Beginning SEO - From Zero to Ranking

[carlosreym]

I have been reading many post, watching videos and searching for answers. The problem I have is where to start...

What I have put together is, in no order:

Backlinks through Article Submissions
Directories
Relevant content on my site

If someone can direct me to a basic 'where to start' post or give your own ideas I would appreciate it.

History on my site. I went live with the LEC2 beginning of 2009, set up what I could but so busy that I could never focus on the basic fundamentals of a website which includes keywords, descriptions, and content.

[B]The question I have for the experienced[/B]..."if you had to start from the beginning but knowing what you know now...what would be your first steps on the road to ranking?"

Now I understand that there is SO MUCH MORE to placing higher in search engines than I could ever imagine. Trying to put all the information together is tough. I am considering hiring REW for some things but not even sure what to hire them for because I do not know what is more important.

[CLTMichael]

I personally would move your text up on your website. Your site needs a LOT more text.

Add more text here

http://www.nmwelcomehome.com/tanoan.php

Each page needs to go after a diff. keyword.

Also, link exchanges with other websites won't hurt you. Just don't overkill it.

[Logan UT Real Estate Gal]

I agree with the comment above, the first step is to build quality content. You can do all the link building in the world, but if your site doesn't attract a users interests, then your beating a dead horse.

To start an SEO campaign, you need to start at the ground level, and that is content worth searching for. If you build the foundation with great content, building links and brand awareness should be that much easier.

Best of luck!

[carlosreym]

If content is where to start...that is something I can target, "complete", maintain/update and move on to the next part of SEO.

I just did not know where the best place to start that would yield results. Thank you for the feedback.

[Eric Blackwell]

After getting the content right, the next place is building authority (links if you prefer). There are effective and less effective ways to do that. One advantage of having REW do it for you is that it will be done in an efficient way.

If you want to do it yourself, my suggestion would be to take a long weekend and read this forum and a LOT of posts in it. You will find more good ideas here than you can imagine.

Good luck in your quest. Many of us who started here have found success. I wish the same for you.

best

Eric

[virtue972]

First of all your website nmwelcome.com is well designed.

I would advise you get one of these free SEO software and if you're very serious buy you a copy after the trial period. Some of the advantages: 1. It will help you quickly analyze your competition 2. Analyze your website 3. and give you suggestions , which believe me or not does work. I have noticed quick result as short as 3 days. There are plenty of them online..just type in FRee SEO report on google and choose whichever.

Here is what I do always

1. Website design and contents must be well done

2. set up the Title,Dscription, and keywords ( Note: Do not listen to blabla about keywords not working. Google isn't the only search engine on the internet.)

3. Use a SEO software to assist you analyze the website. note: It is better to work with the one important "keyword". Also, you will not get 100% score the same day.(impossible) But if you can get close to 75-85 score it will be super.

4. Submit your website to the search engine and directories manually. (Google Yahoo, MSN, DMOZ)

5. Set up Google, Yahoo, and MSN local account.

Watch your results!

[carlosreym]

Good Stuff...Thank you for taking the time.

[CLTMichael]

I totally disagree with submitting yoru sites. Just let google find you. This isn't 1990s

[thataway61]

I totally disagree with submitting yoru sites. Just let google find you. This isn't 1990s

That's right and the inbound links Eric suggested will take care of being found.

[jamesww]

Good Stuff...Thank you for taking the time.

I personally think that it is best to do keyword research first and think about the structure you plan to have first. This will help you write better more targeted content Which has a much better chance of converting. I learned the hard way that ranking only matters if the site converts. And lower traffic more focused keywords convert much better than the ego keywords like "City Real Estate" or "City Homes For Sale." Now that does not mean not to go after the big keywords it just means get some traffic for easier to rank and convert keywords first then take on the big boys. Since the ego keywords do provide a lot of traffic. Just remember these people usually take longer to cultivate to the point of a transaction.

Another thing when writing content don't over use the keywords in fact it is best to use modifiers. You will rank for way more things if you go this route. In fact Google says that 25% of their queries are for things that have never been searched before. Shoot me an DM if you would like some help in this area I am more than willing to do so.

I also believe that you want to start building links before you have all your content up. Just do it slowly and have the links be for internal specific pages with more targeted keywords. From what I have experienced the age of backlinks and even pages to some extent matter when it comes to rankings.

So in a simplier layout here is how I would go about things starting over.

1. Focus on one site at least until you don't see any appreciable increase in traffic when adding more content.

2. Do significant keyword research before you spend a lot of time or money on building content. I think this could be a very profitable and beneficial place to employ REW.

3. Do a mock up as to the structure your site will have. In doing this try to direct the consumer through your site to your conversion pages. Don't spend to much time messing with the flow of your page rank but think a little as to where you want links to point to to have your best entrance pages have the most page rank. This can be done in a way that is beneficial to the consumer. This is another place were a pro would provide lots of bang for your buck. So, think of hiring out this part to REW as well.

4. Start putting up content. Once you have a good looking home page and a few targeted pages start building links a little at a time and keep building quality content. Now you will need two different types of content. You will want consumer centric content that encourages vistors to stay on your site and provides an entrance point from search engines. You will also want to have more general information that will be of interest to real estate webmasters. This is were a blog comes in handy and is needed because it is the most natural way to build links. And if your content is really good on this angle it is all the link building you will need. I would suggest writing up stuff on cutting edge topics or things that add a new angle to other popular posts.

5. Keep with a steady manageable pace of posting new content and building links. It will take you to the top.