Investing the time and money to build a beautiful website would be a huge waste of resources if your customers are unable to find it. But how can you make your website stand out among the millions of other websites on the Internet?
Search engine optimization (SEO) can be especially valuable when it comes to helping your website become a first pick for web searchers. If you build your website the right way and optimize your keywords, you’re more likely to drive more traffic volume to your website and generate more sales. Keep reading to receive some educational SEO tips.
Here are 10 SEO tips for helping you rank higher in online searches:
1. Find and Use the Right Keywords
Think about the words clients will likely use when looking for the products or services you sell online. For example, if you are selling bikes, are your customers more likely to use a formal word like bicycle or a slang word like bike?
Make a list of between 20 and 50 keywords, then head over to Google Ads. If you haven’t done so already, create an account, so that you can check whether the keywords you have identified are used frequently in online searches.
To find additional keywords to populate your list, consider using Keyword Tool, which is a product by Google Ads. Use the keywords you have identified on all your website pages so that they may rank higher whenever prospective customers search using the said keywords.
Always ensure that you use keywords in your URL – the address that appears in the internet browser for all your website pages. You should also ensure that they are included in your titles along with the metadata descriptions (brief text used to inform the search engines what the content is all about).
2. Focus on Your Unique Offering
The second SEO tip is to never forget that you are competing for attention from prospective customers with other companies. To stand out from the rest in web searches for your industry, find words that correspond to your market differentiators such as your geographic location or unique offerings.
Competition is also usually stiff for any keywords you buy as part of a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign, where your company’s ad is displayed beside or above the free search results. Again, always ensure that you focus on niche keywords if you don’t have a massive budget.
3. Avoid Over-stuffing Your Website with Keywords
Google’s webmaster guidelines encourage making web pages primarily for users as opposed to the search engines. If you simply sprinkle keywords all over the content, you risk altering the meaning and even irritating your readers, so avoid overdoing it. Making text clear and easy to read should always be your top priority.
4. Build Links to Your Website
The higher the number of websites that carry links to your website, the higher your website will likely rank on searches. Ask the owners of related websites to carry a link to your website. Offer to carry a link to their website in exchange for a link to your website.
Focus on link quality. A single link that directs to your website from a university or chamber of commerce website will be more helpful to you than a dozen links from some obscure blogs.
5. Publish Lots of High-Quality Content
The primary mission of search engines is helping users find answers to their questions. So, your best strategy for driving lots of traffic to your website is creating compelling content – photos, videos, and articles – that provides quality information to readers. Ensure that you update content frequently so that it remains relevant.
Using the right content strategy and software also helps position you as a thought leader in your field.
6. Get Social
Social media is one of your greatest allies in your SEO strategy since people now use social media platforms as search engines too. They will regularly search for products or companies using Facebook’s search function, for example. The social media profile of your company will also rank in the search results whenever people search for your company or related terms.
Create Info-Graphics
7. Ensure that the Website Is User-Friendly
Your website should be clean and easy-to-navigate. Ensure that it’s immediately clear to your visitors who you are and what you are offering.
Improve readability by using lots of headings, and ensure that the headings contain your selected keywords. Headings generally stand out for search engines and allow you to rank higher.
Site speed is an important SEO tip too. The last thing you want to do is annoy visitors by having a sluggish website.
Finally, you need to ensure that your website is properly optimized for mobile platforms. Search engines currently penalize websites that aren’t easily displayed on mobile devices like smartphones.
8. Measure Results
Both free and inexpensive tools such as SEMRush.com, SpyFu.com, Moz, and Google Analytics can provide you with additional information regarding your website’s SEO performance and tell you more about the visitors – how they found the website (referring website, search engine, etc.), how long they stayed on each page, as well as their geographical location.
9. Be Patient
Monitor results from the very first day, but don’t expect quick results. It typically takes several months to move significantly higher in the search engine rankings. You should also remember that SEO is constantly evolving and what works currently might not necessarily work in a couple of years. Just keep working at it and always stay up-to-date on the latest changes that may affect rankings.
10. Aim High
Most users will likely not make it past the first page of the search results. A good position means that you appear on the first 2 pages of the search results. If you appear past page 3, you can be sure that your page will be seen by almost nobody. So, always aim high. Following these SEO tips can help you in earning a spot on the first page.
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