For most businesses, a position near the top of Google page one for the most popular search phrases will deliver a large bump in website traffic, inquiries, and revenue.

Efforts to increase a website’s ranking in the unpaid search results is called Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO. When done correctly, SEO is one of the best long-term marketing investments your company can make. Here are several high-impact SEO steps you can take:

1. Add Keyworded Content.

Use the Google’s free Keyword Tool to determine the most-searched, relevant keywords for your website. Write one 300-500 word article for each keyword phrase, using the phrase naturally in the headline and first and last sentence.

2. Optimize Your Code.

Use this same keyword phrase in each article’s title tag and meta description, utilizing relevant keywords. Make them brief but descriptive.

3. Improve URL Structure.

URLs, or domain names, should contain relevant keywords and simple structure so that search engines can better explore and index the website.

4. Add Sitemaps.

Use two sitemaps: one for users and one for search engines. The search engine sitemap should be submitted to Google’s Webmaster Tools.

5. Obtain Inbound Links.

The more links from other websites a site has, the more importance search engines will give it. The number of inbound links should: grow naturally over time, link to your interior pages as well as home page, come from sites with a variety of PageRanks (Google’s proprietary ranking system), and include anchor text containing your targeted keyword phrases. Writing articles and press releases are two techniques for obtaining links. Directly-reciprocal links (“you give me one and I will give you one”) will not help your site.

Need assistance boosting your website’s Google page position with SEO? Contact us at Bixa Media for personal service, monthly progress reports, and low rates.