With the constant changes that search engines make to their algorithms and rules, it's hard for SEO companies to keep up with what is working best now. But there are some basic principles you can follow to ensure your website ranks high in Google searches. Here are 10 Search Engine Optimization tips that will help you improve how well your website performs on organic results pages.
1) Publish Relevant, Authoritative Content. One of the most important things about optimizing your content is having relevant, authoritative information about your niche. If you're selling shoes online but have no articles or blog posts written by an expert shopper, then you haven't done enough research into this area. You should be able to answer questions like "What type of shoe do I want? What size am I?" without looking at another source. When people see these types of answers on your page, they'll likely trust your recommendations more than if someone else had answered those exact same queries elsewhere. And when you publish new content regularly, you show other webmasters that you know what you're talking about. This helps them understand why they might want to use your services or products instead of someone else's.
2) Make Sure All Links Are Linkable. Many times we'll create links from one page to another only because our client wants us to add a backlink. In fact, adding a backlink isn't even always going to benefit your rankings. The truth is, many factors affect whether or not a backlink helps your ranking -- such as anchor text, relevance, etc. So before linking any two pages together, ask yourself, "Is this link valuable to my readers?" We tend to think of them as backlinks simply because so few of us actually stop to analyze each individual link, especially ones coming from outside sources. A good way to determine value between two internal pages is to look at the traffic statistics for both sites. If you find a post that gets thousands of views per month on Page 1 of Google (for example), chances are pretty great that visitors who click through to your site would also get similar numbers. It's also worth noting that high quality external links are sometimes more effective than low quality internal links. However, just remember that every single link counts!
3) Keep Meta Descriptions Short & Sweet. Just like meta titles don't need to be long, neither does your description tag. Most users scan descriptions first, which means you've got less time to grab their attention and encourage a click. Also, be sure to avoid using keywords inside the main body copy of your description tag; search engine bots aren't smart enough to pick out keyword phrases. Instead, try putting emphasis on benefits rather than features. For instance, "Quick delivery" is better than "Fast shipping."
4) Don't Overdo It With Images. While images certainly provide visual appeal, overloading your pages with too many graphics can hurt your performance in terms of speed and ability to rank highly. Not only that, search engines often ignore image files altogether - meaning they won't index anything within them. To test this theory, open up Chrome Inspector while viewing a webpage. Then head over to Tools & Webpage Performance Monitoring and check off Show CSS box. Now right click anywhere on the screen and select Inspect Element. Scroll down until you reach the end of the code where you'd normally place an image file. Right click again and choose Open Image in New Tab. Try clicking around on the resulting window to view all kinds of different images. After doing so, scroll down once more and inspect the HTML code next to the image tab. Did you notice how none of the images were included in your inspection? Be mindful of the number of images you include on your page. Too much clutter makes it difficult for robots to read everything clearly.
5) Give Alt Tags Some Thought. Aside from helping blind users access your website, giving descriptive alternative tags ("alt="shoes") allows search engines to identify exactly what they're seeing on your page. Even though search engines have gotten very advanced, humans still rely heavily on sight to process information. By providing meaningful tags, you give searchers something tangible to hold onto while browsing your site. Additionally, these tags allow mobile devices to display pictures properly. Mobile browsers may interpret words like "pink", "red," "blue," and "orange" incorrectly. Using alt= tags helps prevent confusion and gives people a chance to decide whether they really love the picture.
6) Use Social Media Sharing Widget. There are plenty of social media sharing widgets available across the Internet. They usually come in three forms: Facebook Like buttons, Twitter Tweet boxes, and StumbleUpon icons. These tools let other websites' visitors share your content with their friends via popular networks. Although useful, they shouldn't be used exclusively. Why waste precious space showing your widget when someone could easily miss it among dozens of others on a busy page? Plus, social networking platforms offer excellent opportunities to engage customers and increase brand awareness. People will learn more about your business and become loyal followers if you take advantage of these channels.
7) Include Site Map. Having a sitemap lets anyone navigate your site quickly and efficiently. This saves both yours and your visitor's time. Sitemaps serve as quick reference guides for people visiting your website. On top of being user friendly, a sitemap also helps spiders crawl faster. Without a sitemap, search engines must go through every single page individually, slowing down its crawling considerably.
8) Create Internal Navigation Structure. Since navigation doesn't appear on public pages, it's easy for visitors to overlook it entirely. Creating a navigational structure for your home page keeps viewers focused on the primary message you wish to convey. Take note of the following points when creating your menu items:
Make it simple. No complicated dropdown menus here.
Make it clear. Avoid ambiguous names like Home and About Us.
Place related categories close together.
Choose colors wisely. Colors can subconsciously evoke certain emotions. Blue conveys calmness and tranquility, red suggests passion, orange shows alertness, green denotes growth, yellow signifies energy, and black represents sophistication.
Use bullets and highlight major sections. Bullet lists break big ideas down into smaller chunks. Highlighting the title of a section draws attention to it.
Add breadcrumbs whenever possible. Bread crumbs tell users where they came from and point them toward previous locations.
Only use hyperlinks if necessary. Sometimes people skim past entire paragraphs of information hoping to catch the gist of whatever topic is discussed. Hyperlinking specific sentences or key words can draw this reader's eye directly to the spot you want it to focus upon.
Use boldface wherever appropriate. Bolding emphasizes the importance of highlighted text.
Consider using multiple columns. Columns separate blocks of information making it easier for viewers to digest lengthy pieces of data.
9) Get Rid Of Flash Animations. Visitors appreciate fast loading webpages. Unfortunately, Flash animations typically slow down load speeds and frustrate people trying to surf your site. Unless you're using animation to add personality to your design elements, consider removing flash completely. As far as SEO goes, search engines cannot process animation, so they never index it at all. If you absolutely require animated elements, convert them to GIF format and incorporate them into your header background.
10) Incorporate Header Tags Properly. Including headers tells search engines what kind of page you have. However, they can cause problems if placed inappropriately. Headers should be located above the fold (the part of the page visible without scrolling). Because of this, search engines prefer headers containing subheadings. Therefore, incorporating your targeted keyword phrase in the H1 heading should be considered essential. Other considerations include placing your keywords near the center of the header, keeping your placement consistent throughout the rest of your site, and avoiding excessive punctuation marks (like exclamation points!) in your header.
11) Utilize Effective Online Marketing Methods. Making your marketing efforts stand apart from competitors is critical for success. That said, search engines don't rank websites based solely on marketing strategies. Rather, they evaluate how effectively your company uses various methods to attract potential clients. An obvious indicator of this usage is the amount of incoming links you generate. More specifically, search engines pay attention to how many outgoing links exist pointing to your domain name. How many links you have pointing outward indicates how widely known your site is amongst other businesses. Likewise, a higher ratio of inward links means your site has been recognized by other organizations. Finally, search engines value relevancy in regards to your industry. Thus, including relevant keywords in the anchor text of your links increases their effectiveness.
While you may feel confident that you already employ solid optimization practices, it never hurts to double check. Checklists like these can guide you towards ensuring your site stays competitive for years to come. Remember, building a successful SEO strategy takes patience and perseverance. Good luck!