WHITE HAT SEO TECHNIQUES - Alexa Blog

WHITEHAT SEOTECHNIQUESIt’s not aboutgaming Google.It’s simply about creating contentthat people want and thatsatisfies their search intent.

1White Hat SEO Techniques: It's not about gaming GoogleINTRODUCTION0203TECHNIQUE 205Create SEO Content ThatAnswers The Search IntentSUMMARY10TECHNIQUE 1Following White Hat SEOTechniques is a Win-Win forEverybody InvolvedUse Keyword Researchto Discover Content DemandTECHNIQUE 307Help Google Know What YourContent is About by GettingVotes of ConfidenceTRY ALEXA FREE11

2WHITE HAT SEOTECHNIQUES:IT'S NOT ABOUTGAMING GOOGLEINTROSEO isn’t about gaming Google. It’s simplyabout creating content that peoplewant and that satisfies their search intent.Looking at SEO from this perspective can makeit easier to understand and easier to executewhite hat SEO techniques. By putting asidethe spammy tactics of yesteryear, you canproduce and publish customer-focused contentwithout that scammy vibe.Now let’s talk about how to know what contenttopics people want.

3WHITE HAT SEOTECHNIQUE #1: USEKEYWORD RESEARCH TODISCOVER CONTENT DEMANDTECHNIQUE 1A little keyword research can go a long wayCreating content using language yourin helping you understand what yourcustomers use is as white hat as it comes.audience wants.Forget stuffing your content with a singlekeyword over and over again. This is aboutNot only will you find topics that are frequentlymeeting customers on their turf, speaking tosearched, you’re also likely to stumble onthem naturally and in terms they understand.search language they are using that you mightnot have anticipated. One reason for this—your knowledge and expertise in your industryis deeper than theirs. The language you useis probably industry jargon that your audiencedoesn’t use. This is a great opportunity foryou to find long tail keywords that youraudience can understand, and create contentthat speaks to them.

4White Hat SEO Techniques: It's not about gaming GoogleWHITE HAT DO’S:Do — choose to target keywords that areDo — include the target keywords in all thefairly popular. The ease of ranking for thoseright places—URL, title tag, alt images, bodykeywords will depend on the competitivecontent, etc.strength of your site. Be realistic in how highof a competition level you can take on andstill get results.TECHNIQUE 1Check out: How to find easy-to-rank keywords forCheck out: The 25-Point SEO Checklist You Needyour websiteto Drive More TrafficExample: If you’reDo — use other keywords that are related toDo — use the target keyword in the anchorwriting a post aboutyour target keyword within the body oftext of internal links to the new content.doing a competitiveanalysis, you shouldyour content.also include relatedterms like competitive analysis reportor competitiveanalysis example.BLACK HAT DON'TS:Don’t — aim for quantity over quality. With all the searches Google receives every day,you can be certain its algorithms understand synonymous phrases. Instead of repeating thesame keyword phrase as often as possible, use like-keywords to reinforce what yourcontent is about.Now that you know what your audience is searching for, let’s talk about what they want tofind. Try Alexa's keyword research tool now.SIGN UP FOR A FREE TRIAL OFALEXA'S ADVANCED PLAN

5WHITE HAT SEOTECHNIQUE #2: CREATESEO CONTENT THAT ANSWERSTHE SEARCH INTENTYou don’t need to be a technical genius to doWhen evaluating your list of keywordSEO right. Like most marketing disciplines, aopportunities, think about whether a personlittle bit of empathy for the user searchingsearching that phrase is hoping to learncan go a long way to getting results in SEO.something, find a solution to a problem, ormake a purchase.TECHNIQUE 2Think from the perspective of the searcher.The phrase they’ve entered reveals a lot about What are they looking for? What are the problems they are their intention.seeking advice or solutions to?When you create your SEO content be sure toAre they looking for advice, or are theygive users what they are looking for. If theylooking to buy something?are looking for an educational “how to” article,don’t create content that pushes a sale.Search intent tends to fall into one ofthese categories: Learn something Find solution to a problem Purchase something

White Hat SEO Techniques: It's not about gaming GoogleWHITE HAT DO’S:Do — think of your content as a Q & A. Thekeyword query is the question. Your contentis the answer.Do — be a useful resource by giving thesearcher what they want.Do — be clear in your title tag andmeta description about what yourcontent promises.TECHNIQUE 2BLACK HAT DON'TS:Don’t — bait and switch the searcher withmisleading click-bait titles. Your title shouldalways tie directly to your content. If itdoesn’t, the visitor is more likely to bounce,sending Google a signal that your contentdidn’t serve their search interest. As a result,Google will drop your position in the SERPslike a hot potato.6

7WHITE HAT SEO TECHNIQUE #3:HELP GOOGLE KNOW WHATYOUR CONTENT IS ABOUT BYGETTING VOTES OF CONFIDENCEGoogle needs to know what your content isAnd then there are off-site signals–inboundabout in order to place it in the right SERPslinks from 3rd party trust-worthy sites thatfor the right search terms.have related content linking to your content.A 3rd party citation of your content tellsTECHNIQUE 3One way it does this is through on-pageGoogle that a real, live person who created itsignals–things like the inclusion of keywordsthinks your content truly is about “xyz” (akain the URL, title, body content, etc.your keyword).Another way is through on-site signals—This is the origin of SEO’s spammyinternal links from related pages on your sitereputation. Bad-actors manipulated off-siteusing anchor text that is descriptive of thesignals by fabricating inbound links withcontent (i.e. it includes the target keyword).things like link farms—clearly not living,breathing humans giving a vote of confidencethat the content is indeed about what youclaim it to be.

8White Hat SEO Techniques: It's not about gaming GoogleAs a result, Google has put great effort intoknowing when an inbound link is from aIf you followed technique #1, you’ll havequality, trust-worthy site, versus a fabricatedcontent that’s in demand–and the bloggerslink purely for manipulative gain. The formeryou reach out to will know their audiencehelps you. The latter hurts you.enough to know that.So when you hear the term “link building,”If you followed technique #2, bloggers willforget those old school black hat tactics. Theappreciate the resourcefulness of yourgame has changed. When done right, linkcontent and be more likely to cite it whenbuilding can be an extremely powerful way toit is relevant and complimentary to theboost search rankings. As a bonus, it couldcontent they are creating.drive referral traffic too.TECHNIQUE 3BUT THE POINT IS —The key here is in building relationships andreaching out to bloggers and journalists to letthem know about your awesome content.We’ll need to write a whole other post onwhite hat link building.

White Hat SEO Techniques: It's not about gaming GoogleWHITE HAT DO’S:Do — reach out to influencers to let themknow about your content, pointing out why itmight add value to their content.Do — personalize your outreach in a genuine,one-on-one way that shows you knowthe blogger.Do — be patient. Building mutually beneficialrelationships takes time.BLACK HAT DON'TS:TECHNIQUE 3Don’t — send mass emails to influencers withno personalization. It won’t be effective. Itwon’t get you to the top of Google. And you’llburn bridges in the process.9

SUMMARY OF A WHITEHAT SEO STRATEGYIn sum, you can practice good SEO withoutfeeling like a spammer if you follow white hatSEO strategies. In fact, the more you focus onserving the searcher’s needs, the more you’llbenefit. It’s a win-win for everybody involved. SUMMARYThe searcher gets what they want—ananswer to their search Google gets what they want—satisfiedsearchers (aka happy customers) You get what you want—top rankingson Google and “free” organic trafficSIGN UP FOR A TRIAL OFALEXA'S ADVANCED PLAN

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SEO isn’t about gaming Google. It’s simply about creating content that people want and that satisfies their search intent. Looking at SEO from this perspective can make it easier to understand and easier to execute white hat SEO techniques. By putting aside the spammy tactics of yestery