Listed here are fourteen fundamental principles to be utilized to increase website traffic and search engine rankings.
1. Create a site with valuable content, products or services.
2. Place primary and secondary keywords within the first 25 words in your page content and spread them evenly throughout the document.
3. Research and use the right keywords/phrases to attract your target customers.
4. Use your keywords in the right fields and references inside your web page. Like Title, META tags, Headers, etc.
5. Keep your site design simple so that your customers can navigate easily between web pages, find what they desire and buy products and services.
6. Submit every web page and not just the home page, to the most popular search engines and directory services. Hire someone to do so, if necessary. Be sure this is a manual submission. Do not engage an automated submission services or software.
7. Keep track of changes in search engine algorithms and processes and accordingly adapt your web pages so your search engine ranking remains high. Use online tools and utilities to keep track of how your website is doing.
8. Monitor your competitors and the top ranked websites to find out what they are doing correctly in the way of design, navigation, content and keywords. If you don’t know who your competitors are, do an internet search for the keywords that apply to your website and see what other sites are in the top results. Remember, competition is vital to finding a niche that will attract buyers or clients.
9. Use reports and logs from your web hosting company to see the source of your traffic is coming from. Examine your visitor’s location and their incoming sources whether search engines or links from other sites and the keywords they used to discover you.
10. Make your customer’s visit straightforward and provide them plenty of ways to remember you in the form of newsletters, free reports, reduction coupons etc.
11. Demonstrate your industry and product or service expertise by writing and submitting articles for your website or for article banks (such as ezinearticles.com) to facilitate you are perceived as an expert within your field.
12. When selling products online, use trouble-free payment and shipment methods to make your customer’s experience fast and easy.
13. When in doubt, hire professionals. Though it may seem costly, but it is a lot less expensive than spending your money on a website that results in no visitors.
14. Don’t look at your website as a static brochure. Treat it as a dynamic, ever-changing sales tool and location, just like a brick and mortar store.
Mark Jungheim is the President of Vaultis, LLC an Internet Marketing and SEO consulting firm based in Las Vegas, Nevada. www.vaultis.com
