A Simple Formula for Mastering SEO the Easy Way Great content and backlinks get you to the front of the line.
By Ajay Paghdal Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Trying to understand all the different facets and nuances of SEO is just about as difficult as trying to decipher an ancient language. There are hundreds of different factors that determine your ranking, and Google's algorithms are shifting on almost a daily basis.
However, like with everything else in the marketing world, it is only 20 percent (or in our case about 1 percent) of the factors that lead to 80 percent of the results. If you can master this simple two-step formula, you can master SEO and increase the success and visibility of your content at an ungodly speed.
Related: Creating Good Content Is Your Best Business Strategy
So what is this formula? Content + links to your website = Massive SEO Success. It's that simple. Now, let's break this formula down so that you can do SEO like a pro.
Step 1. Create great content.
In recent years, there have been many attempted coups in the internet marketing world. Every marketing factor and their third cousin have tried to remove content from the online throne and take the crown for themselves. And even though content might be beaten, bloodied and less powerful than he was in the days of old, he is still the king.
Content is the number one thing that you should focus on to improve the quality of your SEO. But what differentiates "good" content from "great" content, and how can you go about creating more of the latter? By focusing on these three things -- relevance, quality and user experience.
The first thing you need to focus on to ensure your content ranks highly is relevancy. This is pretty straightforward. The content needs to be relevant to a specific query to rank for that query. Otherwise, you will have great content floating around in the deep ocean of the internet that no one will be able to fish out.
Once you have made sure your content is relevant to a search query, the next step is to ensure that the content is high quality. High quality content is basically defined as content that meets the needs of your audience. It's that simple.
If people show up to your content with a problem and you solve that problem, you have created high quality content. Syntax and sentence structure be darned.
The final thing you need to focus on to ensure that your content is considered great is a good overall user experience. This means your content needs to be well-organized, easy to read and clearly formatted. It might not be fancy, but it can make all the difference with your SEO efforts.
Related: 5 SEO Techniques You're Doing All Wrong
Step 2. Get backlinks to your site from authority websites.
Once you have created great content, the next step on your path to SEO greatness is to get links back to that content. This is one of the biggest ways that Google measures site authority. Luckily for you, this is actually fairly simple. Notice I did not say easy.
The process that you will have to go through to build up a solid "treasure chest" of authoritative backlinks can be long and arduous. And it all starts with becoming a master of content marketing.
I could spend ages writing about content marketing and still not even scratch the surface of the subject. But for our purposes, I am going to give you the cliffnotes version -- a few simple hacks to get you off to the races as soon as possible.
The first step is to hustle your content on social media. Share your content dozens of times on all of your platforms to ensure it receives as many eyeballs as possible.
Once you have become a proficient social media hustler, it's time to start using email marketing to your advantage. Send out links to important articles in the P.S. section of your newsletters on a regular basis to keep the traffic coming.
Then, once you have used the above steps and built some traction around your content, it's time to directly email influencers requesting backlinks. Share your article with them, emphasizing the benefits it will have to their audience and their business, and then request a backlink on their website.
Something that is important to realize is that authoritative sites do not just hand out juicy links. If you expect to get authoritative links to your site, you have to write epic articles and market them until industry leaders are naturally exposed to your content. This will take time, patience and a lot of sweat equity, but if you can master it, you will see your work on the first page of Google in no time.
Related: Why It's So Hard to Rank Keyword in First Page of Google
Conclusion.
SEO might seem complicated, but if you can master these two steps alone, you will be leaving your competition in the dust. While they focus on all the nuances and minutiae of SEO, you will be focused on what really matters.
Not only will you be putting less effort into SEO than your competition, but you will also be achieving greater results. So get out there, create some great content, get the backlinks you need, and watch your business growth explode.
