As you already know, SEO is one of the most important factors when you want to boost your website’s traffic, and implementing a good optimization strategy will help you rank higher and convert more searches into actual clients.
SEO or else Search Engine Optimization, is the process of making your website appear as high as possible in search engines – the higher your website is, the more visitors it is likely to attract, thus generating more sales!
Don’t get too excited though… SEO is not that simple – it is constantly evolving and Google’s algorithm is being updated on a regular basis; therefore marketers are “forced” to implement new strategies in order to get their website at the top of the search engines’ list!
But how does SEO really work?
Relevant & High-Quality Content
Site structure, anchor text, URL structure, and other technical SEO criteria are some of the things that you need to take into consideration when applying SEO practices, but implementing high-quality content is the No.1!
Here are 3 things you need to have in mind when creating content:
- Context – Google is now examining the context and looks for related and/or similar keywords that are connected to the primary keywords that are associated with the searcher’s preferences.
- Titles, meta descriptions, alt attributes, H1 tags, and URLs – should all be clear and relevant to your website so that Google can rank your site accordingly!
- Quantity – Depending on your topic and purpose, the amount of content produced should satisfy your website’s needs and be written accordingly for your target audience.
Metadata Matters
Title and meta descriptions on the search results page are known as “metadata”. When a user clicks on a website, Metadata informs them of what to expect.
Implementing Metadata is fairly easy:
- Make sure the title and description contain relevant information and keywords are not repeated.
- Try to keep it simple but don’t overdo it. We recommend these to be between 50 to 160 characters.
- Your message should be clear and straightforward.
Should you use the above tips strategically, then you should expect an increase in your website’s traffic and in your sales!
Links Matter
Since Google’s launch, links have been a crucial component of SEO.
Links work as “votes” that inform Google that other websites find your material to be relevant and useful – and gathering more high-quality and relevant links will speed up the process of ranking your website higher.
Therefore, if you decide to invest in link building for your SEO strategy, make sure you do it well and you’ll definitely see better results. To comprehend why are backlinks important for SEO is a factor that will distinguish you from your competition.
User Experience (UX) Impacts Rankings
How well your website ranks on Google is significantly influenced by the user experience (UX).
Still, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of the user experience because of the many things involved in making it work, such as site infrastructure and layout, content, and other.
UX should be your first focus if you want to succeed at SEO.
Here are a few things to consider:
1. Metrics monitoring like bounce rate, CTR and time is important to learn more about the performance of your content.
2. Make your website simple to use by using straightforward navigation functions such as drop-down menus, internal links, and a site search.
3. Site speed is very important; make sure you use a fast server, image compression, as well as code and structural improvements, will contribute towards better web rankings.
How to apply the best practices on your website
Mobile Matters
Google switched to a mobile-first indexing strategy in 2018, which implies that your site will be ranked in search results based on its mobile version.
Given that more than 50% of all traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices, you should take into consideration that your site must run on mobile devices too and that your content is consistent across both desktop and mobile platforms.
This will ensure that your website’s ranking will remain at the top of the search rankings.
Voice Search
According to Google, 20% of all searches made in the Google app (approximately) were implemented using voice commands.
The use of voice search has increased and will probably continue to do so, and it’s no surprise that more than 70% of marketers have stated that they will start using voice search optimization.
If you are considering voice search optimization we suggest to:
– Apply natural language in content and answer questions.
– Optimize for featured snippets.
– Create an FAQ page for further help
SEO Tips
The 3 Hats
You may have come across the terms “Gray hat”, “White hat” and “Black hat” SEO.
The term “Black hat SEO” describes techniques that do not work in line with Google’s Terms of Service – for example creating ten websites and linking them together to trick Google into believing your sites are legit.
Then there is the Gray hat, which stands for riskier SEO practices to rank your website higher.
Finally, “White hat SEO” are practices that comply 100% with Google’s Terms of Services to help you with your website’s rankings.
Therefore if you wish to succeed in the SEO “game” you must apply the right and legal methods of SEO.
If you try to get yourself into sneaky methods the more likely to ruin your chances of ranking well in search.
Learn from the Experts
There are many experienced people in SEO practices, others write about SEO but don’t really put their knowledge into practice and some others will likely put you at the top of Google’s first page.
So you should always be careful and sure that your sources are reliable – and remember, what may work in the X industry may NOT work in the Y industry!
Tests Matter
Finding out what works for your site in your business should be your main goal, and testing your SEO strategies is the only way to find out!
If you’re using “fishy” methods, there’s the likelihood that Google’s future algorithm updates will change everything you have done so far!
Therefore, if you want to succeed in SEO you must ALWAYS TEST THEM!
SEO is a really strong “tool” that will keep evolving!
Every SEO expert would love to discover the secret ingredient that will skyrocket his/her website to the top of SERPs – but unfortunately, SEO is a bit more difficult than this.
Although there are rules, tips and best practices, the purpose of a good SEO is discovering what works for your website, adapting it to your business’ needs and target market and changing it when it stops being effective!
Want to improve your SEO and take your website to the top? Reach out to the DomainStar team and we’ll help you with everything you want!
