Over the last year, I have conducted a number of SEO experiments. To determine the speed at which I could get a website to rise in organic search engine results (the results that are not listed in an advertisement in Google, Yahoo and Bing searches), I tried several methods using various keyword phrases. My main tests were focused on the market for insurance agencies, so I chose a dozen long-tail keywords that are relevant to this market. My website was ranked low in search results, sometimes as low as page 10, in others, it was just unranked. I wanted to see how quickly a small business website could climb in search results for certain long-tail keywords. Google was the main search engine I analysed, but I also monitored results for Yahoo! and Bing.
Organizations should start with a keyword analysis. This will help determine which phrases are most valuable and which ones have the least competition. Long-tail keywords can be multiword phrase phrases that are more specific than simple broad-based single or two word keywords. A good example would be “California Truck Insurance”, whereas “Transportation,” would be a longer-tail keyword phrase. “Insurance Agency Leads”, a long-tail keyword, would be another example. “Insurance” however, is a broad and vague keyword. These techniques work regardless of whether you’re an agency selling insurance to businesses or a business selling insurance to them.
Here are some of the long-tail keywords I selected:
* Insurance Agency Leads
* Trucking Agency Leads
* Trucking Agency Marketing
There are many optimization methods that can be used to improve organic search rankings. I used both on-page and off-page optimization techniques. I modified:
* Title of the Page
*
* Keywords
* H1-H4 tags
* Alt Image Tags
* Keyword Density
* Blog Integration
* Dynamic Content (content that changes constantly on your site, such as webinars, newsletters and industry updates).
While there were many other on-page optimizations, the ones mentioned above are crucial. Other optimizations included article directory submissions, directory submissions and link building. Although there is no limit on the content that can be created outside of your website’s pages, you need to get started and continue investing in content development. Although it might seem obvious, all off-page optimization needs a link back. Search engines consider more links when ranking websites for inclusion in their organic search results. Off page optimization, which includes link building, is done through blogging, tweeting and posting on YouTube and Flickr. Article directory posting, social media marketing and directory submissions are just a few ways you can get your website URL noticed.
These keywords were both fascinating and quick to rank. My website rose from a low rank on Google Page ten to page three after I used the SEO techniques below. My rank climbed to page two in many cases between day 30 and day 60. My website was ranked on Google page one in the third month. As of writing, my website was ranked Google page 1 for all long-tail keywords. It also appears as the #1 entry for many of them. Although the optimization was primarily for Google, there were some impressive results for Yahoo and sometimes Bing. Each engine has its own ranking methods, but I chose Google as my primary target and measured the results using that engine. These terms have a limited reach, with only a handful of searches per year. Other keyword phrases that we chose are searched thousands to tens of thousands times each year. SEO for insurance agencies is complex. For example, it is easier to rank high for a search term that is searched only a few hundred times a year than for one that is searched 100,000 times per year.
Nowadays, content is everything. While you can do a lot of it yourself, I’m not going to diminish the importance of your keyword density and Meta. You can hire a professional to help you with SEO, or you can bring it back to your house when you are ready.
