Search engine optimization (SEO) is a powerful tool that can help your business rank higher in online search results. Not only does this increase your site's visibility and drive more traffic to your website, but it also positions you as an authority in the industry, which leads to increased leads and sales. With this guide, we'll walk you through ten easy-to-implement tips on how to improve your SEO strategy:
Start Using Google Search Console
-
You can use Google Search Console to see how your site is performing in Google search results.
-
You can also view traffic reports, crawl errors and Search Analytics.
You're probably wondering why you need another tool to help you with SEO. But don't worry---Google Search Console is a great place to start! It's free and easy to use, so why not give it a try?
Use Relevant Keywords in Your Content
-
Use relevant keywords in your content.
-
Use keywords in the title, body and URL of your website.
-
Use keywords in the image alt text, meta description and meta keywords for every page on your site.
-
Make sure to include them in the section of your HTML code as well as within any internal links from one page to another (assuming it makes sense).
-
You can also use them in the header tags if it makes sense for each page's content (i.e., if you are writing about something specific such as "liver cancer").
Make Sure Your Site is Mobile Friendly
The first step to SEO is ensuring that your site is mobile friendly. A mobile-friendly website will be easier for users to read, navigate and find on a browser or search engine. Because Google places increased importance on having a strong user experience, it's important to optimize your site so that it performs well on all devices including phones, tablets and desktops.
According to research by BuzzSumo, 62% of people use their mobile devices as the primary device for researching products or services they want to buy (this is up from 50% in 2015). In addition:
-
57% of consumers say they won't return to an ecommerce site after experiencing issues with its mobile experience
-
43% abandon their shopping carts if the checkout process isn't optimized for mobile
Get Backlinks From High DA Sites
Getting backlinks from high DA sites is one of the best ways to improve your SEO. This is because they will help your content rank higher in search engines and also give you more credibility. However, it's important to remember that not all high DA sites are created equal. There are several things you should look for when determining whether a site would be a good fit for linking with yours:
-
Is it in the same niche? If so, this can help tremendously by creating additional exposure for both parties involved (you and them).
-
Is it relevant to my content? Getting links from unrelated websites will only hurt results by diluting them across several different topics or niches that don't necessarily have anything in common other than being hosted on different servers at separate IP addresses located somewhere between Earth's surface and outer space (if not farther away).
-
Does it fit within my overall business strategy? You want people who visit this page---whether they're coming here directly or through third-party sources like blog posts linking back here---to feel comfortable purchasing something from me later down the road if necessary; therefore building relationships with trustworthy companies/individuals whose products complement those currently offered by yours is imperative."
Use Relevant Images
Images are a critical element of search engine optimization (SEO). They help you rank for more keywords and increase your click-through rate. You can also use them to rank in local listings and high competition keywords.
Images can help you rank for low competition keywords too, but it's harder to rank for these types of queries because there are so many websites competing for them. Use these tips to improve your rankings:
- Use relevant images: Don't just slap any old image on your page---it has to be relevant to the content or keyword that you're targeting. For example, if someone searches "small business loans," they might get several different results from different lenders and banks in their area that have all listed themselves under this broad umbrella term; however if one of those businesses happens to provide financing specifically for restaurants, then having an image showing its logo as well as some examples of previous clients will make it easier for people who search those terms without knowing exactly who they're looking for (like potential customers) but know what type niche industry they want help with when coming across such information online...
Update Title Tags and Meta Descriptions Regularly
Simply put, Title Tags and Meta Descriptions are the text that appears in your browser's blue bar. They're important for SEO because they help search engines determine what your site is about.
Here's what you need to know about each:
Title Tags are used by search engines to determine what your site is about, so it's best practice to use them sparingly (1-2 internal links per page) and only when necessary. A good rule of thumb is if a title tag can't be understood by itself, don't use it!
Meta descriptions should be between 150-160 characters long and should describe the content above them without being overly promotional or spammy. They're also meant to be read by people who see a link on Google or other search engine results pages (SERPs).
Add Heading Tags to Your Content
While you may not think of headings as a vital part of SEO, they are. Headings help people scan your content and understand the structure of the page, which is critical for both users and search engines. When Google looks at your site, it analyzes how well your content is structured and assigns each page one or more labels based on this analysis. The higher-level categories that pages fit into can affect how well those pages rank in search engine results.
Heading tags also let Google know what type of content you're providing for readers: if all your headings are just plain text without any formatting marks such as bolding or italics, Google will assume that you don't want to emphasize any specific parts of your content over others --- which isn't always true!
Create a Sitemap and Submit to Google
- Create a Sitemap
The first thing you should do is make sure your site has a sitemap. A sitemap is an HTML file which contains the URLs of each page on your website and the site hierarchy, so that search engines can find all of them. To create one, simply open your source code in any text editor (such as Notepad) and paste in the following:
My Site Title
-
Page One
-
Page Two * ...and so on...
Optimize Your URL Structures
-
To create a unique URL structure, you should avoid using the same URL names (including subdirectories) for multiple pages on your website.
-
When using keywords in URLs, use hyphens instead of underscores; dashes instead of spaces; lowercase letters instead of capital letters; and numbers instead of letters when possible.
-
Use keywords like "best-of" or "top-rated" in your titles rather than simply including them throughout the content. This helps search engines understand what type of content you are providing, which improves their ability to rank it appropriately in search results.
Write Long Form Content That People Will Want To Read
It's not just the length of content that matters, but also its depth. Your articles should be written in a way that encourages readers to read more than one paragraph and perhaps even a few pages. If you write short articles with limited information, people will not want to read them because they don't offer much value.
Longer content is more likely to be shared across social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. It also gives Google more time to crawl your site and index it for search engines like Bing and Yahoo! So long as your site has good quality links pointing back into it (and therefore bringing traffic), longer-form content is an excellent way of increasing the number of visitors who come through the door via organic search results
SEO is important
SEO is a long-term strategy. It's something that you'll have to commit to, and be patient with, in order to see results. That said, it's vital for your website's success---and your business's revenue potential as well.
The way SEO works is by helping search engines understand what pages on your site are most important and relevant to the terms people type into them when they're searching for information related to what you sell or do. It also helps people find those pages more easily when they search---which translates into more traffic coming through their doors!
If you've never done SEO before or aren't sure if yours is working properly (it can be tricky!), this guide will walk you through some basic steps that will make all the difference between mediocre rankings and high rankings with tons of traffic coming through!
Conclusion
SEO is a great way to get more traffic and improve your website. There are many things that you can do to make sure that people find your website when they search for something and it's important for business owners to understand how search engines work so that they can optimize their sites accordingly.