Knowing the keywords you’d like to be known for is critical for attracting “organic” traffic to your site, but that’s only one part of the equation. You also have to use your keywords strategically.

Page Titles or Subjects

If you’re tempted to use cute, clever blog post titles, keep this in mind: The subject is the keyword field to which Google and other search providers give the most weight. Don’t waste that space with a clever turn of phrase. Instead, be clear and concise, and say exactly what your article or post is about.

Sub-Headings

Everyone today is in a hurry. We rarely read an entire article from start to finish. Instead, we “skim” it for the most important points before deciding if we want to invest the time in a more complete reading. If your post or article is more than a few paragraphs long, be sure to include sub-headings to give the skimmers an overview.

Not only are you providing time-pressed visitors a birds-eye view but sub-headings also tell the search engines what your content is about. Be sure to use your keywords strategically in your sub-headings so Google (and others) know how to classify your posts.

Image Titles and File Names

Search for nearly anything on Google, and you’ll see images appear at the top of the search results. These images will almost always have file names and titles that correspond to the keyword you’ve searched.

You can—and should—make use of your chosen keywords by naming any images appropriately and setting the titles and alt attributes to clearly describe what the image is.

Meta Descriptions

The meta description is the snippet of text that shows up below a listing in Google and other search engines. With WordPress, you can either explicitly declare a meta description with the use of a plugin such as WordPress SEO by Yoast or let Google decide what to use.

While the meta description itself has no weight when it comes to your search results placement, it can have a great deal of impact on whether or not someone clicks through to your site. Take care to write a compelling description that contains the keyword you want to be found for.

Inbound Links

As you’re creating new blog posts and pages on your site, it’s a good idea to link from one to another. This serves two purposes: it helps readers learn more about a subject, and it helps the search engines find and explore other content on your site. In both cases, it’s helpful to use keywords as the “anchor text” for these links. It’s a clear declaration to both human and non-human readers that the content linked to is about a specific subject.

Content

It should go without saying that including keywords in your content is important not only for search engines but for readers, too. But don’t make the mistake of using the same phrase over and over again. Doing so will turn your readers off.

Instead, use variations of your keyword throughout the text of your article. You won’t bore your readers, plus you’ll reinforce your main point with the search engines, which are now smart enough to recognize synonyms and rank your content accordingly.

Don’t worry if you don’t get your SEO perfect right out of the gate. It can take time to properly optimize a website for search—and some would argue that it’s a never-ending job—but do keep these 6 areas in mind for every post you make and your site will be much easier to find in a search.

The post 6 Places to Use Keywords to Make Your Content More Visible appeared first on ReviewsPop.

Whew! That’s a lot of jobs for a single website to do. If you choose a versatile content management system such as WordPress though, you can easily incorporate those tasks and so much more.

Fast and Easy Website Setup

In the time it takes to finish your morning coffee, you can have a website created and live on the Internet using WordPress. Most hosting companies offer “one-click installs” for WordPress, meaning it will take only about 5 minutes to create your website. From there, it’s a matter of choosing a theme and adding content.

Even if you’re not technically inclined, WordPress is simple to use. And with a huge, helpful community of users, you can quickly find the answer for everything from “how do I install WordPress” to “how can I create a membership site” with just a Google search.

Your Site, Your Style

With thousands of free and premium themes available, it’s easy to find a look that’s just right for your brand and business. Want something more customized? Many themes offer easy, drag-and-drop editing of layouts, colors and more, but if you want something designed just for you, there are thousands of capable developers to build you a custom design.

Plugins Add Greater Flexibility

Originally designed as a blogging platform, WordPress earned its early popularity by making this rather technical chore easy for thousands of new bloggers. Today it’s no longer known as just a blogging tool. Instead, site owners use WordPress as the basis for:

• Shopping carts

• Membership sites

• Sales pages

• Wikis

• Personal journals

• Online directories

• Non-profit fundraising

• Video blogging

• Podcasting

• News sites

• Recipe blogs

• Photography sites

• And dozens of others

The combination of themes and plugins—small software add-ons that install directly into your WordPress site—make the possibilities nearly endless, so no matter what you need a website to do, chances are good that WordPress can handle it.

The post The Only Website Builder You’ll (Probably) Ever Need appeared first on ReviewsPop.

A blog is an easy, cost-effective method of being found by the exact people who most need, want, and are willing to pay for your services. But only if you have a good strategy in place first.

Know Your Keywords

These are the search terms your ideal client is using to find answers to her questions. When you know what your keywords are, you can easily create blog posts that will:

• Attract the right visitors to your site

• Position you as the expert in your niche

• Make it easy for your ideal client to find—and get to know—you and your services

Write for People

While it’s important to know and use keywords in your blog posts, it’s even more important that you write your content with people in mind over search engines. Your blog should be engaging, informational, and even entertaining, but above all else it must be readable.

Be Consistent

Content marketing—and blogging, by extension—is very much a numbers game. The more content you produce, the greater your results will be. That means setting—and sticking to—a content production schedule is a must.

For most websites, a weekly schedule is both attainable and sufficient to build a steady stream of traffic.

Keep Long-Term Goals in Mind

Blogging is not a fast business-growth strategy but it is excellent for long-term sustainability. Those posts you write this month will continue to work for you many years from now, bringing in more and more traffic and potential clients.

Use Good SEO Practices

Aside from keywords, great bloggers know there are many techniques you can use to bring in more readers, including:

• Link out to authority sites from within your blog

• Link internally to other, related content on your own sites

• Use graphics and sub-headlines to break up long text passages

• Take the time to write compelling meta descriptions

• Create content that other sites will link to

Get the Word Out

Each new blog post is an opportunity to be seen, so take the time to share your content socially, and encourage your readers to do the same. Share your post on your Facebook page, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and anywhere else your ideal client is likely to see it.

Mix It Up

Not every post has to be a 3,000 word article. Include other types of content as well, such as:

• Video

• Infographics

• Curated content

• Short opinion pieces

• Audio

Have Fun with It

Above all else, have some fun. Inject your personality into your blog. Not only will you more easily attract your ideal client but you’ll enjoy blogging a lot more if you use your authentic voice. And the more you enjoy it, the more likely you will remain consistent as well.

The post Blogging Basics: How to Get More Eyes on Your Website appeared first on ReviewsPop.