10 Tips About SEO That Every IT Department Should Know

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is essentially the science of being found on the Web. We say science because it involves a lot of testing, analyzing and laboratory-like experiments. Sometimes it just about takes your own algorithm to be found and placed by Google’s algorithm.

But don’t worry. We have created a succinct, easily digestible list of 10 tips that every IT department should know about SEO.

1. Search comes first. In the US, the two most popular search engines are Google and Bing. Be prepared to play by their rules.
2. No get-rich-quick schemes. Part of playing by the rules means avoiding gimmicks to jump ahead in the search rankings. Those are called black hat activities and you will be penalized for them.
3. Build a reputation with links. Think of links to your site from others as friends vouching for you. The more vouchers you have, and the more authority each friend has, the more search engines will trust you.
4. Social media matters. Audience size and participation also influences authority. If your voice attracts attention, search engines will also hear you.
5. Think like the searcher. What words will people search when they look for your company? Those words can be used to create phrases and those phrases are your (long tail) keywords.    
6. Use the keywords! One of Terminal’s long tail keywords is “Boston computer repair.” Visit our computer repair page to see if you can find it.  
7. But be modest. Overusing keywords will definitely cost you. Search engines don’t like spammy content and neither do potential customers.
8. Leave bread crumbs. Every page on your site needs to be within several clicks of the main page. If visitors can’t find buried pages, how will the search bots?
9. Draw a map. Sitemaps make it easier to for the bots to search. There are lots of free sitemap generators, but this one has worked for us.
10. Get audited. Terminal offers a variety of auditing services for your IT network and website. You have to know where the site stands before it can reach its potential.

Tips 11 to 100 are more complicated so let’s start with the top 10. Work on those then let us know when you are ready for more.

Happy searching.

Give Us a Call 617-731-6319 and Ask a Professional IT Support Technician Any Questions You May Have!