Search engine optimization (SEO) works through an algorithm of factors that Google formulated, called PageRank, which ultimately affects your blog’s rank on the search engine’s results pages. Knowing which factors are considered most, and how they can positively (and negatively) affect your blog’s rank is critical to any SEO campaign. So, what are the factors?
Un-optimized Title Tag
Your title tag is one of the most important factors in SEO, but too many blogs don’t even know it. Your tag should be customized to describe your blog while implementing a targeted keyword. This title will appear in browsers, search engine results pages and external websites, so having “Home Page” or your brand’s name will not be helpful in building your rank.
Using Free Hosting Sites
Many free blogging websites can give you bang for your buck, but will not be efficient in climbing that SEO ladder. This is because these sites do not allow you the total control you need to install necessary Plugins, themes and extensions. If you do enough research, you should not have to spend more than $50 per year for a customized domain and efficient Web hosting.
Duplicate Content
Building off keywords to blog on is an excellent proven method to improving your rank, but this can be difficult if done incorrectly. If you focus on too many keywords for each page, your will likely begin writing duplicate content due to narrowed down topics you can write about. Duplicate content with too many keywords dropped in is considered “keyword stuffing,” and will hurt your PageRank. Instead, create separate pages for each keyword for stronger high-quality content.
Buying Links
Google has a special team that looks out for this kind of activity. Many brands buy links to get a leg up in PageRank, but this violates Google’s guidelines for SEO, and they will flag it. Suspicious activity includes having a sudden influx of backlinks to your site, as well as having random irrelevant websites backlinking. You are much better off not engaging in buying links for your brand.