any given site.
And nothing you can do will guarantee top search engine rankings. If there was anything that did, it would quickly become obsolete because everybody would be doing it.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”@StoneyD”]True SEO is less about following rules than it is about following a set of guidelines that are interpreted and implemented for the specific needs of the particular site.[/inlinetweet] And most of that is fluid based on the needs of the audience. But even within that fluidity, there are some basic dos and don’ts that need to be adhered to:
Web Marketing Dos:
- Customize your tags. Every page on your site should have unique title, meta description and heading tags. It doesn’t matter if you have ten pages or ten thousand, these are important tags that help you stand apart from your competition.
- Research your keywords thoroughly. Keywords provide the road map to all your marketing efforts. They help you understand the words that resonate with your audience and, to some degree, the intent of their search.
- Fix architectural issues. Very few sites are search engine friendly out of the box. There are a number of tools, including Google Search Console, that will help you find and fix architectural issues that may be impeding your performance.
- Publish valuable content. Searchers are looking for information. Maybe it’s product information or how-to information, but information none-the-less. Regardless of intent, your content must be designed to meet their needs.
- Engage on social media. Social media is now a needed aspect of quality optimization. This is where you build brand recognition and provide access to your solutions through engagement.
Web Marketing Don’ts:
- Don’t stop optimizing. Quality web marketing has lasting effects, but it also requires ongoing momentum. When you stop optimizing and marketing your site, you’re leaving opportunities for your competitors to outperform you.
- Don’t give up ownership. There is a certain amount of web marketing that requires ownership and buy in from the business. Outside marketers do a great job setting and implementing the strategy, but that strategy must have your buy in in order to succeed.
- Don’t go on faith. Success is measurable. Anytime you go on faith, or gut feelings to measure your success you’re likely to come out with a false picture. Set your goals and measure them so you can see what’s working and what isn’t.
- Don’t lose sight of the customer. Marketing is all about giving the customer what they want, and web marketing is no different. Don’t do it for the search engines. Whatever you do, be sure you’re thinking about the customer first.
- Don’t give up. Not everything you do in a web marketing campaign will be successful. There will be some ups and downs. Don’t give up if something doesn’t work. Just keep improving on what does.
Most web marketing focuses on specific optimization and marketing tasks. But just as much of it is having the right mindset and overall strategy. These dos and don’ts won’t put you on top of Google overnight, but they will ensure you move forward with your marketing campaign in a way that provides value and results.