Today’s guest contributor is a social media savant, Wendy Hanlan, from our neighbor up north.
If they can’t find you online, you are invisible.
Are you hiding in there?
Hidden like the skiing fanatic in a hut in the Rockies. Comfy in your chalet, but with no snail mail address or mobile, you might as well be packed in for the winter.
It’s the same phenomenon for a job seeker or business with no online SEO. You won’t be contacted. The phone won’t ring, the tickler from a recruiter won’t come.
What an unruly waste of energy when you can’t get found!
SEO (search engine optimization) is the hoop that search engines make folks like us jump through, in order to be picked up and displayed in their search results. While SEO can be incredibly technical, there are a few ridiculously simple moves that you can do RIGHT NOW to increase the likelihood of someone finding you when they are searching social media platforms. And you don’t need any technical skills at all, to do them.
The zen of search engines, for do-it-yourself SEO
Search engines connect people who are searching for specific information on the web, with those who offer that information. This is done by typing keywords—specific search phrases–into search engines.
There are only two types of search engines you need to know about:
- Specialized (i.e., Google, Safari, Bing)
- Internal Search Engines (i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter)
We’re going to cover Internal Search Engines in this article, and how to apply basic SEO strategies to them.
What keywords are best suited to do-it-yourself SEO?
As you go out on the long tail of keyword search, terms get more specific.
Think about what you do and experiment with keyword phrases that your potential customers/ employers / peers would use to describe you or your services.
If you’re promoting something specific, begin researching the keywords that best suit that audience
Free keyword websites you can use
Google Insights – http://www.google.com/insights/search/
Soovle – http://soovle.com/
YouTube – https://ads.youtube.com/keyword_tool (Note: You must have a gmail account and be signed into it to access this tool.)
Tip: Type a keyword or phrase slowly into the Google search engine. Google will show you a drop-down menu that gives you the phrases people are actually using in their searches. It’s Google’s gift to you–grab ‘em!
Apply your keywords to your social networks
Once you’ve landed on the keywords that work best for you, you can begin the process of weaving them into your social media accounts.
Check out my keywords as an example.
suggestion box for google search engine
The overall message I want to promote is my services as a social media manager. I am currently running a campaign that is geo-targeted to my hometown–Edmonton, Canada.
(click pic to enlarge)
DIY SEO for Facebook Pages
Do-it-yourself SEO for Facebook pages.
Don’t block content on your Business Page. Google wouldn’t see it. (Make it visible.)
Use keywords in your Page title if you can and choose those keywords wisely–you can’t change them after you’ve accumulated 25 fans.
Company description–use all your keywords here but avoid making your description sound “spammy.”
(click pic to enlarge)
Tips: If you don’t currently have a blog, but you do have a Facebook Business Page, download the NOTES app for Facebook and use it as you would a blog. This will make you searchable.
Posts on your wall will also help with SEO. Include your keywords somewhere in the post and do additional keyword research that specifically relates to the post topic.
DIY SEO for Twitter
Do-it-yourself SEO for Twitter.
In your Twitter profile headline, use keywords. If you’re focused on personal branding, then use your full name. If you’re specialty-focused, make sure you include that keyword or phrase.
Tweets should include keywords as well. Keywords are searchable by Google on Twitter.
(click pic to enlarge)
Work your keywords/phrases into your BIO as well, without sounding spammy.
DIY SEO for LinkedIn
Do-it-yourself SEO for LinkedIn profiles.
Use your keywords throughout. In your:
· Profile Headline
· Current & Past Roles
· Profile Summary
· Specialties
· Experience
Tips: When entering your website, click on “other,” which will allow you to name the website. Here you can enter more keywords.
(click pic to enlarge)
When you name your profile picture in Word, make sure you include your whole name. That will make it visible on LinkedIn when you are searched.
DIY SEO for YouTube
Do-it-yourself SEO for YouTube.
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. To effectively optimize your channel and videos on YouTube, use their keyword research tool.
When you upload a video to YouTube, you will be given the opportunity to put your keywords into the video description. As you’re typing it in, you’ll see suggested tags below the description box, which you should review.
(click pic to enlarge)
Tip: Make sure you’ve included your URL as the very first thing in the description (http://www.yourwebsite.com) followed by the video description.
Wendy Hanlan is a marketing and communications expert who offers social media management, coaching, and training for small business and online business professionals.
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons 2.0 Toprural
Let’s make Wendy’s day and offer up some comments below.
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