Search engine algorithm changes over the last few years have changed the ways search engine optimization is done. No longer is it a blend of “secret strategies” that varies from SEO company to SEO company. Now, the strategies are publicly known based on webmaster guidelines provided by search engines. If an SEO person tells you their strategies are a blend of their “secret sauce,” or that they can’t share them with you, find another company. Here are some basic ways to optimize your site, as well as to increase your website’s visibility withoffsite optimization.

1. Title Tags (list of 70 characters) and Meta Descriptions (150 characters in full sentences) for the homepage, category pages, subcategory pages, and all products. This will help Google bots and other search engines categorize your website, as well as each individual category and product page. Meta Descriptions show up on search results pages, and should explain what is on the page so potential customers will pick your site over another site that doesn’t have meta descriptions Also, if these are done, but done incorrectly, then it will actually hurt your site, for Google will think you are trying to spam.
2. Optimization and creation of Content for the homepage, category pages, and subcategory pages. You have should have content on all of these pages, and the content needs to be optimized with anchor links. While Tags are used to categorize your site, content is used to judge how high to rank your site.
3. Make sure your basic SEO setup is completed
   1. 301 redirect
   2. Google analytics linked correctly
   3. Webmasters linked correctly, so you can submit the ever important sitemap
4. Set up Google Shopping Feed, and submit each category, subcategory, and products to the appropriate Google shopping category. More and more online shoppers are clicking the “shopping” tab when trying to buy stuff online, and this will help get your products on here. This is another place where optimizing tags on products will come in handy.
5. Make sure all photos on all pages have alt attributes, which tell the web crawling machines what the photo is of, since the machine can’t see the photo.
6. Social Media. This is becoming more and more important and we can set up the important social media accounts for you, and run them for you.
7. Ad Retargeting. This is also becoming more and more important to drive sales. About 98% of shoppers never buy on their first time to a site, and ad retargeting reminds them, when they’re on other websites browsing the web, to come back and buy from you.
8. PPC – Pay per click is a good way to get immediate sales. It usually requires more money, but we can help you set it up, and determine your keywords, and also negative keywords.
9. Blogging – Gaining trust is the number one way to have people buy from you. People are very skeptical when shopping online, and blogs are a great way to show your expertise, as well as your legitimacy to increase their faith in buying from you. Once your blog is written and optimized, it should be shared across all social media platforms using appropriate hashtags and key terms.
10. Analytics and rank tracking for tracking progress, as well as ascertaining potential target markets for strategies.

This is kind of a lot, but there’s a lot to SEO. It’s easy and transparent, but has to be done correctly and is time consuming. If it’s done incorrectly, it can actually hurt you.