How to Optimize Your Website for SEO
When building a website for your business, cause, or any other purpose, most people fixate on the inner workings of their pages. However, while the functions and appearance of a website are important factors to consider when building a successful website, here's a thought that most people tend to forget to address:
What good is a website that can't be found?
Considering that there are over a billion websites out and about on the world wide web, there's no doubt that your website will be competing with many others in your niche and in your area. While most of these competing websites may not be as active as yours might be, it's still important to remember that there are ways to improve your website's visibility online. How?
Well, this is where search engine optimization (SEO) can help out!
How can SEO help my website?
With the help of SEO and its different approaches, tactics, and methods, business websites can gain competitive advantages over other pages in their industry. Search engine optimization is an approach that aims to guide organic traffic to a website through a variety of methods by improving search engine rankings and visibility.
A common misconception that most people tend to have about SEO is that it can only be achieved purely through content. There's no denying that hiring a professional content writer can provide enormous benefits for your website; the truth is that there is a whole assortment of ways that SEO can be addressed - one of the most significant being the design of your website.
With SEO-friendly web design, your website can be built to drive as much traffic as possible with a few simple revisions and useful tips. Let's dive in and take a look.
Essential tips for achieving success with an SEO-friendly website
If you're looking to optimize your website for SEO in a few key steps, here are some simple tips you can use:
1.) "E-A-T" your heart out!
Optimizing a website in 2019 is not complete until you have focused on one crucial aspect: E-A-T, which stands for "Experience", "Authority" and "Trustworthiness".
Google's mission is to deliver the most relevant results to a user's query. As a website and business owner, it's up to you to effectively demonstrate that you are an authoritative and experienced source of that information and that you can be trusted.
It all comes down to how credible you appear in Google's eyes.
To analyze and improve your E-A-T, consider a time in your past when you've hired someone to perform a service for you. As you reflect on that experience, ask yourself the following questions:
- What qualities and skills did you require them to have? Were you impressed with the quality of their work?
- How much experience did they have, and did they prove to you that they have the confidence in themselves to guarantee a job well done?
- Anyone can say they're good at something, but did they show you examples of work completed on similar jobs and the results they've achieved for similar clients?
- Did their past customers provide rave reviews to support their claims of exceptional service and workmanship?
If you have above-average responses to the above questions, chances are, you trusted them enough to bring the experience and authority they have to complete your job.
It's as simple as that. Demonstrate your best qualities and back it up with solid reviews, samples of your work and experience, and make sure to keep it updated always.
2.) Make your website design user-friendly
Of all the different ways that a website can tank in the search results, one of the most common is it being downright frustrating to use. The main goal of every website is to convert visitors into leads. For visitors to stay long enough to even think about doing so, it needs to be user-friendly and easy to navigate. They have to be able to find the information they are seeking efficiently.
Although the standard equation may be that an easy-to-use website equates to happier users, it's also important to remember that more satisfied users equate to longer browsing sessions. Longer browsing sessions improves your "E-A-T", and a higher level of "E-A-T" gives you better search rankings. Better rankings, in turn, leads to greater website visibility.
3.) Your website needs to be visually pleasing
According to several studies conducted on the habits and tendencies of internet users, researchers have learned that more than 90 percent of website visitors are visual learners - a revelation that points to the importance of a visually pleasing website. Often, quick exit rates can be attributed to bland, boring-looking websites or overly flashy pages, which can lead to a massive hit on search engine result rankings.
Ease-of-use, aesthetic appeal, easy-to-use navigation and engaging details all help with creating a more visually pleasing website that can lead to better SEO performance.
By making a website visually pleasing, you'll be able to keep your visitors engaged for longer browsing sessions while convincing them to come back again. This type of approach can help with laying the essential groundwork that's needed to keep a user engaged on your website long enough for better search results.
4.) Stay in the loop
Another significant reason as to why websites struggle to increase traffic and page rankings is not having up-to-date and relevant content.
After all, the age of your website's content is another metric used by search engines when ranking sites. The internet evolves at breakneck rates, which is it's essential to take a strategic approach when building your content.
Focus on being relevant and up-to-speed. Spend time inside the mind of your target client and anticipate their needs. Figure out what that is, and write content that draws them in.
Talk to us about how content writing can help you attract higher quality visitors to your website.
Staying relevant is very important. For example, if you're a website that sells computers, you can slingshot your pages up the search engine rankings by creating an article on the latest laptop release and posting it along with your product listings.
5.) Use keywords, but don't overdo it
Aside from negatively impacting the way search engines rank your website, clumping all your keywords up together can lead to catastrophic results. After all, the mere sight of them can turn your users off. A fantastic SEO-friendly website is characterized by keywords that are tastefully spread out all over your website. A smarter keyword strategy, in turn, leads to more engaged users that actually know where to locate what they're looking to find.
What's most important with your content is that it first be written for your users to read, then for the search engines. Content that is too wordy or strays from the focus of the page/article can harm your page ranking, even though you have a lengthy piece of content with several ideal keywords used throughout. Focus on marketing your products/services to real people, and you'll land more opportunities for your business through your website.
If you're looking for a web design agency in Edmonton, get in touch with us today! We have extensive experience in creating modern sites that create consistent amounts of conversions.
Looking for information on web design, SEO, web content?
You're in the right place. We're going to cover many areas of interest for small business website owners, including:
- Growing your business and taking it to the next level using Google
- Responsive web design and the mobile-first approach to building websites
- The importance of website content and how it makes all the difference in the success of your website
- Why search engine optimization is a process (not a thing) that must be implemented and maintained regularly to create future growth for your website and company
