With the way the acronym SEO is bandied about with such frequency, it’s easy to relegate it to the status of irritating over-used buzzword. But, love it or hate it, Search Engine Optimization (or SEO for mercifully short), is here to stay. That is, it’s here to stay if you want your site to get hits.

The phrase “SEO” is enough to drive some people insane

So, if the word SEO gives you an eye-twitch, then what can you do to maximize its potential without getting yourself too immersed into it? Here are some SEO tips that will help your site find its way to the top of Google search results.

Google Plus

Let’s start with something extremely simple and quick. If you don’t have a GooglePlus account, then by all means get one. Once you do, create a Google Plus Local Listing, which means your site will show up when users do a local search. Make sure your listing includes business hours, location, any basic information that a potential shopper would deem valuable. Naturally, once you’re up and running on Google Plus, make sure you maintain your page and keep it updated.

SEO Keywords That Mean Something

Make sure that your keywords relate to your site’s content. Don’t try to force questionable keywords into your text. Also, don’t repeat the same keywords constantly, as search engines are sophisticated enough to spot this and penalize you.

Don’t Forget Keyword Phrases

Individual keywords are good; a keyword phrase is better. If your hobby store has its own site, a keyword of “trains” fits; but “HO scale electric trains” is a keyword phrase that’s far more descriptive, and will come up prominently in a prospective HO electric train buyer’s search. Don’t use a keyword phrase for the entire site; rather, gave each page its own (e.g. HO-scale electric trains, N-scale electric trains, etc). The phrase should show up in the title tag and the URL, if possible.

You Have Your Image To Think Of…

Or most likely many images! Make sure that all the images on your site have file names that describe the contents, rather than just a jumble of alphanumeric characters. A relevant name will show up on an image search! And by all means, embed links in images. Using the aforementioned example of electric trains, embedding a link to the HO-scale page in an image of a train layout is good SEO sense.

Pure Links

If your site has links from other sites and businesses, make sure that they are legitimate and also in step with your site’s tone and purpose. Your hobby store site has no use for an inbound link to a mortgage refinancing company, for instance. Also, see that the links you do have are for companies that are popular and reliable. Better to have six inbound links from excellent, highly reputable sites than two dozen links from obscure, struggling sites. In fact, while we’re on the subject of respectability, links from .gov and .edu are considered highly trustworthy. By the same token, they’re harder to acquire. But overall, your search ranking will increase based on your inbound and outbound links.

Social Media

First we use the buzzword “SEO”, now the buzz phrase “social media”. Sorry about that. But it’s another fact of life on the Internet that this is the age of social media. Relax, this one is painless and doesn’t take much time. Make sure you have a presence on a bunch of social media sites, and fill out all of the info in the “About” section, making sure you employ words that people would use when searching for sites like yours. And of course, your social media profiles should link back to your website.

And there you have it; a half dozen painless SEO tips for people who can’t stand SEO. Spend a half hour on each tip once a week (for a measly total of three hours a week), and you’ll strengthen your search rank, though ideally doing this maintenance twice a week is better. Follow these tips (and there’s more out there), and get more eyes on your site!