It does seem a bit like magic sometimes, black magic: angry, dark magic that refuses to do our bidding. Sometimes it does as we hoped and it appears a bit less mystical, a bit more controllable… but then the algorithms change once more.
Often times online marketing feels more like black magic than a controllable strategy, but the truth is your web traffic, rankings and your online presence can be controlled by YOU.
Well, mostly.
The algorithms used to measure your content, websites and basically everything you contribute to the web change constantly. And while it seems this is being done to mess with our patience and sanity, the real purpose is to give web surfers (your potential fans and customers) the best possible results, experience, etc.
So, how do you manage this constantly-changing marketing landscape?
- Stay informed about what’s new and relevant in search and content.
- Keep in mind “Always the best stuff – never fluff.” (We will elaborate on this more below, but this philosophy guides basically 70% of search engine guidelines)
- DO – follow tried and true guidelines.
-DON’T – try get-traffic quick schemes.
Outlined below are five tips to help sort out the magic, confusion and strategy behind online traffic and SEO (search engine optimization), and ultimately create success for your business.
1. Inbound Links
DO build inbound links. Why? Authoritative inbound links tell search engines you are the real deal. Other sites or businesses endorsing your business proves to their precious fans and traffic that they trust you enough to send business your way.
DON’T go gangbusters building link exchanges with sites you don’t know and trust. It’s like this: You are baking cookies, then you realize you are out of butter. Will you send your seven-year-old son to the questionable tenants across the street in the creepy house to borrow some butter? Or will you send him to Mrs. Noodle’s, the house with the kindly, retired woman with gentle eyes who you know and trust?
Google and the other search engines rank inbound links in much the same way: links should come from a similar relevant industry source – a source like yours.
Relevant: Created in Colorado to a made-in-Colorado company website
Not relevant: Created in Colorado to a how-to-survive-pregnancy website
Exception: Created in Colorado linking to a page on How to Survive Pregnancy.com that talks about herbal tinctures that are produced in Colorado. Does that make sense?
