Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential digital marketing component because a visually-pleasing website matters little if no one knows that it exists.
SEO is the process of improving different web elements to ensure that they will appear on relevant search engine results.
For instance, if you are operating a parenting blog and wrote a post about teaching gratitude to children, then proper SEO would direct readers with similar search engine searches to your page.
If you want to reap the same results, here are some quick SEO tips that you should keep in mind:
1. Make Your URLs User-friendly
A best practice is to optimize every web page on one keyword, and you should include this keyword in your URL.
It’s also vital that you place the most important keywords at the start of the URL because most search engine spiders don’t put too much importance on the end of the URL.
Don’t overuse said keywords, though. Search engines will recognize if you’re stuffing keywords and will then penalize your site for these actions.
2. Avoid Duplicate Content
We’ve said this before, and we will repeat it: Duplicate publishing content will eventually lead to SEO issues and can cause search engines like Google to penalize your rankings. So, make sure that you always check your site for duplicate content or even near duplicates.
In the same way, you should also produce fresh and regular content for your site. Search engines tend to prioritize new and up-to-date content, so you need to be strategic with your keywords.
Being informed on the latest news and postings is of equal importance.
Blogs are the perfect way to execute this process. A blog can provide the latest information about a product or service and can link to different site pages.
Similarly, blogs add a more personal touch that forms a closer connection between the reader and your brand allowing you to promote your future content in a more organic way.
3. Incorporate Social Media into Your Web Design
Social media these days is incorporated in almost every marketing campaign.
Incorporating social media into your web design makes it easy for users to know the right channels and gives your site visitors a direct way to contact you.
A simple Facebook icon on your website footer is enough to encourage conversions on your website. Meaning, website visitors will become your Facebook followers.
This helps promote your brand and grow your online presence, and it also keeps your business strong and healthy in the market.
4. Make it Compatible with All Devices
A mobile-responsive website ensures that your content shows up correctly, regardless of what device you are using. Meaning, a mobile website visitor’s user experience will not be hampered because he is on mobile.
Some web developers would opt to have two versions of your website: One for desktop and one for mobile. But these days, you can use a mobile-responsive web design template as it is more cost-effective.
Using such a template allows you to work on a single layout and design and let the built-in code do its magic.
5. Optimize Your Images
Most people optimize texts on a site, yet often forget that images should be optimized as well.
The thing about images is that if you optimize them they can boost your site’s search rank.
When picking an image for your site, ensure that they’re not too big. Ideally, photos should be between 30 to 100kb, with a resolution of 72dpi.
Images that are too big can cause your site to load slower than usual, which can negatively hurt your search rankings. So, in the alt section of an image, ensure that you use a keyword to improve your site’s SEO.
Place these images carefully on your site as well. The more relevant these images are to your page, the more you’ll improve your site rankings.
6. Be Smart With Keywords
Many people use keywords in their copy and tend to neglect all the other areas. You can use keywords to optimize images, too.
There are also other key areas that you can optimize, such as: navigation, meta information, headers and subheaders, ALT text, and more.
Performing keyword analysis enables you to know the popularity of a target keyword. This should include monthly search volume and competition.
7. Improve Your Site Speed
Site speed is another crucial ranking factor on Google. If your pages load too slowly, then there’s a big chance that they will be moved further down the search engines.
If a site’s load time is too long, then there’s a high chance that users will move to another website. This is also true with mobile users who expect to get instant results.
Be diligent in checking how long it takes for your site to load. There are several reasons why you have a slow loading site: too many plug-ins or graphics, large images, or a server’s faulty performance.
It’s also worth noting that too much traffic significantly slows down a site, quite similar to a traffic jam on the highway. When that happens, it can cause an unpleasant user experience and can hurt your search engine ranking.
To prevent that from happening, try implementing Accelerated Mobile Pages.
8. Create an XML Sitemap
Having an XML sitemap allows search engines to know your website structure when they’re crawling it.
As you provide more data to Google and other search engines, you’ll know which pages are the most important and give them more priority.
Conclusion
Making your website more search engine-friendly is the best way to give your brand the online visibility that it deserves.
Featured image credit: unsplash.com
