Become a SEO Hero – Stand Out

The trick to getting Google and other search engines to find your website is to stand out.

Stand Out with Good Content Make sure you are writing lots of good, new relevant information for people to read. Google and other search engines are looking for the resource with the most current, updated, and in-depth content about any given subject, as they simply want to send users to a website that is useful and not "bounce" them back to continue searching for other results. Google and search engines want to send you to the best answer. So be that answer. Give away your information, tips, skills, show people how to do things, what to look for, answer common customer questions, etc, etc – just become the expert in what you want to be found for. Make sure to WRITE new original text copy – do NOT copy and paste copy from other websites and use it as your own. Google is looking for originality, not plagiarism and it will penalize you in the rankings if your content is copied from other websites. Write posts in your blog, or add pages to your site that you can continually add information to, such as a Resources page, or a FAQs page.
Stand Out with New Images Use original images if possible on your website to stand out. Hire a photographer and or a Graphic Designer and have them design new images and graphics for your website. Unique graphics are very good for SEO – think: infographics that convey good information or answers to your customers' questions. You can also have a designer create images with titles on them, such as the one above, paired with good information that your clients and customers will bookmark or share. Designers often use stock images and completely make the images unique through color adjustments, cropping, Photoshop retouching or through the addition of other design elements. Make sure to Optimize all of your images with "alt text" and include highly searched keywords relating to your page's content. Having unique images on your website makes your website stand out. Did you know that if you're just using stock images with no modification, Google can tell? In fact, you can use "Google images" to search images and it will find every other website that it has indexed that has any given image. So when you have unique images, Google sees that you are different – you stand out. And no one has the exact same graphics and images that you do. Suffice it to say, if you can get away without using stock images by using your own images, hiring a photographer, and/or having a designer design something new with stock images and graphics – you can make sure your website has images that are unique and stand out in the crowd.
Stand out by Being Current! Make sure to update your website regularly, whether by adding a new blog post, or adding a new tool or tip to one of your existing pages. Add new pages that answer common customer questions in-depth. Or discuss current industry news or advances, talk about what you've learned about your business services. Provide relevant information regularly about the search terms you want to be found for, and Google and other search engines will find that you are a great source of that info.
Stand out by Being Social Post on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and other social media avenues. Make sure you have a business page on the social media platforms that your customers use most, and share when you add new content to your website. Make sure to include links to your blog post or page, and write a brief and catchy sentence to entice them to click to learn more. Give away information that is valuable – don't just post sales pitches. If you are a Organic Seed company, for example, you could write about composting, sharing your tips on how it helps people grow veggies organically. Rather than just a post about a particular seed for sale. On the other hand, if a seed has a story, post that story about the seed. Post stuff that you would want to read, not just another sales pitch.