SEO Site Optimization

What is SEO

Search Engine Optimization

Many believe it's trickery to trick search engines into ranking #1 in a natural search. What's a natural search? It's a general search on the topic at hand and not something specific on your site. In short SEO is optimizing your site to rank well with the search engines. This includes filling in your meta data, description, keywords, titles, file names and so on. Yes it's tedious, boring work but somebody's got to do it.

What to Do
The main thing to do is have well written, relevant text. Use the proper amount of keywords but don't overdo it. Use the proper heading tags, H1, H2, H3 and so on. Include alternative text for all of your links and images. try to get as many inbound links as possible, this conveys importance to the search engines.
Typing on Laptop Computer

Stay away from 'keyword stuffing' as that will probably lead to more bad than good. Google frowns upon trying to game the system, naturally written text seems to be the consensus these days.
Happy Woman on Laptop

Content is King

No truer statement has ever been spoken. Don't take my word for it, just type that into a search and see what the experts say.

Don't burn yourself out on design. That's why I use RVSitebuilder Pro, It takes most of the design process out of the equation leaving me the time and energy to write. Remember, I like to write and write, then write some more. I'm a terrible perfectionist and if I start designing a site from a blank white page, I'll be there forever perfecting it and by the time I'm done with the design I don't feel like writing a single sentence. I've actually done this and ended up abandoning the site for lack of interest.

Optimal Keyword Density

The experts say to stay away from this approach and I'd have to agree. It's hard to write content that way and it starts to become unnatural. The search engines like natural flowing text as if you were speaking to someone and explaining things personally. I've actually published a site that way in my early days, it was hard to do because you're always concentrating on keywords. I much prefer to write naturally.

Don't get caught up in all the technical stuff. If it's you're first site, get it published and worry about the semantics later, you'll be much happier that way.

As I stated, I'm no expert. I've done tons of research but still no expert. Hopefully this page will get you started on SEO and its importance. Do some research yourself and find the things that are in your comfort range to optimize your site. You'll definitely be glad you did when you show up on page one in a google search.

Responsive Design

What is responsive design? Technically it means web design that automatically adjusts itself to be viewed properly on whatever device you may be viewing it on. If you're on a mobile device, tablet, laptop or desktop, the web page will adjust to that width without the need for scrolling or pinching. Some say to design a separate mobile site as well as a site that works on laptop/desktop but I don't know about this, as publishing two sites with the same content would be duplicate content which would penalize you in search results and we are talking about SEO, so I'm not sure about this approach. RVSitebuilder does an excellent job at responsive design and is one of the many reasons I use it.
Why am I talking about responsive design on a page about SEO? Because google rewards sites that are mobile friendly and ranks those sites above those that aren't. Is that a big deal? I think so, since it's estimated that one third of all internet searches are done on a mobile device.

Is it Worth It?
You may ask is it really worth it? Of course it is. Do you want all of your hard work to go to the wayside or do you want people to actually read what you have to offer. It's a lot of work building a web site and if you want to monetize it then you need traffic. Even if you're not about monetization, you still want people to read your work right? Or notice your organization, recognition is always worth the effort. There's nothing that makes me happier than showing up on the first page of google or at least in the first five or ten pages, although most people including myself don't go beyond the first page. I'll go to page ten sometimes but I really have to be interested in the topic. Ask yourself, how far do you go when searching for something?

Originally published on 1-25-16
Updated on 2-15-16

Make Good Use of Your Time

Remember a web site is a work in progress and should never be considered completed. In fact if you say, I'm done with this site, you can bet on one thing, that your site will shortly be done as far as the search engines go.

You're much better off taking your time and doing bits as you can. Don't work your tail off thinking you need to finish. Search engines don't like when tons of pages are uploaded all at once and then no new information is ever added. It's much better to keep your content fresh by adding pages here and there, look at as natural updating.

Publish one page a day, one page a week or even a single page each month, that will keep the search engines coming back to your site looking for new content. Of course the spider bots can be told to come to your site every so often, not all sitebuilders have that meta capability. For instance, this site builder does not have that, so to keep google and others coming back I must publish new content on a regular basis and keep this site updated. I personally prefer this method as it urges me to stay fresh and on top of things. Otherwise, I get lazy and stop writing.

Don't Get Discouraged
Maybe you don't have a lot of spare time, that's OK, keep plugging along, eventually you'll reach your goal. This site has been in the works for so long I don't even want to think about it. Financial problems, then medical problems but I'm finally getting it published. Yay!

Have Fun!

If you love to write as I do, have fun with it. To me writing is relaxing and I feel best when I'm doing it.