Unfortunately, there is no perfect SEO formula that will boost your organic ranking to the top of a google search. It’s an imperfect system, but with hard work over time it can show great returns. Search engine optimization is the strategic tactics used to increase quality visitors to a website by obtaining a high-ranking placement on the search result page. We’ve broken down the most important tips to get your SEO efforts to start showing you a legitimate pay off.
Pick the Most Relevant Keywords
SEO keywords are the most relevant, consistent words or phrases displayed in your web content. Search engines match these words found on your website to the user web searches. Start by creating a well thought out list of words and phrases that most reflects what your content is about. Learn to speak the language of your consumer and you use keywords that they would search for. Be careful to not overuse your keywords because that will not only annoy your readers, but also will be penalized by Google for ‘keyword stuffing’.
Write for People Not Ranking
We cannot stress the importance of this enough. Often, when writers become too concerned with SEO, their content slips. Write your piece with your message in mind primarily and keep SEO as a secondary effort. If your content isn’t readable for your audience then search engines will drop your rankings. Write content that will appeal to your audience or that answers their questions. Not everything you write about has to be about what your business offers, but they all should be industry related.
Quality Content
Following our last point, good copy makes your search engines happy. Continue to keep in mind SEO driven titles with great linkage. However, don’t be afraid to write too much. Your content should be at least 500 words, but Google prefers longer pieces to top off their searches. Write about something worth learning about and make it compelling. The best way to get your writing to the top of a SERP is to write quality content.
Link to External and Internal Properties
Linking to external and internal websites can help boost your SEO efforts if done correctly. Search engines like Google believe in the wealth of knowledge. Therefore, they like when websites link to more information because it continues to grow everyone’s knowledge. However, the kind of websites matters when you link. Studies have proven that linking to high authority sites will help a website’s SEO. Make sure your link is a credible source to ensure good content continues to be shared. Linking to your own site also will help your organic ranking because it shows Google that you also have a wealth of knowledge. Linking to internal properties gets bots to also crawl those linked pages which in turn can boost their ranking. Just make sure your links are credible.
Ensure Website is Mobile Friendly
It is almost a guarantee that your website needs to be mobile friendly to even get on the first page of google search results. This a major factor for search engine rankings. Websites that aren’t mobile friendly have longer load times causing major bounce back issues. To gain a strong organic ranking make sure your website is 100% responsive. A website that can load fast on all screen sizes not only make Google happy, but also your readers happy.
Page Title/ Meta Description
A well thought out, irresistible headline is key when considering your SEO efforts. Keep it under 60 characters to ensure it can be seen on all screen sizes in its entirety. Make sure your title is relevant and compelling. Don’t overload it with keywords, but instead write it to answer a question that your reader might have. Your meta description isn’t as much of a major factor for SEO rankings, but it doesn’t hurt. Look at your meta description as a concise paragraph of what your content is about. We recommend anywhere between 50 and 300 characters for optimal search. Meta descriptions aren’t going to increase your SERP ranking, but if written well they will increase your click through rate.
SEO is only going to become more important for your business in the years to come. Contact us today to get content for your company with well-crafted SEO efforts. Call 1-800-992-9663 or visit our website for more information to assist all of your marketing efforts.
