Did you know that almost half of all website visitors leave a site immediately if the page doesn’t load within three seconds? That’s why it’s essential to focus on SEO or search engine optimization when creating or updating your website. By following these ten simple steps, you can help improve your site’s ranking on search engine results pages and keep visitors engaged longer.
1) Use descriptive, helpful meta descriptions for all of your pages
Meta descriptions tag a page as a top search result along with the HTML title, and they’re generally used to promote the contents of what a site is going to be about. Rather than having meta descriptions that say ‘click here, it’s helpful for them to give some description of what people might find on your website. A lot of website creators will use their company slogan or key phrase within this section, but there are also many other uses.
To understand how these describe your site more accurately, let’s take the example of Harry Potter. If you type “harry potter” into Google, he shows up as the first search result and displays his very popular and descriptive meta description: “An orphaned boy born to those killed by Voldemort. He is forced to live with his abusive relatives, the Dursleys. However, when Harry starts receiving letters from a bespectacled boy at a magic school, Harry finds out he’s really a wizard and goes off to become friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.” This snippet of text alone gives people an idea of what they’ll be able to expect if they click on the page.
2) Accelerate site speed through HTML optimizations
Google.com has more than a billion HTML elements yet loads extremely fast. This is no accident. A lot of effort goes into making the HTML code for a high-traffic site as efficient as possible, and often that means simplifying it with a few tricks that most web developers would never dream of doing. We’ll look at several of these efficiency techniques here — from standard ones everyone should know about to some creative hacks you might not have thought of before — so you can apply them to your sites or projects for faster page load times and happier users.
Developers work hard on this stuff.
If you look at the source code for any large website today, chances are you’re going to see some seriously optimized HTML. Sure, it’s more than just a few simple tricks to make your site load faster; there are also JavaScript and CSS optimizations that go into the process as well (that we’ll save for another time). But if you look at the HTML itself, you might be surprised by how much work goes into shaving off every byte possible without sacrificing functionality or markup structure.
You may not agree with all of their decisions on what needs to be included and what can go. There is an art and science to creating super-efficient code, and some disagree on which practices should be used and when. You may even prefer to use a different technique in place of theirs! Regardless, you’ll still want to know why they made each decision so you can learn from their techniques and apply them to your own sites.
3) Optimize content using relevant keywords repetitively without keyword stuffing
Keywords are a necessary part of SEO. They allow search engines to classify, index, and display your content to the user in a relevant manner. However, optimizing for keywords does not always need to be done by stuffing them into your pages, as many people suggest. You can rank well without ever looking like you’re over-optimizing if you do it right.
Instead of just placing words on your page for the sake of being in the top 10, you should place them there because they are relevant to what you are trying to convey. However, there is a fine line between optimization and stuffing, so it’s crucial that you stay on the right side of it by properly balancing the number of keywords and their relevance to your content.
4) Create links to your site naturally via guest posts and relevant links
Creating quality content is the best way to get backlinks. And, of course, there are many different strategies you can use for this. However, if you want to do it right, one strategy that needs to be incorporated is guest blogging. Guest blogging isn’t spammy or black hat with a focus on generating links; instead, your goal should be to offer value to your industry and create a relationship with others in it.
When you reach out to other sites, ask them if they’d be willing to post your article on their website by giving the following reasoning: “I’ve included some input from [insert expert], who has been incredibly helpful when writing this article. He/she would love to share his/her input on your site if you don’t mind.”
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5) Get listed on relevant directories by filling out their submission forms
Some obvious benefits include more traffic, better SEO results, more subscribers to your email list, etc.
-If you are considering using a business directory for your business or website – which you should – it’s important that you take this process seriously. Do not make the mistake of submitting one application on all directories.
-Most directories will approve your listing – some of which you may not even be relevant to.
-You should only visit the most relevant directories and apply for submissions there, leaving the irrelevant ones behind.
-The process is pretty straightforward: fill out a form, add some details about yourself or your business, upload a logo or image file and submit.
-Unfortunately, not all directories are created equal – some will take your details and use them in spam campaigns against you! Be sure to avoid such directories.
We have been told repeatedly that SEO is a must for online marketers. And while SEOMoz has a great article on the basics of Search Engine Optimization, some marketers still fall short in many areas of SEO.
6) Implement Search Engine Friendly URLs:
Make sure that you don’t have long ID names or another unrecognizable parameter driving your link equity away from valuable real estate on your page (towards an advertising network). If possible, use words instead of numbers in URLs.
7) Optimize & Submit XML Sitemap:
Ensure that you have an XML sitemap that can be submitted to Google Webmaster Tools and Bing Webmaster Center. If your CMS doesn’t support XML sitemaps, use a plugin like WordPress SEO by Yoast or All in One SEO Pack.
8) Utilize Breadcrumbs:
Use breadcrumbs for navigation. Navigation is typically the top portion of most website pages, so it is highly visible in search engine results; this helps with clickthrough rate, positively impacting rankings.
9) Create Unique Title Tags for Every Page:
Search engines only display about 60 characters, but many titles are written way more than that (meta tags on some sites include over 100 characters). Keep your title tags clear and concise.
10) Proofread Metadata and Website Content for Accuracy:
Search engines hate errors, period. Suppose you or someone else has written the metadata or content for your website. In that case, errors may likely slip through the cracks of proper spelling, grammar usage, punctuation, capitalization & spacing. Before publishing online, make sure to run everything by yourself (or another set of eyes).
While these are just ten simple steps often overlooked by marketers, they will drastically improve your rankings in search engine results if implemented at the launch time of a new site or campaign.
Conclusion:
These are ten simple steps that you can take to improve your SEO. It’s important to note that these strategies won’t work for every business, but they should help give marketers a starting point for understanding how people interact with their website. If any of these tips have piqued your interest, let us know, and we would be happy to discuss them in more detail or provide additional resources on the topic!
Author Bio:
Anji Velagana loves pursuing excellence through writing. He currently writes for Gologica.com, a global leader in providing the best online training to individuals who wish to take training on different abilities. He has experience of 5 years in the field of content writing. Contact him via LinkedIn.
