Do It Yourself Search Engine Optimization
The do-it-yourself way to achieve success with SEO is not only workable but is also very successful. In fact, it's allowing people without a lot of money to achieve success they never thought possible. The truth is, almost anyone can practice SEO to achieve amazing results if they apply themselves. And the great news is, you don't have to learn everything about search engine optimization by trial and error. Many of the largest and most popular websites today got where they are through do-it-yourself SEO efforts. Using free tools and following simple guidelines can get you most of the way there and put you on the path to a long and successful journey.
Search Engine Bots And Human Users
Website visitors and search engines don't always behave in ways you might expect, so it's useful to know what they're not looking for, as well as what they do look for. And, the most common mistakes people make when creating a website that is difficult for users and search engines to use.
Search engines want to provide the most relevant results to their users. In order for search engines to provide the most relevant results to their users, they make adjustments to their algorithms from time to time. This is what they do to maintain their relevance. Most people overlook how keen the competition is between search engines. Every search engine strives to be the leader for as long as possible. Search engines are extremely focused on the users. They want to give the users the best possible answer. Any change in rules or anything else that affects the usefulness of the engine is driven by the goal of being the best in the eyes of the user.
Paid Search Engine Listings
One of the biggest mistakes website owners make is paying to be listed in search engines and directories. Generally, you should not pay to be listed. Focus on getting listed on high-quality, highly reputable sites. They typically won't charge you for the privilege of being listed. On the contrary, they'll do everything in their power to get you more traffic. The secret to bear in mind here is that many high quality sites will list you almost immediately and for free if you have good quality links pointing to your site.
High quality links are links from sites that have a high page rank in search engines. The assumption here is that if the sites with high page rank recommend your site, then your site must be at least somewhat useful. Naturally, a higher page rank will result in better search engine visibility for you and naturally, much higher traffic.
Quality Content For Link Building
One effective method for building links is to create content that links to related high-quality websites. These are called outbound links, or external links. For example, if you have a website that sells athletic clothing, you can write an article reviewing the latest athletic shoes from say Nike and add a reference link, for instance. This of course benefits Nike, as it will build backlinks for them, but it will also help to build trust and authority for your own site. This can also provide a great opportunity to build a partnership with related sites.
Build Quality Links Over Quantity
Related sites have an impact on your page rank. When people type in a search phrase into a search engine, they don't just get back sites that contain the exact phrase they typed in. They also get back sites that are similar to the one they were on, or sites that are referenced by the site they were on. The sites they reference are related sites.
In determining your page rank, search engines will look for links to your sites and not just any links, but quality links meaning related sites with a higher ranking than you. This tells search engines that other sites they rank highly are linked to you and therefore you must be a useful site and should rank high.
Use search engines to find quality link partners
You can use the major search engines to easily find related websites to link to. It is difficult to beat this amazing, free, and instant SEO technique that is quick, easy to use, and extremely effective. Be very careful when using an outbound linking strategy as it can have a negative effect on your website if done improperly. For example, too many outbound links or unrelated links can be seen as spammy or poor quality. Building poor quality links can decrease your search ranking, trust, and authority.