SEO

SEO in the Early Days

If you have visited my Build a Website page, you will get a glimpse of how things used to be with web development and how they evolved into a seamless effortless way of designing websites.  Just like with hand coding all of the HTML, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) also had to be done manually.  WordPress (WP) did not exist back then and you had to go into your HTML code and type in what is known as Metatags.  You had three types of metatags which had to be entered:

  • content
  • description
  • keyword

You had to enter into the heading of your Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) page the specific keywords you want Google to index as well as the specific content works and words to describe your website.  It took time and patience to think of all the possible words you could choose.

What is SEO? 

You may be asking, so exactly what is SEO?  SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it is the process which affects how much visibility your website has in the search engines.  It is sometimes referred to as the natural way to earn results and rankings. Ranking refers to your placement in the listing of specific keyword phrases a user enters into the Google search bar.  When designing websites, understanding SEO is critical in knowing how well you rank amongst your competition. When I use words like natural and earn, I am referring to the ethical way of using SEO, because there are many less-than-ethical means people will often times use to get high rankings from Goggle.

Ease of SEO 

Today, using a WP site, like this site which was built using it, there are a multitude of plug-ins which can be downloaded and installed.  One of the most common plug-ins is the All-In-One SEO plug-in which takes all the work and stress out of optimizing your site for Google and other search engines.  This plug-in will determine your keywords, description and content without having you think of them.  Does that mean you don’t have to worry at all about SEO?  No!  You do still have to keep it in mind when developing content. When you write your blog posts, for example, you want to center each post around a specific keyword phrase which will ultimately give you higher ranking within the search engines.

Another way to ensure you are getting as much traffic as possible is to always think about users who may have different abilities, language, culture or technology access.  Many individuals with disabilities need websites to be accessible to them so they can become a regular user and customer of your site as well.  There are many easy to implement techniques to make your website accessible so to create an equal access for all.  And when you get more people using your website, your rankings will undoubtedly increase as well.  You can view my tutorial on web accessibility for additional ideas.

The next section will answer the question, “How do I know what keyword phrases to write about?”

Tools to Help Build Rank

There are many different ways you can use to locate excellent keyword searches for you to develop content around.  There exists techniques which can give you clues as to what users are searching for within your niche idea.

  • Alphabet Soup

A technique known as Alphabet Soup is when you search within Google to uncover common keyword phrases.  You can conduct a “practice” or “pretend” search in Google by paying close attention to phrases that pop up underneath while you are typing in a keyword phrase.  For example, enter the words “dog weight loss” as shown here:

dog-weight-loss

Look at the phrases which populate underneath:

dog weight loss plan

dog weight loss food

dog weight loss diet

dog weight loss causes

dog weight loss pills

These phrases are all commonly searched keywords users entered when searching for websites pertaining to this particular niche.  This gives you a good idea of what type of keyword phrases you can focus on in your daily blog posts.

Now, let’s take it one step further and enter the letter “a” after dog weight loss, as shown here:

dog-weight-loss-a

Look at the phrases that pop up below:

dog weight loss and hair loss

dog weight loss app

dog weight loss and vomiting

dog weight loss and excessive thirst

dog weight loss after pregnancy

These phrases are also commonly searched phrases in Google and can lead to additional ideas for you.  Now, instead of “a” put “b” and go through the alphabet.  Hence, that is why this technique is called Alphabet Soup.

For more information and details on how to use this technique, you may view a Video on Alphabet Soup and discover more examples of how useful this technique is for developing excellent keyword searches.

Alphabet Soup Video
Click here to Watch Video on How to Do Alphabet Soup
  • Wealthy Affiliate Keyword Tool

There are also tools on the internet and programs you can explore which assist with generating keywords for use in your new website you are building.  One of the programs is Wealthy Affiliate, a program which offers a free membership as a starter member and with that you have access to the Keyword Tool and other useful video tutorials.

Jaaxy Unlimited Acces
Jaaxy Unlimited Acces
  • Jaaxy

Another tool that is available to help with keyword research is Jaaxy.  You can use this tool when you need to know what popular keyword phrases are out there. Jaaxy will show you how   common certain keyword phrases can be used to help you get indexed by Google and achieve top rankings on the search results.  You may use Jaaxy for FREE or order the upgraded version of either Pro or Enterprise.   Try searching using Jaaxy right now:


Please feel free to leave your comments or feedback below and I will reply shortly.
Please review my affiliate disclaimer.

Steph Hill

Greetings! It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Stephanie and the aim of this website is to help newcomers to the field of internet marketing by providing free easy-to-follow tutorials, product reviews and resources. I hope you find the information useful and down-to-earth. My background is in librarianship, technical writing, special education, software training and web design. Please leave a comment with your questions and I will be happy to answer them.

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13 thoughts on “SEO

  1. Hi Stephanie, nice article! I’m not much of a SEO expert, so I also use the All-in-one SEO plug-in and just let it do its work 🙂 I try to focus on writing my content, but it’s not always easy to come up with keywords. So I’m gonna try that alphabet soup thing a bit more to see if it gives me more inspiration 🙂 Cheers! Jurgen

  2. Hi Stephanie,

    Your website is a treasure trove of useful information. As a beginner in online marketing, I was having trouble lately to get my page ranked in google. After reading this article, I think SEO is the way for me to go. I found the Alphabet Soup method new and interesting. Thanks and I am looking forward to more articles from you about SEO.

    Best,
    Vijay.

  3. Stephanie,

    Great website! You obviously have put a lot of work into creating a website that is chocked full of useful information.

    I am currently having some problem with on page SEO so your article on that topic was definitely enlighting. I think I need to revisit some of my training because I feel like I missed something dealing with the use of keywords. Thanks for pointing out about the plugins for SEO. Do you know if the SEO plugins co-exist well with the All-in-One-SEO that I am already using?

    Thanks again for the tutorials because they will definitely come in handy for me. I am bookmarking your site because I will definitely be returning to learn about some other things.

    Job well done.

    1. Hi Verna:

      I am delighted I was able to shed some light on the topic of search engine optimization (SEO). I too struggle at times to find quality keywords and also you have to maintain them as well because what will be a high quality keyword today may not be next month or two. In answer to your question, you should only use one SEO plug-in. The All-in-One SEO plug-in is what I use and what I most recommend everyone using. Another popular SEO plug-in is Yoast but I tried using it and I deleted it and went back to using All-in-One SEO. The reason you should only use one SEO plug-in is because if you use more than one, they will compete with each other and neither will work well. Let me know if that makes sense or not.

      Thank you again for visiting my website. I am glad you have bookmarked this site so you can return to learn more.

      Steph

  4. Steph,

    Thanks for the lesson on SEO. Seems like Wealthy Affiliate or Jaaxy is the way to go when it comes to picking good keywords. It’s a good thing we don’t have to type everything in HTML code anymore :). I feel like I’d have to be careful in not watering down articles with keyword phrases that don’t fit. do you agree?

    1. Hi Brad:

      Yes, I would definitely agree with you in that we should never do what is known as “keyword stuffing” — Google picks up on that and will not like it when you do it. It is a form of cheating in order to try and get ranking. You want your writing to be natural and not phony. Wealthy Affiliate is a wonderful platform to learn how to conduct proper keyword research and how to build a website. Thank you so much for posting a comment today.

      Steph

  5. Your explanation of the SEO all in one plug-in got me to thinking if I have been using this plug-in. I will look at my site and see if I’m using this correctly.

    1. Hi Lynn:
      There are a number of SEO plug-ins available. If you are using WordPress, click on Plug-ins and in the right hand corner there is a search box. Enter the words “SEO” in the search box and you will get a list of SEO plug-ins. As a warning, some are better than others. Check to make sure the plug-in you select is compatible with your WordPress theme. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
      –Stephanie

  6. This is great information. I wish I had come across it about a week ago, but I’m so excited to be following now. You have a very good way with words. Thank you for publishing such a helpful, explanatory articles, not only this one, but the one on Affiliate Marketing.

    1. Hi Margie:

      Thank you so much for the kind words. I am glad you stopped by and made time to read the article on SEO. It is my intention to make what might seem complicated seem simple and easy to comprehend. I am delighted to hear you will be following. Please let me know if have any questions or any other feedback for me. Have a blessed day! –Stephanie

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