Search engine optimization (SEO) is important for any business that has
an online presence. It can be the difference between your potential customers
seeing your website and not seeing it. As the SEO Experts say, having an un-optimized website is like "placing
a billboard in the desert."
1. Utilize Well-Written Meta Tags for All Your Web Pages
When it comes to SEO, creating good Meta tags, which include the titles and
descriptions of your web pages, is critical. It is what Google uses not only to
crawl your website in order to discover what it is about but also what it uses
to display information about your site in search results. Many companies do not
pay enough attention to these tags (or use them at all), and this damages their
search rankings.
2. Send Your Sitemap to Google
Sitemaps serve multiple useful purposes. They help Google and other search engines effectively crawl your website by helping
them understand its structure. It also aids search engines in displaying this
structure within search results. You can submit your sitemap to Google through
its Webmaster Tools, which are completely free to use.
3. Create Relevant Content
One of the best ways of optimizing your site for search is by creating content
relevant to your business that could benefit your customers. So, if you own a
roofing company, you could, for example, create content related to repairing
and maintaining roofs. When people search for these subjects, they will see
both your content and your site.
4. Link to Other Websites
Many people think that linking only to your own website will increase
your rankings in search engines. But this simply is not true. Google and other
search engines will actually rank your website higher if you link to other
sites. As an added benefit, by linking to other sites, they just may link to
yours. This creates something called a backlink, which can really help your
search rankings.
5. Start a Blog
This tip is related to creating relevant content, as a blog is the best way to do this. Unlike the
static parts of your website, which contain the description of your company and
the products and services you offer, a blog lets you create useful content
related to your business on a regular basis. This will help improve your search
rankings and bring people to your site.
6. Make Your Website Responsive
A responsive website is a site whose design changes based on the screen size
of users. So, someone visiting the site using a desktop computer sees a design
optimized for a large screen while someone using a phone or tablet sees a
design optimized for a small screen. Google and other search engines lower the
rankings of sites that are not responsive, so make sure that your site is.
7. Avoid Keyword Stuffing
When creating content for your site, you should strongly avoid the temptation
to stuff relevant keywords into it. While this once helped your search engine
rankings, today it hurts it. Google and other engines will actually lower your
rankings if they catch you doing this. Instead, incorporate keywords naturally into your content.
8. Write Local Content
Often people search for products and services in a particular locale. So,
instead of just searching for "roof repair," they might search for
"roof repair in Phoenix." Because of this, it is important for you to
create useful content that is directly relevant to people living in your area.
This will improve your rankings for local searches.
9. Improve the Speed of Your Website
If your web pages load slowly, it can affect your rankings on Google and on
other search engines. So, if your website is slow, it is important for you to
work with whoever created your site to improve its speed. As an added benefit, this will improve the
experience users have when visiting your site.
10. Secure Your Website
Not having a secure website can also lower your search rankings. Secure
websites have what is called SSL certificates and browsers communicate with
them using HTTPS protocol instead of the standard HTTP protocol. For a small price,
you can provide your visitors with a more secure experience that will help your
search rankings rise.
Caryl
Anne Crowne is a contributing writer and media specialist for Digital Marketing Training Group. She often produces content for a variety
of marketing blogs.
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