Four ways to optimize your website for organic link building

April 30, 2012 by 32 Comments

This is a guest post by Danielle Rodabaugh.

Organic link building is one of the easiest ways to garner links to your website in a way that improves its SEO ranking. To attract organic links, you’ll have to maintain a well-developed website that Google bots and users alike respect. Don’t worry; although doing so requires an initial investment on your part, it’s not as intimidating as it sounds. As an online marketing coordinator, I’d like to share four tips that will improve your website’s ability to attract organic links from outside sources.

1. Feature quality SEO keywords.

Every page should feature a unique title tag that includes valuable SEO keywords. If your company sells shoes in Los Angeles, the title tag on every page should say something like “Buy shoes in Los Angeles” as a way to attract Google bots to your site. Each title tag should be unique, so use the rest of the tag to specify the unique content found on each page, such as “black sandals,” “tan heels” or “brown boots.”

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Body copy should include a wide array of your top SEO keywords. However, be careful not to use keywords too frequently on each page because Google will penalize you for over-optimizing your text. The key is to vary the keywords you use on each page.

Internal links should connect Google bots and users to many other pages on your website. When developing content for real business results, choose your anchor text carefully. It should always link somewhere that benefits you while also helping users find additional information.

2. Hire a professional writer.

Google bots might only be interested in the word combinations you feature throughout your site, but users will actually care about the quality of content you provide. We’ve all stumbled upon highly ranked websites that feature poorly written content. This typically produces instantaneous feelings of disapproval and distrust in the website. By hiring a professional writer to help you improve your website’s content, you’ll give readers well-written information they can easily understand and appreciate.

3. Apply a professional design.

Just because you provide well-written, informational content doesn’t mean that your users will read it. You’ll have to draw them in with your site’s design. If you don’t have the skills to develop a clean, professional and engaging design on your own, then hire a web developer to help you out.

4. Verify your website’s usability.

Your website must not only provide helpful, well-written content that’s presented in an appealing manner; it must also be easy for users to navigate. Here’s a simple way to test your website’s usability: make a list of five or so tasks you want every visitor to be able to accomplish, then ask a few friends or family members to complete them. If they’re unable to navigate to certain pages or fill out lead forms quickly and easily, reevaluate how effective your website is and consider ways that could make it more effective.

These steps might seem intimidating at first, and they certainly might take a while for you to implement. However, if you complete all of these steps, the outcome will be worth your effort. By offering well-written, SEO-rich content that’s presented in an appealing and usable way, you’ll build a strong web presence that provides increased visibility for your website. When Google bots value your website’s content and how it’s organized, its SEO rankings rise. When your SEO rankings rise, users can find your website more easily. When users and other website owners respect your website, they recommend it via links.

Danielle Rodabaugh is the online marketing coordinator at SuretyBonds.com, a nationwide surety bond producer. Danielle has managed the company’s online branding since 2009. SuretyBonds.com is currently one of the nation’s most recognized bond companies.

Filed Under: Marketing

Comments

  1. Bill Dorman says:
    May 1, 2012 at 2:40 am


    Twitter:
    Well, certainly sounds like very usable advice to me. Probably more applicable to my corporate site at http://www.lanierupshaw.com; but if you are going to be in the ‘game’ you might as well maximize your presence, right?

    Good to see you at Jens; did he have some pizza for you?
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    • Jens P. Berget says:
      May 1, 2012 at 9:53 am


      Twitter:
      I absolutely agree Bill. By the way, have you done any SEO for your corporate site?

      And do you get a lot of new clients from your corporate website?

      - it’s been a while since I’ve eaten any pizza, not sure what’s happening to me :)

      Reply
      • Bill Dorman says:
        May 1, 2012 at 4:12 pm


        Twitter:
        We have not done any SEO (I don’t think) for our corporate site. We have been trying to run it by committee and somebody really needs to take charge of it. That could be me, but it would mean all my personal stuff would probably have to go away; that has been my hesitancy to take the lead on it. It’s all about me, right?

        I haven’t rec’d any business directly from the website and not likely to do so. Since most of my clients are corporations that pay in the six figures for their insurance premium, it’s a little different process as the businesses are not usually seeking out an agent because they have plenty already crawling all over them.

        I would use it more for name and brand recognition so we are already ‘known’ when we make the call. We do have an ‘ideal’ client model and it works much better when we seek them out. If somebody is calling us, they usually have problems….and not in a good way.
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  2. Vin says:
    May 1, 2012 at 3:35 am


    Twitter:
    Great stuff here.

    In terms of keeping your site optimized, I like to use the ‘SEO Ultimate’ plugin for WordPress on all of my websites. It contains a handful of useful tools that make it easy to take advantage of all the on-site SEO factors that a webmaster needs to work on.
    Vin invites you to read.. Niche Site Keyword Criteria in 2012My Profile

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  3. Lisa says:
    May 2, 2012 at 12:05 am


    Twitter:
    It’s sometimes hard on a retail site to use less keywords, I know I’ve been using less lately but notice the competition still has a lot. I’m also been using more copy on product pages themselves more creatively. I sure hope it will help. Those are 4 great steps Jens.
    Lisa invites you to read.. What Is This SEO All About?My Profile

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    • Jens P. Berget says:
      May 3, 2012 at 8:11 am


      Twitter:
      Hi Lisa,

      I would want to use at least 10-20 important keywords (some long tail). And use different type of keywords as well, like some that are branded (highly targeted) and some that are a little broader, not exactly what you’re expecting in your business, but relevant. I would start out with 10, and do more research after a while.

      But it’s important to have a system, so you’ll check the ranks and have control of what you’re doing, so when a keyword drops in the serp, you’ll get noticed, and you can do something to get it back up.
      Jens P. Berget invites you to read.. Check Your Google Rank WeeklyMy Profile

      Reply
  4. Gisselle says:
    May 2, 2012 at 5:02 am

    This is definitely a great advice for us.. I guess everyone should be aware with this to bring their sites to success..
    Gisselle invites you to read.. Dealing With Panic AttacksMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Kathrine says:
    May 2, 2012 at 8:43 am

    Yes you are absolutely true and these are certainly matching to current update by Google. Because the days are gone when spun articles were the sharing some important in organic link building. Now a days search engine needs only unique and excellent content. Thanks for sharing this.

    Reply
  6. Joseph Hipolito says:
    May 2, 2012 at 10:46 am


    Twitter:
    Wow this plugin looks really great I want to use this, how can I download this one sir?
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  7. Aasma says:
    May 3, 2012 at 11:27 am


    Twitter:
    Nice points, When you build a website your main focus should be provide user friendly experience… which includes easy navigation of your websites, informative pages, use of attractive images. Once your visitors are satisfied with your website then you can easily promote your website on search engine.
    Aasma invites you to read.. ecommerce Website Design Development ServicesMy Profile (dofollow)

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  8. Andreas Pazer says:
    May 3, 2012 at 5:28 pm

    In terms of keeping your site optimized, I like to use the ‘SEO Ultimate’ plugin for WordPress on all of my websites. It contains a handful of useful tools that make it easy to take advantage of all the on-site SEO factors that a webmaster needs to work on.
    Andreas Pazer invites you to read.. 7 Steps to Better Blog EntriesMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  9. Adrienne says:
    May 8, 2012 at 5:49 pm


    Twitter:
    Great post Danielle and I know I still have not optimized my blog the way it should be properly. I guess you could just say this is not my area of expertise although I’m still learning.

    My blog isn’t really a corporate site so there won’t be any hiring of writers or designers for that matter but I can see where a lot of your tips are necessary for the little guy.

    I’ll eventually get there though…

    Reply
    • Jens P. Berget says:
      May 8, 2012 at 8:34 pm


      Twitter:
      Hi Adrienne,

      I have been thinking a lot about optimizing my blog as well. I have tried to add new categories, but there are at least two things I have been struggling with, and it’s not that it’s difficult to do, but it’s a bit time consuming. And that’s internal linking and fix broken links. I’m going to do both, but I am not sure when I’ll get started :)

      Reply
  10. Amir_uk_ says:
    May 16, 2012 at 8:29 am

    your article have a good content for better rank and it makes even non technical people to understand the entire process very well. you explained it very well.

    Reply
  11. michael says:
    May 24, 2012 at 11:01 pm

    I think with all the updates somtines we just need to get back to the foundation of seo… Great article
    michael invites you to read.. Water Softener PartsMy Profile

    Reply
  12. Amir_uk_ says:
    May 31, 2012 at 12:43 pm


    Twitter:
    I always prefer to put my page keyword before my site keyword as I feel it tells google that that keyword is more important on the page.thanks for this.

    Reply
  13. Headwise.net says:
    June 7, 2012 at 1:06 pm


    Twitter:
    Without On page seo don’t complete your web sites links building. When you complete On page seo search engine crawl your web pages. You need to Social media Optimize for quick response from search engine optimization.

    Reply
  14. Yasir Khan says:
    June 5, 2013 at 4:12 am

    It is always important to be visible on the web in order to get a good response to online marketing. It is therefore critical that you understand how you can increase your visibility and hence become more popular among browsers. SOme of the best organic link buildings are social bookmarking, blogging, guest posting and use of social media.

    Reply

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