Our Experts Weigh In: SEO Rules to Live, Love, and Learn
Each month NetSearch Direct receives a lot of valid questions regarding search engine optimization. We love the lively chats we have with our current and prospective clients, and best of all it allows us to flex our creative brains in new ways. Born from these chats, we’re listing a few rules to live by when venturing into any SEO situation.
1) Thou Shalt Be Consistent.
There’s nothing more confusing to a potential customer than a landing page with a modern feel that accompanies a decidedly old, and outdated site. The message here is clear: you were either talked into creating this new landing page, or you aren’t willing to invest the time (or money) to update your old site. Either way, mismatched pages look unprofessional, and when you’re vying for attention among your toughest competitors, image is everything. From an SEO standpoint, you want to be sure that, besides design, your landing page and website are mirroring the same core keywords. Sure, a few pages will be different, but the two should be able to be viewed independent of one another and still draw the same conclusion.
2) Thou Shalt Not Ignore the Homepage.
Sure, you’ve got great content on your featured pages, the About Us page, and all of your landing pages are singing in perfect harmony. But what about your homepage? Is it a hodgepodge of images and links to other portions of your site? Does your company’s core message come through? When viewed on its own, what does your homepage say about your business? Think of your homepage as the front door to your website. How should images and text be arranged? Is the most important information placed above the page fold? Is your contact information placed in a way that is obvious to the reader?
3) Thou Shalt Link Build…Nicely.
Avoid getting penalized by search engines and labeled a spammer when you trust your link building projects to rogue contractors. Always make sure that your link building is “White Hat SEO”; using only the most ethically responsible search engine optimization tactics to get rankings.
4) Thou Shalt Always Keep Improving.
The best SEO campaign managers are always looking for innovative ways to improve upon their client’s search engine rankings, expand keyword targets, and improve upon their client’s websites. At NetSearch Direct we employ a variety of means, and there are no shortage of great ideas and extremely useful tools that we have developed in order to get our client’s great traffic and even better results. Although it can get tough to wait for results, think of your SEO strategy like a well-groomed lawn. You wouldn’t burn up your manicured landscape for a few stray weeds or patches of crabgrass, right? Stay with your SEO strategy and keep planting fertilizing the campaign with new ideas. What you grow will reward your business with better profits, increased brand management, and lasting positive impressions from current and potential customers for years to come.
These are but four of our top SEO rules to live by, but stay tuned for future editions for more. Most importantly, keep those questions coming. If you’ve got a question for your SEO account manager, don’t hesitate to ask. And if you’re not a current client of ours, we’re happy to consult with you too. Happy SEO-ing!