When you think about search engines, you probably instantly think about Google. This search engine, once an outsider two decades ago, is now so well known that it is a verb in the English language. But despite Google's prominence, it would be a mistake to overlook the importance of search engines such as Yahoo. Yahoo was founded in 1994 and its search engine was publicly available in 1995. The popularity of the search engine grew and between 1999 and 2002 Yahoo was the world's leading search engine. In 2002, Google overtook Yahoo and went on to become the undisputed leader of the search engine market. Yahoo continued in its second-place position until the beginning of the following decade when Bing pushed it into third place. Both Yahoo and Bing have since been overtaken by the Chinese search engine Baidu. But given that Baidu is largely confined to China in terms of popularity, Yahoo and Bing are effectively joining second place at the moment. Because of this, using Yahoo is still very worthwhile even in today's digital world. Approximately the Yahoo govern about 17% among internet population, so Yahoo is the best option for small businessman and new websites in the topic of organic SEO. You should know that Yahoo still uses Bing as its searching database. If you own a small business or starting a new website then indexing on Yahoo is the best option for generating basic traffic.
The first thing to say about Yahoo is that it has modernized quite a bit since the 2000s. With a clear, well-designed page and the results neatly organized into links, images, and video results, this search engine can easily function as a replacement for Google. Services such as Yahoo Mail, News, Finance and Shopping are all easily accessible from the top menu. One noticeable difference between Yahoo and Google is that clicking on its logo takes you to Yahoo's main page. Here, visitors can find news articles and a weather forecast all in one place. This makes Yahoo Search a fantastic choice as a browser homepage and default search engine. There are one or two drawbacks. Firstly, Yahoo at first glance does not seem all that different from Google. This means that the advantages listed above may not be obvious to a new visitor. For some, if the search function operates in a similar manner then that is enough to just continue using Google. The second reason why Yahoo will struggle against Google is that Google Search can be directly integrated with the widely popular Google Account service. However not everybody owns a Google Account, and a widely respected alternative such as Yahoo Search is never a bad option to have. Yahoo Search is worth taking another look at if you have been considering switching from Google recently.
The Internet has stormed the world. Today, users prefer the convenience of home shopping via online platforms. Anticipating the change and preferences of billions of prospects, businesses have staged their web presence to win prospects. Yet, very few marketers manage to record the desired success. So, where do entrepreneurs lag? Most of them don't understand SEO (search engine optimization). You need to employ the best practices related to SEO strategies. From SERP snippet to keyword optimization, a ton of legwork goes into effective marketing.
Most businesses think that hosting a site on the net will suffice online marketing. However, staging a website is the beginning of digital marketing. Your site is a virtual presence of your business. You've to make your website SEO friendly and user friendly to garner attention from search giants and prospects respectively.
SEO is an Internet marketing tactic geared toward driving customers to your website. It's the practice of gaining targeted traffic for higher conversions. Just like a brick and mortar store, a website is your business address. Online tactics let you steer targets to your virtual address. Basically, the relevance of SEO involves three essential components - Quality of traffic quantity, its quality, and organic results. If search giants such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo get convinced by the relevance and optimization tactics, they might rank your site higher. Once you bag the top slot in search results, you gain exposure to visitors and make more sales.
Ranking higher in search engine results is perhaps a big deal. Many reasons contribute to the problem. Firstly, competition makes the scenario worse. Thousands of sites get added to the World Wide Web. With so many contenders, ranking in search results becomes extremely difficult, leaving aside bagging the top slot. Even worse, search algorithms keep changing from time to time including Yahoo. In such a situation, you must employ effective SEO strategies to secure top rankings and allure visitors to take a suitable call to action. So, how do you do that? Can index your website on the first page of SERP? Here's how to index and rank higher in search results.
If you want to check about the Yahoo Search Algorithm that works without search histories, shared links, filtered results, and tracking of cookies then you can check in OneSearch that Yahoo’s privacy-based search engine. It doesn’t use your user profile or search habit to give results.
Organic results mean natural traffic to your site. You don't have to pay a single dime but invest dedicated efforts to get visitors. If you can position your website on top of search results, you might gain millions of visitors, depending on your location, your products, and the efforts you put in. On the flip side, your site may index and rank lower or never turn up in organic results if you fail to make it SEO friendly. For example, let's say that you run a business consulting agency. You may want to cover as much ground as possible to attract worldwide customers. To do that, you've to follow two types of optimization tricks- On-site and Off-site tactics. On-page tactics are actions that you take on your website to index and rank higher. Off-page strategies, on the other hand, involve activities you take outside your site.
To begin with, let's focus on On-site optimization. First of all, write fresh, engaging content geared toward your venture. You may explain the importance of hiring a business consultant and other related topics. After writing the content, you may think that users may easily find you, right? Well, you're completely wrong. No one will find your site unless it's optimized for search engines. To intrigue search giants, place targeted keywords within your content. What is keyword/s? Keywords are search terms users type in their preferred search engine for finding products or services. So, think - What your targeted prospects may type in Bing and Yahoo for searches?
In the above example, you may use business consultant, top-class business consultants, and so on. Make a list of a few trending keywords. Check bing webmaster tools to find search terms people currently use. You may even use keyword tools to find suitable search phrases for your venture. Many such tools exist. Just make sure you explore a couple of reliable options for your needs. The competition is stiff. You may want to position your site in such a way that it turns up in search engine results. However, many businesses use the same keywords. So, how do you resolve this issue and ease the competition? Your best bet will be LSI keywords.
LSI stands for latent semantic indexing. It's a keyword strategy aimed at improving your site's ranking for targeted words. Here, you choose other phrases related to the main keyword. For instance, your main keyword (in the above example) could be business consultant.
Your LSI keywords should be business tips, consultant scams, and others. In case you're unsure about choosing LSI keywords, don't worry. You can find many LSI keyword tools. Use a couple of such tools to ease your legwork.
Sprinkle those search terms evenly throughout the content (post). The keyword density should be no more than 2 percent. It means if you write a 1000 word post, the main keyword (business consultant) should appear approximately 10 times. The formula goes as (total number of words in content x 2)/number of words in your keywordx100. This doesn't mean you can't go above 2 percent. Your keyword density could be 2.2 to 2.3 percent on a higher scale.
At the same time, it can range between 1.7 to 1.9 percent as well. What if you maintain a keyword density of 5 percent or more? You may argue that more occurrences of the search terms will increase rankings. Right! Well, that's baseless. Why? Such a practice is called keyword stuffing. If you over-stuff keywords, search engines will flag your content and it'll never turn up in SERP results.
It's better to get familiar with keyword stuffing and its types to avoid embarrassing situations. Possible types of over-stuffing include unnecessary repetition of phrases or words. Inserting various blocks of one keyword also contributes to over-stuffing. Above all, make sure you don't use keywords irrelevant to the topic. For example, if you write about business consulting, don't use healthy diet tips as your keyword.
Include the main keyword within the title and URL. URL stands for unique resource locator. It's the address of a particular post or page you see in any web browser. Search engines such as Yahoo give more importance to URLs now. So, include keywords within the URL. Ideally, you may want to optimize the title for the main search term. Search engines automatically turn the title into the sub-portion of the URL.
A URL looks like www.abc.net/consulting-tips. Whatever occurs after .net or .com gets automatically extracted from the title. So, see to it that you come up with a catchy title that intrigues visitors and includes the main keyword. However, be warned that the title should be no more than 70 characters. If the title goes over the limit, all the words in the title may not be visible to users. Plus, it might affect your rankings.
Filenames form a part of the URL. So, they're an essential component of the HTML. Naming a file isn't a chore, but you must follow some rules. For example, never use special characters or spaces in the name. Use lowercase letters and start the name with a letter. Even better, keep the name short and remember its extension. Most of the text editors automatically add extensions. However, if you write the name of files yourself in a text editor, you've to include it. Optimizing the file name pays off in terms of optimized URLs.
Optimize H1 and H2 headings. Keep the headings intact with 8 to 10 words. Of course, don't forget to add the main or LSI keyword within the headings. Many website owners optimize their home and service pages for title, headings, and keywords. However, they don't optimize their blog posts.
It's here they lag. Optimization spreads to all posts and pages. So, follow these tactics for each page and post of your site. Additionally, optimize your Meta tags, Meta description, and image tags. Although search engines ignore Meta tags and descriptions, they let users understand what your site is all about.
As far as images are concerned, don't include too many flashy graphics. They slow the page loading time, leading to low rankings. Add internal links (links pointing to other pages within your page). Besides facilitating easy navigation, internal linking boosts your rankings. Plus, include a couple of outbound links to authoritative sites such as Wikipedia.
Most sites are SEO friendly, but users move away quickly after visiting these websites. Why? These sites aren't optimized for end-users. Whenever users check your site, it should appeal to their intent. They must find the information and products they're looking for. So, think like a user and organize your content properly with easy navigation. Additionally, include a suitable call to action button at relevant places. A well-optimized site motivates users to browse important internal pages and take suitable actions. If your products or services are helpful and competitive priced, your visitors will convert into customers.
Many amateur marketers wonder - What is local search marketing. It comes in handy for businesses that operate in a local area. If you run a flower shop in San Francisco, your obvious targets are San Francisco residents. All you should do is narrow down your marketing tactics to location. For example, you may add your location to your keywords to drive local traffic. Your keywords could be flower shop San Francisco or affordable flowers San Francisco. Other marketing strategies remain the same.
When it comes to adding content, most businesses don't bother much. They hardly write new posts unless they have an offer or discount sale. However, this kind of laziness can impact your search rankings. Plus, your regular readers may move onto other sites in search of fresh content. No business would ever want to face such episodes. You need customers daily.
So, bring visitors each day. The more the number of visitors, the higher the chances of sales will be. Take time to write appealing posts in your niche. You don't have to write a post daily. However, be sure to add a couple of posts each week. That way, you'll keep your visitors engaged at your site. Yahoo Search assign value to newer posts. If you write fresh and engaging posts, you can grab better rankings.
Some businesses might think that the job is easier. Just write about your products and explain how they can help users. Of course, that's true. However, how you write a post carries equal importance. Simply writing a plain block of text won't help out. Your post should touch the instinct of the user. It must captivate the hearts and feelings of customers. If you can manage that, you can easily convert site visitors into prospects. Writing such a post can be a bit daunting. It'll take enough time, but your efforts should pay off dearly. Try to involve readers in your post. Make your posts conversational. Allow readers to respond to your post. In this way, you'll increase the engagement rate. Once readers feel comfortable and more involved, you can lead them to sales with a suitable call to action in the post.
Okay, you know how to write and how often to write. But the main question is what to write and what to avoid. Whatever content you post should align with your niche. For example, if you run a weight loss site, don't write about payday loans. If you do that, Bing will penalize you sooner or later. Your site may even land in the sandbox. What is a sandbox? It's dark space Yahoo Search don't bother to index. So, don't get into this dark territory for writing off the topic posts.
Optimization should be your priority when drafting your posts. Besides users, you must optimize the post for Yahoo Search. Adding title, keywords, and other On-site tricks work for SEO optimization for Yahoo. However, try to present some posts in the snippet form as well. What is a SERP snippet anyway?
It's a content piece written in the question and answer format. Such posts gain better visibility, index and rank on top of search results quickly. Why? Most people type questions to seek answers thereon. Bing and Yahoo understand user behavior, then index as that and rank question and answer snippets higher in search results. Suppose you want to write about business problems and present solutions in your consultancy niche.
Instead of writing one piece, come up with two types of drafts. Write one post in a conversational tone for reader involvement. Jot down the other piece in a question and answer format. Be sure that each post is unique and doesn't look plagiarized. That way, you gain attention from users as well as Yahoo Search for improved results.
Some small businesses never take time to update their site. If you're one such entrepreneur, beware it may negatively impact your rankings. You don't have to update your site each day. However, see to it that you make suitable amendments monthly or bimonthly. A regularly updated site garners attention from users and Yahoo Search alike.
It's an online mention of the address, name, and contact number of a business. You may use citations on local directories, apps, and your site. In addition to helping users find your local venture, citations improve your local rankings for targeted keywords.
Now, employ Off-site optimization strategies. Off-page tactics include anything you do outside the site. As a business owner, you should use proven strategies for Off-site optimization. Here are popular strategies.
The age of the domain matters most in the online arena. The older the domain, the higher its authority and rankings will be. Other factors such as the number of visitors and reputation also impact Domain authority or DA. So, never indulge in anything that might tarnish your reputation online. Try to get listed in BBB and other white list organizations. Above all, buy a domain name way ahead of time and build links for your domain. A little bit of labor becomes essential for this job. However, you reap the benefits repeatedly even in a highly competitive market.
No business can deny the potency of social sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. These websites have shaken the World Wide Web by their simplicity and convenience. People all over the world use social sites to befriend others, buy products, and chat. You can gain quick traffic through social networking sites.
Make an appealing profile on each site. Build a list of subscribers and followers, and offer help in your niche. Once you gain trust, post relevant micro-content with a link to your site. Use persuasive words to recommend your products to targets. If your products resolve user issues, you could make huge sales through social media traffic.
Remember, not all social media profiles and posts get the desired attention. On the flip side, some posts get viral on social media. How? Those posts include suitable hash-tags and mentions. Mentions, likes, reposting and retweets, and hash-tags improve the engagement rate and make your post viral. So, choosing relevant tags becomes imperative. Add suitable tags to your micro-posts (on each social site) to gain better results.
More than 60 percent of users surf the web using mobile devices. So, why not tap mobile marketing? Various tools help you check your site for mobile responsiveness. So, take steps to make your site mobile-friendly. A mobile-optimized site means an SEO friendly site, which gains goodwill in Yahoo Search.
Bing Maps listings also drive local users quickly. Listing your venture in Bing Maps is straightforward. Send the actual address of your shop to Bing Maps. Once verified, your address will show on top in Bing Maps. That gives exposure to local prospects quickly.
Back-linking or link juices work even today. Post articles and comments on other blogs in your niche. Ensure that the sites or blogs you choose align with your needs. Also, check the site authority. Is the site spammy or fake? If so, stay clear of such websites. Try to get links from higher authoritative sites. Instead of getting hundreds of links from spam sites, try to build a few links from respected blogs. Over time, your site's rankings should spike, gaining you a better slot for targeted keywords.
If used properly, video marketing can do wonders. Users love videos more than written content. YouTube, Vimeo, and Daily Motion come in handy. They're SEO friendly too. So, build a list of subscribers on video platforms and post appealing motion content that solves user problems. Put a link to your site at the end of each video. If your videos are captivating, you could draw a substantial number of prospects through video channels alone.
The importance of SEO turned up right from the day of the introduction of the Internet. However, it's more important today than ever. The reason - You don't know the intent of each user. With billions of live prospects on the net, you may want to capture more customers. However, you can't be sure whether you'll get targeted prospects from organic search or not. Plus, the ever-spiking competition can be a task. You may resolve all such issues by choosing the cutting-edge online strategies stated above. Additionally, you may want to try newer techniques to stay abreast of others. Just be creative and stay abreast of time to scale your venture.
Bottom line: Ranking your site higher can be a daunting task. From picking keywords to employing Off-site tricks, a ton of legwork goes into SEO. However, you may ease the task by following the best practices for digital marketing. Also, make your site SEO friendly. If that seems too much, contact a reliable online marketing agency. By paying a nominal charge, you can outsource the legwork and enjoy customers from various online platforms.