What was once considered the norm in search engine optimization (SEO) has evolved dramatically over the past few years, and many of the tactics that were once considered white hat are now frowned upon by search engines like Google and Bing. With the goal of ensuring that web pages receive relevant search results, search engines will penalize sites that employ aggressive or manipulative tactics such as using overly keyword-stuffed articles or buying backlinks from shady sources. In order to avoid penalties and increase your ranking in organic search results, follow these 10 tips for white hat SEO.
Know your ranking goals
The first step to effective white hat SEO is understanding what your ranking goals are. What do you want to achieve with your website? Once you know your goals, you can start to put together a plan to achieve them.
How to do keyword research
The first step to any good SEO campaign is keyword research. You need to understand what terms people are searching for that relate to your business, and then you need to ensure that your website is optimized for those terms. Here are five tips for doing keyword research
Write great content with your keywords in mind
If you want to rank well in search engines, you need to start with great content. Write with your keywords in mind, but don’t sacrifice quality for the sake of cramming in a few extra keywords. Keep your readers in mind first and foremost, and the search engine rankings will follow.
Optimize meta descriptions
Although meta descriptions don’t hold as much weight as they used to, they’re still important for giving searchers a snapshot of what your page is about. Here are a few tips for optimizing your meta descriptions
Link building tips
- Make sure your site is linked to from your social media profiles, and that those links are high-quality.
- Reach out to other businesses and bloggers in your industry, and offer to guest blog or write a joint blog post. This will help you get exposure to a new audience, as well as get some high-quality backlinks.
- Create informative and shareable content on your sites, such as infographics, eBooks, or helpful blog posts.
Link prospecting methods
- Make a list of the websites you want to get links from. Consider the type of website, its PageRank, and its relevance to your own site.
- Find the contact information for each website. This may be listed on the website itself, or you may need to do a bit of digging to find it.
- Reach out to each website and introduce yourself. Be sure to mention your own website and why you think a link between the two would be beneficial.
Quality over quantity on social media platforms
In the world of SEO, white hat tactics are considered ethical and moral. This means creating quality content that adheres to search engine guidelines instead of trying to game the system. Here are 10 ways you can improve your search rankings ethically
Repurpose old blog posts using spinners
You can improve your search rankings by repurposing old blog posts. This can be done by using spinners to create new versions of old content. Spinners are a great way to create fresh content without having to start from scratch. Plus, they can help you target different keywords and improve your overall SEO strategy.
Optimize images and videos on your site
Optimizing your images and videos for search is a great way to improve your chances of ranking in Google Image and Video search. Here are a few tips
Add Google authorship to your site
Google Authorship is a quick and easy way to improve your search rankings. By adding your name and profile photo next to your articles in the search results, you can increase your click-through rate and drive more traffic to your site. Plus, it’s free and easy to set up! Here’s how:
- Go to the Google Authorship page and click Get started.
- Enter the URL of your website and click Generate tag.