As a blogger, getting search engine traffic is like heaven. It’s effortless, free traffic for a long time – but only if you do it right!
Optimizing your blog can get very complicated very quickly, so I’m gonna try to keep this as simple as possible. First off.. let’s discuss Keyword Effectiveness Index…
I’m kidding.. :0)
The first thing you need to understand is that long-tail keyword are 100x easier to rank for than short-tail keywords.
Here are some examples of long & short tail keywords:
- Very Short – SEO
- Short – SEO Tips
- Long – Easy SEO Tips
- Even Longer – Easy SEO Tips For Beginners
You can clearly see that the longer keyword phrase will easier to rank for because they lack competition. While everyone is trying to rank for “SEO Tips”, you can easily sneak up from behind and steal all the traffic for “Easy SEO Tips For Beginners”.
This next point is pretty obvious, but I’ll mention it anyway – Ranking for a long-tail keyword that doesn’t get searched for is like not ranking AT ALL.
The “trick” is finding these long tail keywords that actually get traffic, because what’s the point of ranking if you’re not getting visitors?
Like This Next Example From My Friday Post :0/
My Friday post included the keywords “Google Optimizer Sucks” – and when you check the search results for “Google Optimizer Sucks” I should be number 5 or 6 on page one of Google with over 800,000 other results that include a variation of that keyword.
Great results? …hardly
“Google Optimizer Sucks” doesn’t get many searches – if any – on a monthly basis. It wasn’t my goal to rank for this term (..it sorta just happened..) but it’s a great example of what you DON’T want to do.
Now, when you DO find a GOOD long tail keyword that gets traffic… here’s what you do
Here’s What Made Me Rank For “Google Optimizer Sucks”
- Use it IN your blog post 2 or 3 times
- Use it in your FIRST SENTENCE of the post
- Use it in your SUBHEAD
- Place it in your blog post TAGS
- Place it in your KEYWORD BOX
That’s it!. I hope this will help you rank better in the search engines.. I can say, with confidence, that it won’t hurt.
What Other QUICK SEO Tips Do You Think Others Can Benefit From? Please share them in the comments below, and as always, if you enjoyed this post – share it, retweet it, digg it, & stumble it.
Talk soon
Hector “The Alexa Director”
————–
Also, check out the best seo plugins you can add to your blog and find do follow blogs to build links, it helps with SEO.
32
Hey Hector,
Informative and useful tips as always!
That’s a good overview on long tail keywords and seo, especially the onpage seo list you have. I’ll be using those tips for sure.
Something to think about in terms of keywords is the quality of traffic too. Some long tail keywords rank well but bring traffic that’s untargeted or off niche so can be little return for your efforts.
Looking forward to more of your tips Hector.
Bailey
.-= Bailey Ing´s last blog ..Brilliant Blog Commenting & Why You Need To Pay Attention To These Guys. Period. =-.
Bailey
You’re 100% correct. Even though long tail keywords are easier, and most very targeted – sometimes you might run into a keyword that’s just a little OFF your niche and not targeted at all.
example: If your niche is video marketing for MLM’ers, ranking for “Small Business Video Marketing” might not be the most targeted traffic.
I’m glad you stopped by
Have a great week
Hector
Nice tip. SEO is art, and getting higher in SERPs is not very easy. Your experience is really useful. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Deluxe Blog Tips´s last blog ..Make URL Clickable In WordPress =-.
Hey, thanks for stopping by
..and you’re right – it’s not easy, but using long tail keyword makes it just a little easier.
Have a great week
Hector
Hi Hector,
Great SEO tips. Craft your post with a somewhat popular long tail keyword. It takes time to find the proper keyword which isn’t too competitive but the fruits of your labor are worth it!
I’m still trying to get down keyword density and placement; the last section of your post is exactly what I’m looking for.
Thanks!
Ryan
.-= Ryan´s last blog ..How Watching Seinfeld Can Make You A Better Blogger =-.
Ryan,
WordPress does a great job of helping us out with SEO, because of the source structure, our pages can be easily crawled by Search Engine Bots..
I’m glad the OnPage tips I showed you, helped you out.
Have a great week
Hector
Hector, I like how you write because you are concise and make great points that can be applied in a practical manner. I have been using these strategies you mentioned with great success. So, just consider this as a “thumbs up” for your info and a testimonial that your tips do indeed work! Keep it up!
Walk Worthy and Choose a great day! Dotti
Dotti,
Thanks for your awesome comment.. ..and for helping me prove that these strategies DO work..
Glad you stopped by
Have a great week
Hector
Hector “The Alexa Director”,
I love the nick name. I have been following your blog for awhile now and the content you provide is stellar. Keep charging my friend, looking forward to what you come out with next.
Jesse
Jesse..
I have to thank Steve Shoemaker for the nickname. :0)
You have no idea how good that makes me feel.. Thank you so much for your comment. I’ll be sure to keep providing cool stuff for you guys
Have a great week
Hector
Hey Hector,
I love it! Showing an example of what not to do, and then doing a good job of it is just classic
Seriously though, really good tips. Long tail keywords get you better quality visitors and leads too. Some one searching long keywords is most likely someone who’s already past the lookey-loo stage and is searching for some quality info.
BUT… putting your keywords in tags and keyword box – doesn’t that mean you’re revealing your keywords to the competition?
Live Large,
Wayne
.-= Wayne Wu´s last blog ..Need Money? Then DON’T Get Into Network Marketing! =-.
Wayne…
Haha.. It’s kinda like a “Good” mistake.
Yea.. you kinda are revealing them to your competition, but that’s when you hit your post with the offpage stuff – (a.k.a link building) and that’s what truly makes a difference in your ranking according to Matt Cutts..
Plus, if you look at the search results for Google Optimizer Sucks – it’s not my page that’s ranking highly, but my tag..
Have a great week
Hector
All’s I Can Say Is “WOW”!!! Once again you have hit it out of the park! Thanks for the insight and great content.
Hey Frank,
Thanks for stopping by bro. I’m glad you found the info useful
Have a great week
Hector
Hector,
Once again my friend, you drop some golden nuggets of wisdom.
Love the nickname too!
(Hector “The Alexa Director”)
It’s definitely important to do a little bit of homework when trying to rank for specific keywords and you’ve outlined some great steps to do that.
Thanks again for the consistent value!
- Yo
.-= Yo Le´s last blog ..The 2 To 5 Year Game Plan Is Officially Dead… =-.
Yo..
Steve Shoemaker gave me that nickname – cool guy
Yea.. I didn’t really get into keyword research too much, but it’s definitely an important step.
thanks for stopping by bro
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector,
Another great post man. Seo is something that is really key for blogging.
Hey I’m curious man, what are you using for keyword searching.
Cheers bro.
Btw, found this on fb from Yo after he syndicated from TUT!
.-= Ryan Yokome´s last blog ..Be Yourself on Facebook; Everyone Else Is Already Taken =-.
Ryan,
I use Traffic Travis often – it’s a really good software. Sometimes I just stick with Google’s Keyword tool.
Thanks for stopping by.. and for letting me know about Yo, I’ll thank him later :0) – the U.T is awesome
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector,
Great post… after 3 weeks of blogging, I said to my self: “you gotta start learning how to use keywords and tags, and where to use them.
Thanks Hector… “again”
Coach Freddie
.-= Coach Freddie´s last blog ..Bringing Back The American Dream =-.
Freddie,
I’m glad I could help.. they’re very important
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector,
Too funny… you give an example of what you did (accidentally, sure
j/k), and then use that as an example of what NOT to do.
Good stuff, as usual!
Hope you had a great weekend!
Susanna
.-= Susanna Hess´s last blog ..#1 MLM Marketing Strategy- Results Are In! =-.
:0 IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!.. lol..
You’re hilarious Susanna… I see you enjoyed the post..
thanks for stopping by
talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector, like the blog. Although I knew the stuff on seo above, I liked the way you presented it. Some real practical content instead of all this mindset stuff that bores me to tears.
Cheers
Nic
.-= Nic Penrake´s last blog ..Bank Big Commissions Working With YourNetBiz =-.
Hey.. thanks Nic,
Mindset is a great topic (in moderation) :0) – glad you stopped by and commented bro..
talk soon
Hector
Hector you are really living up to the moniker. You pass along so much great value in your posts I love reading them and learning from them. Between you and my other research I should be an SEO specialist in no time!
Steve Shoemaker
.-= Steve Shoemaker´s last blog ..Article Marketing Basics For Business Building =-.
Steve..
SEO Specialist.. lol – You can start charging the big bucks soon.
Be sure to send me the change..
thanks for stopping by bro
talk soon
Hector
Good stuff Hector as per usual. I was interested to read that you suggest putting keywords into tags. I have been hearing form a lot of bloggers not to do that. I guess it’s back to do what works for you and leave others to their one devices.
~Marcus
.-= Marcus Baker´s last blog ..Magnetic Sponsoring | MLM Review =-.
Thanks Marcus,
Well.. I guess the only reason you wouldn’t want to would be because everyone can see your keywords.. but I don’t fear competition – BRING IT ON!!
Plus.. the reason I was on page 1 wasn’t because of my post – it was the TAG that holds that page 1 ranking..
thanks for sharing your thoughts
talk soon
Hector
Good stuff Hector.
Per Marcus above. I am not sure why not putting your keywords in tags is not a good idea. Isn’t that what tags are suppose to be?
.-= Peter Fuller MBa´s last blog ..Secrets of greatness: Practice and hard work bring success =-.
Peter..
Well, the ALL-In-One SEO plugin has a keyword box where you can enter your keywords, so I put them there first.
This is what I told Marcus.. “I guess the only reason you wouldn’t want to would be because everyone can see your keywords.. but I don’t fear competition – BRING IT ON!!
Plus.. the reason I was on page 1 wasn’t because of my post – it was the TAG that holds that page 1 ranking..”
Hope that helps.
Talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector!
Great post once again! I love it that someone else writes titles not just for the purpose of a keyword phrase, sometimes I just have trouble reconciling a killer headline with it’s keyword rendition (which may not be so ‘catchy’).
Sometimes I just fail to think about keywords and want to write out my ideas. Than I later go back and optimize… well at least I get to it eventually!
But getting back to your post, you have some great value here, I will certainly check your list next time to be sure I cover all the bases!
Thanks and have a great day!
Vicki
.-= Vicki Berry´s last blog ..Three Keys to Improving Your SEO =-.
Vicki my friend..
I will never.. EVER substitute a ‘catchy’ headline for an OPTIMIZED headline. Reason being – no matter how well optimized your posts are, people aren’t gonna want to read them if they’re written for the search engines..
If I can tell something’s written for the bots, I’m sure other people can tell as well.. This is why I didn’t mention title of the post in my list.
Is it effective – YES, of course it is.. – Would I jeopardize 350+ visitors, and 25-35 comments because I wanted the BOTS to like it – NO..
Just my 0.02 cents, thanks for stopping by Vicki – you always leave the most thought invoking comments – thank you for that
Talk soon
Hector
Hector, you content is great. It is so great to see so many amazing new blogs pop up on the subject of Network Marketing. I recently added you to MLMURLS.com and look forward to following your blog on a regular basis.
.-= Ty Tribble´s last blog ..Google, YouTube and Squidoo Hate Your MLM =-.
Ty..
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate the addition to MLMURLS..
Hope to see you around
Talk soon
Hector
Great post Hector. This gives all of us a better understand of what to put on our blogs to rank better on Google as well as other search engines. I’ve heard of long tail and short tail but you explain it a lot better. I’ll go ahead and forward this post. Thanks again.
Sherman
.-= Sherman Smith´s last blog ..FREE WAYS TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS =-.
Sherman,
Thanks a lot for sharing it – I’m glad I could help.
Talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector, seems this subject is our never ending nightmare
But its fun and makes me feel competing to the whole world and myself!!
But you’re right – its one thing to hit the first page with high competition but another thing to be the first with keyword with high search volume..
Thanks for great explanation!
Talk soon,
Milena
Milena,
You’re very welcome.. and yea, SEO can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but it’s just another challenge we need to overcome.
thanks for sharing your thoughts
Talk soon
Hector
Search Engine Optimization is , in reality, easy and your help will surely help any Imer. Already bookmarked!
Meredith,
thanks for bookmarking..
Talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector thanks for the usefull info. I have written an article on optimizing wordpress blogs that that defines the formula. Your readers may want to see it here!
http://martyware.com.au/googles-keyword-formula/
Marty Ware
Online Management & SEO Consultant
.-= Marty Ware´s last blog ..My Unified Tribe Strategies =-.
Marty.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing that article with us.
Talk soon
Hector
Hector, I love how your posts are so straight forward and to the point and full of good information. I mean a couple of SEO points and boom your done. Love it!
~Erin Smith
.-= Erin Smith´s last blog ..10 Blogging Tricks To Really Jump-Start Traffic! =-.
Thanks Erin..
I like to keep things short & sweet.. glad you enjoyed it
Talk soon
Hector
Hector,
You rock!!! This is great information and I will put this to use with the Market Samurai tool I use (in researching and selecting keywords).
It’s so important to get in the habit of SEO and how to incorporate this into blog posts.
Thanks for sharing these simple steps that should be followed.
Awesome stuff!
Have a great day!
~Andie Petoskey
Andrea,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.. Market Samurai is a great tool for keyword research..
you’re very welcome, and I hope they
Talk soon
Hector
Short sweet and to the point… Long tailed keywords , throw in a couple of backlinks and You should be good to go.
Helpful stuff Hector,
*Jonathan Sweeting*
Jonathan,
Totally agree… backlinks are very powerful when it comes to SEO
Talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector!
Keyword research was not easy at the beginning for me, I had a huge confusion about going for long tell keywords instead of short. You explained things in such a precise way that you make things so much simpler to understand. That’s why I love coming back to your blog
Keep up the great work!
Katherine
.-= Katherine Droguett´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
Katherine,
Short, Simple & Sweet.. You like it.. I like it. I’m happy..
Thanks for stopping by, always appreciate your comments
Talk soon
Hector
P.S thanks for the fan page message.. it was great!
Hey Hector,
Do you have an opinion of commission blueprint? I am wondering how it compares to market samurai. I figure I should ask an SEO expert like yourself before investing in either program. I have a wordtracker account but I find it difficult finding good keywords that you can actually make a blog or article out of.
Hey Jesse..
Commission Blueprint (as far as I’m concerned) is not a software program to find keywords. It’s an affiliate marketing course. Market Samurai is a great tool and I highly recommend it..
Wordtracker – I haven’t used, so I can’t give you my opinion about it. When starting a blog, it’s good to just start writing content. Don’t worry about SEO til later.
First get into the flow of writing everyday or every 2 days.. then start doing your research to attack those long tail keywords.
hope that helped
Hector
That’s right… Longer keywords are better if you’re getting started. It is almost impossible to optimize a site on just “SEO”. There are a lot of longer keywords that still get traffic.
.-= John´s last blog ..How much do you sacrifice? =-.
You’re right John.. you just need to go find them – that’s the ‘work’ part people try to avoid :0)
Talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector,
Great tips like always, you are right that it is easy to get indexed on long term keywords. Thanks for sharing.
Talk soon,
Jiri Majkus
Internet Marketing Coach and Author
.-= Jiri Majkus´s last blog ..Great Way To Recruit People To Your Network Marketing Company Literally Overnight =-.
Thanks for stopping by Jiri
Talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector,
thanks for your great ideas. The challenge seems to be to find a balance between a keyord that is long enough and having enough searches at the same time.
Take care
Oliver
.-= Oliver Tausend´s last blog ..How to Add the Notes Box with your Blog Feed to Your Facebook Profile =-.
You’re right Oliver.. that’s where the real work begins.. thanks for stopping by
Talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector,
Thanks for sharing this information. SEO is such a huge topic that I really appreciate seeing the simplified, nutshell version. T’is much easier to quickly digest
Thanks again,
Linnea
.-= Linnea´s last blog ..Creating Compelling Content =-.
Linnea,
I’m glad this was easier to swallow.. SEO can get a bit complicated at times.. but these tips can get you started on the right path..
thanks for stopping by
Talk soon
Hector
Hector,
Thanks for sharing some SEO Tips, Love to take full advantage of anything that can help get up the rankings with keywords on the search engines.
.-= Chris Bernardo´s last blog ..How to have a Successful 30 Day Challenge – From Day 1 =-.
Glad to help Chris
thanks for stopping by
Talk soon
Hector
Once again, another great post! Thank you so much for all of the valuable information! As a new blogger all of this information is like gold, and you make it so concise and easy to understand.
Thank you!
Stacy
.-= Stacy´s last blog ..Who Are You Becoming? =-.
Hey Stacy..
Thanks for your comment.. I’m glad I could help
talk soon
Hector
Hector, awesome post. I tend not to concentrate on SEO as much as I should and these easy tips help a bunch. Thanks for sharing.
~BT
.-= Brian Tomlinson´s last blog ..Entrepreneurship – How To Find Your Purpose in Business =-.
Hey Brian,
Yea man.. these tips are easy to implement in the meantime.. thanks for stopping by
Talk soon
Hector
Hey Hector,
Not sure if you ever got my other comment. So I’m sharing it with you again.
These are great SEO tips. One other tip is to use the Alt and Title tags on your images. This will also help increase your SEO ranking for relevancy.
Have a great day,
Jerome Ratliff
.-= Jerome Ratliff´s last blog ..Another Blogging Tip That Will Increase Your Prospect to Lead Conversion Rate =-.
Hey Jerome,
No.. I didn’t get the other comment, but I really appreciate you posting it again.. you’re a cool dud
ALT tags.. YES.. wow I should’ve added that one – it’s simple, easy and fast.. thanks for sharing that with the community
Talk soon
Hector
Great stuff! Keep it coming. I never thought of putting the keyword in the keyword box. Now that I think about it, it makes sense.
.-= Cara and Jennifer Oberfoell´s last blog ..Get Into Action – Decreasing Networking Success Doubts =-.
Hey Cara,
Yup.. it really does help – thanks for stopping by
Talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector, thanks for the tips I shall make sure I use them on all of my future blogs posts, not getting much love from google lately! Sally
.-= Sally´s last blog ..Five Commandments Of Blog Hopping =-.
Sally,
Hopefully these tips will help you get some Google love..
Talk soon
Hector
Hi Hector, thanks for the tips I shall make sure I use them on all of my future blogs posts, not getting much love from google lately! Sally
.-= Sally´s last blog ..Five Commandments Of Blog Hopping =-.
Hey Emily,
Start using these tips and doing the proper keyword research and Google will start showing you some luv
thanks for your comment
talk soon
Hector
I think by far the best backlinking technique is to build link wheels, by hand, and string them together yourself, all these automated software programs leave too many footprints, my two cents anyways
Hey
Automated software aren’t as powerful as they used to be, but some work better than others
thanks for stopping by
talk soon
Hector
Really interesting stuff. I am getting 60% traffic from long tail keywords.
Real estate websites´s last post ..Businesses expand to include Website in their product mix with no technical experience
Hey.. thanks for stopping by & commenting
talk soon
Hector
I LOVE it when my SEO ninja tactics work!
Ranked on the first Youtube page for “fire your boss” in 2 days with my latest blog post! The next closest video was put up 3 months ago and most of the rest were all about 1 year ago.
For the keyword “tips to fire your boss” I instantly ranked 2nd on the first page of Google and my video shows up just below it.
SEO tactics are a great way to introduce new viewers to your personal brand!
Amanda´s last post ..5 Tips To Help You Fire Your Boss (I Just Did)
Hey.. congrats Amanda,
Those are great results – and yes I totally agree, there’s nothing better than exposing your content to new eyes, and getting brand new loyal readers.
thanks for sharing
talk soon
Hector
Thanks. I’m always very much interested in posts and info about website search engine optimization. You can’t predict where you will discover a fresh approach (well, new to me at least). Although there will almost always be essential Search engine optimization techniques, a tiny fine-tune here and there, and your web site may get a lot better search positions. If you are using WordPress having the most suitable plug ins as well as a really good premium template can help your Search engine optimization. It is also extremely important to keep up to date with the changes in internet search engine algorithms.Best wishes
Hi Hector thanks for the SEO tips I went for the long tail and I an ranking good but I don’t have a lot of visitors most of the visitors are repetitive visitors do you think I went too low as I went mainly for the Author and the Product
weight loss keyword instead do you think my avoiding competition is the main reason I don’t have a lot of visitors?
Loseweightfast´s last post ..Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle PDF Download Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle PDF