On-Page SEO and keywords targeting

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

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  Michael Martinez: I create the kind of Website I would want to visit repeatedly and search for often.
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  Mark Lee: Michael Martinez and how do you make sure your website comes up over competition when searched for?
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  Michael Martinez: Mark Lee Brand + Query works pretty darned well.
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  Mark Lee: Michael Martinez if they’re searching for a brand... what if they’re searching for a service? Like say, a life coach?
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  Michael Martinez: Mark Lee Web search marketing should complement other forms of marketing. Even affiliate sites are free to promote themselves via advertising, social media, news stories, off-line word of mouth, etc. Chasing random keywords in the SERPs is a really hard way to build traffic to a Website. It`s a bit like sending the infantry into battle without the support of air units, logistics, medical units, artillery, armor, etc. They might win but they`ll be in for the fight of their lives.
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  Mark Lee: Michael Martinez I completely agree! But I’m also looking to improve on search results. That’s an area I’ve not really dived into deeply and want to find out more about. Yoast is forever recommended to help create SEO friendly content and why my question on how people go about structuring that content.
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  Michael Martinez: Mark Lee See my other top-tier comment, written while you wrote the above. It`s not how you structure the content that matters. It`s how you market the site.
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  Michael Martinez: Let me try to illustrate what I mean in my first reply. I`ll use your "life coach" industry as an example.
  
  This is a well-established niche. I don`t know how many queries the industry spawns (probably in the thousands) but I`m sure all the head terms in that query space are highly competitive. Anyone who is just starting out now will have a HECK of a time ranking for "life coach" or anything like it.
  
  But what does a life coach do that every other business strives to do, whether a multinational corporation or a backyard lawn mower mechanic?
  
  They try to solve real-world problems.
  
  Your life coach site can begin making a name for itself by explaining how certain problems have been dealt with.
  
  Happy, satisfied users of the site (and hopefully service) will (over time, gradually) mention the site in online discussions.
  
  The more problems the life coach helps resolve online the better known that person becomes.
  
  If the site is branded for the person`s name (ala "Michael Martinez") plus what the site is about (ala "Middle-earth blog"), then people should be able to find the site via BRAND + query (e.g., "michael martinez tolkien scholar" is a real query that has driven traffic to my hobby sites for 20+ years).
  
  It takes time and work to build brand value. Everyone talks about keyword research when discussing how to manage an SEO campaign but every new keyword you target should automatically co-brand for the site, company, or person`s name. It should go without saying that if people like the site they will want to find it again and eventually to recommend it.
  
  There are people who absolutely hate me (because I tend to be an insufferable know-it-all) who casually mention my Websites. I`m not saying you want to go out and irritate people to become well-known. But if you prove that you know what you`re talking about, people will talk about you and your site. And just the mere mention of a person or Website name in conjunction with a topic of interest spurs people to search for "BRAND + query".
  
  They don`t have to be popular queries. They just have to drive traffic. And the coolest thing about this kind of SEO is that keyword research is easy and your potential targets are unlimited. The only thing holding the majority of people back from doing this is their lack of faith in what is (for lack of a better word) a "proven" technique. Even the worst of charlatans and fakers have built huge followings using this technique.
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  Michael Martinez: And this is my last addendum to the topic. Here is a real-world example from a major brand.
  
  Some years ago JCPenney was penalized by Google for buying links. Virtually all the major SEO bloggers predicted that JCPenney`s online sales would collapse because of the penalty.
  
  They were completely wrong.
  
  I followed that story closely and when JCPenny released their next quarterly earnings report their online sales had GROWN.
  
  Why?
  
  Because they were getting most of their search referral traffic from "BRAND + query" searches. I said when the penalty was announced that it probably wouldn`t amount to anything.
  
  Now, JCPenney is among many major retailers struggling today but it`s not because Google penalized them for a few months years ago. It`s because their brand message is no longer relevant to what consumers need or want.
  
  You can chase queries or you can make them. I`ve done it both ways and I assure you - I will ALWAYS vote for making queries as the easier, more efficient, more effective (in the long run) SEO strategy.
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  Tim Capper: Adding onto what Michael has already mentioned about being highly competitive - if said life coach was location based or area specific, you could find that competition halved.