5 Tips for Using SEO

March 11, 2011 at 11:20 PM

How do you drive traffic to your Web site? If someone Googles your organization’s name are they directed to your Web site? The best and cheapest way to make your Web site more visible is through search engine traffic.

Keywords and keyword phrases are the terms readers are entering into search engines to gather information and stay informed.The following 5 tips will help you understand how to use keywords and your Web sites metadata to drive traffic.

1) Understand SEO. SEO stands for search engine optimization and is the use of various techniques to improve a web site’s ranking in the search engines and therefore attract more visitors.

2) Identify Keywords. Figure out quality SEO keywords for your specific website. SEO keywords should be a single word or a phrase that consists of two to three words. These keywords should directly correlate to the content of your website. Do not use keywords that are of no relevance in an attempt to trick search engines. This will not provide the kind of traffic you want on your site.

3) Develop Content. Write content on your website that utilizes the selected SEO keywords. You want to use the keywords often in your writing, while not changing the meaning of the content or having it read unnaturally. The SEO keywords should be used at least twice per paragraph; use this strategy to determine the best keywords for your Web site. The proper keywords will begin to stand out as you develop your content.

4) Use Metadata. Add the SEO keywords into all areas of your website. Not only should the SEO keywords be included in the content, but these keywords should be in the titles, meta titles, meta descriptions, image descriptions, link tags, etc.

5) Evaluate. Use Web site analytics to evaluate which SEO keywords are driving traffic to your website. Using strategies such as google analytics you can determine which SEO keywords you should concentrate on and which ones aren’t worth the time and effort.

As nonprofits start to really focus on their Web presence, re-design their Web sites and integrate social media strategies the need for proper search engine optimization is critical.

Try this – Go to Google and Bing and search for yourself. Try 3 different searches: the name of your organization, keywords from your mission statement along with your city and state and the name of one of your programs. What are the first five Web sites generated from your search? Is your organization one of those?

Entry filed under: Communications, Social Media, Web Site Design. Tags: , , , , , , , .

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About the Author

Susan Douglas is a non-profit advisor, social media consultant, educator and trainer, software and donor database implementation specialist and all around guru for the non-profit community. Susan has worked in non-profit development and management for 13 years and is currently an affiliated partner for Non-Profit Partners.

Although Susan has spent the majority of her professional career building traditional fundraising and awareness campaigns, Susan is most passionate and excited about emerging new media and how these tools can help foster and nurture real relationships with community advocates on behalf of the non-profit organizations she serves.