Welcome back PhotoBizzers! Andy R. from Passionate Support^® here with another SEO blog post! Today I’ll be recapping my recent webinar Make Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Work for You. If you’d like to watch the webinar check it out on the PhotoBiz YouTube channel.

Getting Started

As you get started with optimizing your site for search engines, here are some key elements to remember.

• Make a plan and stick to it – Decide which keywords are the most important and work on those
• Know that SEO is not a “quick fix” – Good SEO can take weeks or months to show results, but the results will be lasting
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions – Whether you’re speaking with an SEO specialist at PhotoBiz or thinking about hiring an SEO company asking questions keeps you involved in the process

What Counts?

There are a number of elements to your website, but which ones count toward SEO? Here are some key elements that play into your SEO ranking.

• Primary Domain Name – Your main website is the center of your SEO world. The name of your URL, and the content on your homepage are where your optimization starts.
• Sub-domains/Sub-directories – Pages within your site are just as important as your homepage, as they help tell the story of you and your company. Subsites and the content on them such as “blog.example.com” and “example.com/blog” are both counted as sections of your website no matter the URL format.
• Social Media – The social media following of your business pages can impact your ranking as social media is a great tool to send people to your website. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google+.
• Links to Your Website – Other sites that link to your site count toward your ranking. Be careful however, as not all links back to your site are good. The credibility of the site linking to your site comes into play.

Improving your SEO

As you play with your website to improve your search engine ranking, consider these elements as well.

• Add Content – The content on your site is valuable, and is chock full of information for search engines. Make sure that the content on your site is related to the keywords you want to be ranked on.
• Generate Traffic – The traffic you generate from an optimized site will continue to feed your SEO ranking and ultimately help drive more traffic.
• Online Marketing – Consider some paid search advertising to target your audience, and guarantee yourself a space at the top of search results.
• Link Building – Provide links to affiliated sites and sites that offer services that your customers may need, but you don’t offer. It’s important to play nice with other websites.

Useful Links

Finally, here are some links to my favorite SEO tools and resources. Explore and enjoy!

• Google’s Keyword Analyzer
• Google Webmaster Tools
• SEOMoz
• Search Engine Land
• SEOBook

For a more in-depth look at Search Engine Optimization (SEO) please watch the Make Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Work for You PhotoBiz Live webinar or call our Passionate Support^® Team and ask to speak to an SEO Specialist!