Having the top spot in a search is incredibly valuable to any business. This is exactly why any business with a digital presence must optimize their website for search engines to increase traffic and online visibility as part of their SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy. This multi-faceted strategy should involve improving the elements of your website to rank higher in search engine results and get more visitors. Here are some quick ways to do it.
ON-PAGE ELEMENTS
On-page SEO means optimizing individual pages of your website to make them search engine friendly. This includes things such as:
Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Ensure each page has a unique and descriptive title tag and meta description. These should include keywords and accurately describe the content of the page. A good meta description can increase CTR (click through rate) from search engine results.
Header Tags
Use header tags (H1, H2, H3 etc) to structure content. This helps search engines understand the structure of your content, further improving readability. It’s advisable to include keywords naturally in these headers, else this could hurt you with Google’s algorithm (i.e. Google will think you are purposefully loading up the keyword count while ignoring the quality and viability of the content and its end user).
URL
Create clean and short URLs (i.e. also knows as a web address) that include targeted keywords. Avoid long strings of numbers and special characters. A good URL simply looks better and gives search engines more context about the content of the page.
CONTENT QUALITY
High quality content is the foundation of good SEO, and a big part of what Google uses to rank a website. Here are some places to invest some quality time to improve your content:
Keyword Research and Optimization
Do keyword research to find out what your audience is searching for. You can use the auto-fill in Google, the “People also ask” section of a google search to see what topics people are curious about and what they are asking in their searches. Other tools like alsoaksed.com, answersocrates.com, and reddit also provide some good ideas. For more information on keyword research, you can reference “4 Ways to Find Great Content Ideas.”
Important pro tip is to use those keywords strategically in your content. Ensure you don’t keyword stuff (i.e. just cramming keywords without reason or purpose) which can harm your SEO.
Content Uniqueness and Relevance
Spend time to make sure your content is unique, relevant and valuable to your audience. This means you readily research and share valuable information that makes visiting your site worthwhile for the visitor. You will also have to ensure you update your content regularly to keep it fresh and in line with current trends and developments that take place in your industry.
Multimedia
Another way to stand above the rest is to add multi-media (i.e. images, videos and infographics) that makes your content more engaging. Multimedia elements increase time spent on page and reduce bounce rates, which are all good signals to search engines.
High quality content is the foundation of good SEO
SITE STRUCTURE AND NAVIGATION
It’s critical to have a well-structured website. This allows search engines to crawl better and improves user experience. Here are some things to work on as you try to optimize this:
Sitemaps
Create and update XML sitemaps to help search engines index your site faster. Sitemaps provide search engines information about the pages in your site and any changes you’ve made to them.
Internal Linking
Using internal linking to connect related content in your site distributes page authority throughout your website. This makes it easier for visitors to navigate and get to the information they are looking for more quickly.
Mobile Optimization
Most of the internet users are accessing sites via mobile devices, making mobile site optimization critical to solid ranking. It’s therefore critical to make sure your website is mobile friendly and that it implements responsive design (providing a seamless experience across all devices).
TECHNICAL SEO
Technical SEO refers to the optimization of the backend of your site. Here are some areas to focus on to maximize the technical SEO of your website.
Page Speed Optimization
Search engines favor fast loading websites. This means optimizing images, leveraging browser caching and using content delivery networks (CDNs) to speed up page loading will definitely impact and go a long way towards increasing your site rank.
Secure Your Site
It’s also very important to implement HTTPS (i.e. SSL certificate) to secure data exchange between your website and its users. Security is a major ranking factor for search engines and is important to build trust with your audience by securing your site. Perhaps unrelated to SEO, but also important to consider is that SSL certificates are required to accept credit card information on a website and to comply with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards.
Schema
Another option you have is to utilize schema markup to give search engines more context about your content. This can make your website look better in search results (with rich snippets), further increasing your CTR (click through rate).
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media platforms are powerful tools to increase your online presence and drive traffic to your website. Here’s how you can use them to optimize SEO:
Branding
Consistent branding across all social media platforms. The more powerful the brand, the more customers will trust your product or service.
Share Quality Content
Share quality content on social media to engage with your audience and increase backlinks. More shares and engagement can indirectly impact your search rankings.
Engage with Your Audience
Respond to comments and messages to build a community around your brand. Engagement generates more visibility and traffic which is good for improving SEO.
MONITOR AND ANALYZE
Google Analytics
Use Google Analytics to track visitor behavior. This tool will also help identify areas for improvement. This will allow you to analyze metrics like bounce rate, session duration and traffic sources to refine your strategy.
Google Search Console
Use Google Search Console to monitor your website’s presence in search results. It gives you insights into indexing issues, search queries and other data that can be used to improve your results.
Regular Audits
Do regular SEO audits to identify technical issues and optimize content. This extra step will ensure your website is up to date with the latest SEO best practices.
Closing Thoughts
In summary, optimizing your SEO involves a combination of on-page optimization, content quality, site structure, social media and regular monitoring. These steps can bring more visibility and targeted traffic to your website. For businesses looking for professional help, nHance Solutions offers digital marketing and SEO services to boost your online presence. Whether you need help with technical SEO, content creation or social media strategy, their expertise in the realm of digital marketing can help you achieve your business goals.
About the Author
Imran Akhtar is the owner of nHance solutions, a digital agency providing high-end web development services, social media management, digital marketing strategies, and maintenance and security solutions. He has an MBA in Marketing from Rice University in Houston, and has over 20 years of experience in the marketing and information technology space.
