Ever wonder why your website isn’t attracting as much engagement as you’d like it to?
Well, it’s most likely because search engines don’t recognise your content.
Let’s say you have the picture-perfect website. Great, that’s what we like, that’s a big green tick. But your fancy website is going to be no use if your customers can’t find it.
So, what can you do to make your website stand out in the crowd of content on the internet?
The answer is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
But what is SEO?
SEO is the practice of increasing the traffic and visibility of your website through organic search engine results. The more visibility your site has in search results, the more likely you are to gain attention and attract potential and existing customers to your website.
Now that you know what SEO is, here’s 10 things you can do to help your business rank higher in search results. It’s easy peasy we promise!
Keywords are key
Imagine yourself as your potential customer. What words are they likely to use when searching for your products or services on the internet? Let’s say you’re an electronics store, it’s more likely your customers will be searching for your products using slang words such as TV rather than television.
Now that I’ve got you thinking, make a list of 30 or so keywords. Once you’ve got your list head over to Google AdWords to check if the keywords you have chosen are frequently used in online searches.
So now that you’ve got your narrowed down keywords what do you do?
You use them on each and every single one of your website pages to help them rank higher when potential customers search using them.
Keep it short with short URLs
A URL is the address of your web page. It’s important to keep your URLs short for your pages and ensure you incorporate those keywords within the URLs as well. Along with it helping with SEO, its efficient look will also lead people to your website from links on other platforms. I call that a double win!
Check the automated URL the website develops for you and if it’s too long and bulky, we recommend you edit the URL to a shortened version. It’ll do you wonders.
Headings all over, everywhere
We all know that headings work a treat for making content reader-friendly and developing a structured format for emphasising key information.
But what’s even better is that it’s also great for increasing SEO!
Headings make it easier for search engines to decode and translate your content. So, keep your heading short, sharp and shiny and of course, don’t forget to weave in keywords!
Increase your loading speed
Your website speed affects its ranking, as page speed is directly linked to user experience.
This means the faster your page loads, the increased likelihood of users remaining on your website and having a positive user experience.
So, ensure your load speed is sufficient because your SEO ranking depends on it!!
Build a tower of links to your site
We go by the more the merrier rule with this one.
The more sites that carry links to your website, means you’ll rank higher on searches.
You can carry links to your site from your social media pages or even offer related sites to carry a link to their site in exchange for a link to yours. Sharing is caring after all!
Optimise your images
Just like written content, visual content can increase SEO.
Check your website images to make sure they have all been optimised. Why? Because by optimising your images you will decrease their file size without sacrificing the quality meaning your page load times remain low.
Descriptive filenames and alt text will also increase the chance of your images ranking higher on all search engines.
Make your website mobile-friendly
If your website is mobile-optimised, then you win the prize of being Google’s favourite.
Failing to optimise your website for mobile devices will result in a poor user experience as well as lowering your chances of a high page ranking. Ouch!
Don’t forget to also focus on developing mobile SEO. How?
Just like you did for your website, you need to utilise SEO tools to gain insights into mobile analytics. This will guide you towards the selection of relevant keywords.
Keep up to date
Search engines love regularly updated content because it is viewed as the best indicator of a site’s relevancy and quality.
But don’t just stop at the content!
Your websites user experience should be reviewed and updated constantly to improve visual readability, headings, images and broken links.
The secret is to continue adding to your website to maximise your ranking, you won’t regret it!
Add more and more multimedia
Images are great for your website, but do you know what makes it even better? Other multimedia elements such as videos, slideshows, or audio.
Why is this important for SEO?
Because these elements can improve the length of time a user spends on your website. Depending on your video or audio lengths, users can be engaged with your page for minutes which ultimately boosts your search ranking!
Keep it simple. Keep it readable.
When writing your website content, make sure you think like your audience, because in the end, they are the ones who are reading it and who want to engage.
A good way to make people spend time on your website is if you speak to them in a way that they understand.
Your content should be written in a way that everyone including those who have no knowledge on the topic can understand. Tell a story, be engaging and write content that your audience want to hear.
Not sure if your content is readable?
Why not check out some tools such as readble.com, it’ll give you that much needed hand in writing easy to digest content.
Now it’s time to get started!
68% of online experiences begin with a search engine, so jump the queue and increase your website traffic today!!!
But don’t get overwhelmed.
Start off with a few of the tips and slowly progress onto conquering the others. Keep an eye on your results, check your traffic and search ranking to help validate your SEO strategy.
And guess what? Soon enough you’ll be making your way towards the top of the search results. You might even be lucky enough to secure that number one spot one day!
