Your SEO Should Focus on Humans, Not Search Engines

Search Engine Optimization seems to always have been about tactics. Website owners are constantly asking, "What tactics can I employ to get ranked higher on the major search engines?" Some tactics include peppering web pages with key words, adding a long list of links on the bottom of each page, adding another long list of cities served on the bottom of a page, and similar "tricks" which focus mainly on search engines, not human visitors. While many of these tactics work, they are short-sighted and can often backfire. I've seen so many websites rank well, only to wonder why they're not generating any sales.

The first step is understanding that high ranking is not the be-all, end-all, and does not guarantee sales. An SEO guru recently told me something that is so simple yet true - human visitors spend money, search engines do not. Sales are much more likely when your site is visitor-friendly, easy to navigate, well written, has lots of helpful pictures and articles, and looks professional and trustworthy.

The second step, therefore, is making your site better from the human-visitor standpoint. Think about this - how do you feel when you visit a website and see what seems like spam at the very bottom of the page? It's a turn-off, isn't it? This should be your barometer: before adding or changing something on your website, ask yourself if it enhances the site from your human visitor perspective, or only from the search engine perspective.

Almost without exception, anything that makes your site better for humans will also positively affect your search engine rankings. Adding helpful content, properly placed links, pictures, and articles will make your site better and help it rank higher. People enjoy this type of site and will be more likely to come back again and tell others about it.

The same "holistic" approach also applies to link building - buying links in random places, or blasting out links to numerous meaningless directories will not help nearly as much as building a relationship with another site closely related to your industry and asking the site's owner to place a link on their website to your website. That one quality link will most likely do better than hundreds of garbage links and will also generate visits to your site from the other site.

It's easy to get caught up in "tactics," but if your always keep in mind that humans are the ones you're targeting, your website will definitely be much better and also rank higher.

About the Author:
Amir Watynski owns Watt Media, Inc., which helps businesses promote their services and enhance their image with Telephone On-Hold Messages & Website Design services. Enhance Your Image Blog: http://blog.watt-media.com

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