SEO is a tough game to play, and one that’s constantly evolving.
It’s so hard for small business owners to keep track of all of the changes and nuances of SEO that it’s a lot easier just to hire an SEO agency.
Did you know that almost 90% of all websites are not optimised for organic search results?
That means that potentially there is a lot of traffic being missed.
Google is continually changing its algorithm. This means that ranking highly on Google can become a moving target. It is important to be aware of new updates and changes that may affect your website in the future.
You should spend your time learning about Search Engine Optimization and how to get the most out of it. Because if you’re not doing so, you’re behind the curve!
To help your website rank well, here are my top 5 steps to get your products or services noticed with organic rankings:
1. Setup your analytics
Before you do anything, you should get Google Analytics and Google Search Console up and running. There are many tutorials online about how to set up these tools. You’ll have access to important data about visitor behavior and what is converting for you.
You may also want to install additional tools like Google Analytics, CrazyEgg, etc. depending on your needs. Build your own website using WordPress Once you have set up your website, you will need to build a website using WordPress.
2. Get rid of anything that doesn’t add value or improve your site
The faster your website, the better your user experience. You need a speedy website if you want to build your customer base and keep them coming back for more.
You can’t afford not to do what is necessary to get traffic from Google, Bing, and other search engines. If you don’t take the time to do this, you’re losing out.
Google also gives a lot of importance to how fast a website loads, as it’s a good indicator of how trustworthy a website is and if a page has been indexed by Google. A website with slow load times will not be crawled and indexed as quickly by Google, which means it will be harder for your site to rank.
3. Speed up your website
How do you speed up your website?
1. Make sure your site speed is optimised to benchmark just how slow it is. Using a tool like Page Speed Insights, GT Metrix, or Pingdom, it’ll show how slow your site is so you can see what you can do to improve it.
2. Get rid of any unnecessary plugins and widgets. Don’t use plugins you won’t use, or if you need them, pay for the premium versions instead of the free versions. If you’re using a blog plugin, remove the comments and opt-in forms.
3. If youre using a website builder, disable the useless content boxes. If youre using a shopping cart, remove unnecessary functionality.
4. Optimising your images is a vital part of ecommerce design. You should always make sure that the file size of the images you upload to Amazon is small enough for a user to download without causing your page to timeout.
5. Delete your slider – sliders often just slow your loading time down, and research shows people don’t interact with it unless it is very well designed with a call to action. Focus on driving people down the page further to decrease your bounce rate.
You can test the loading time of your website by visiting gtmetrix.com and enter your website. It will show you your current loading time, and where you need to improve your website to speed it up. It’s one of the easiest ways to pinpoint any issues, and improve your site.
If you find your web design project daunting, then consider handing it over to someone with a different background. The web designer isn’t necessarily the person to ask about a new ecommerce system or the latest WordPress theme, so don’t go for the first person you talk to.
4. Build high-quality backlinks
Linking from high-quality websites will help Google to understand that your website is trustworthy and therefore worthy of ranking well. It’s not just a numbers game. Think about quality and high-value content.
Google is looking for quality websites in order to give them a higher position in search results. Keyword Density Checker – The Keyword Density Checker is a tool that lets you check the keyword density of a webpage in regards to a specific keyword.
5. Write content for humans, not for search engines.
Nowadays, the best way to write is with content your readers actually want to read and share. Keyword stuffing has been a sure-fire way to drive people away. Your objective has to be to create content that people want to read and share – information that’s high quality, valuable, and trusted. When you do that, your target audience will often come to you. You’ll win everywhere! Because of all the links you’ve earned, your site will suddenly appear more attractive to search engines. Your site will win all over the place.
6. Get familiar with some basic SEO fundamentals
There are a few very specific SEO boxes to be ticked. You don’t want to worry if you’re not sure what they mean or need further explanation. Just Google them, and you’ll probably find the most valuable results right there at the top of the page!
At the same time, it’s very important to note that there is really no such thing as a No-Fail diet. There are a lot of resources out there promising instant results that are unrealistic, and will often fail when you try to follow their plan.
7. If you want to rank for a specific keyword, include that keyword in the title tag of the page.
This will help Google and other search engines to determine your content on that page, and how relevant it is to the keyword you are targeting. If you have other websites, you can do a 301 redirect from your old domain to your new domain.
8. Get your URL structure right
Your URL should contain only words and dashes. Avoid connecting words like an, the, in, but and other messy symbols that make your URL unreadable for users and search engines.
Using your keyword more than once is a good idea. Users and search engines like it. But don’t overdo it. Try to use a keyword that is not too long. Longer keywords are less readable for users and search engines.
9. Don’t forget to use the right keywords in images
The image filenames should be set with the keywords they represent. That includes the title of the photo and the captions and alt text. But they should be clear rather than clever, because it’s function that counts, not form.
10. Keyword research
Keyword research is the basis of a successful SEO campaign. It’s all about understanding the keywords that potential buyers are using online to find and purchase products and services just like yours.
Starting with your top competitors, conduct extensive keyword research to find out how people are using search engines to find products and services similar to yours. In order to understand your competitors’ keywords, you need to know what their objectives are.
Getting started with SEO
It’s important to have an SEO strategy in place, but knowing how to use the data is critical to getting the most from your SEO efforts. This checklist is a good starting point for understanding what you need to be doing.
Ultimately, SEO is all about results – that is, the sales and leads it’s bringing in to your business. The keyword rankings are only a measuring tool. When it comes down to it, the only number that matters is your ROI.
Celebrate your success when you get better rankings. More leads and more sales means you’ve done a good job.
Author: Chris Bourke
Digital Life Designer and Web expert at ChrisBourke.com and Smartfish.com.au