How do some online businesses manage to appear on the first few pages of the search engines? This article answers this question by detailing six important ways to improve search engine optimization. The topics covered are keywords, images, website content, URLs, user experience and web presence. These six aspects of SEO should significantly increase online traffic to your business website.
There are many things you can do online to improve your chances of appearing on the top pages of search engines. However, there are six tips that are easy to implement and can help significantly boost your online traffic. Read on to discover how to send your web visits through the roof.
1 – Your Keyword Strategy
Decide on a small number of keywords for each page of your website, and optimize the page using them. This includes titles, articles, tags and image data. Don’t try to target too many keywords at once, as this sends an unclear message to the search engines. A word of warning: search engines are more aware than ever of keyword “stuffing”, where a web writer crams in keywords as often as possible on a page to try and boost rankings. This will not work – your content must be fluid and natural-sounding and keywords must be sensibly placed across the page.
2 – The Importance of Images
Images are a fantastic way to capture the imagination of a potential customer. When you place an image on your site, ensure that you include a caption above, below, or next to it. Also, give your image a keyword-rich title. You may not think that images on a webpage are that important for SEO – think again. Google and other search engines look at all of your content and images can be great for boosting your rankings, as long as you label them with high-quality keywords.
3 – Fresh Website Content
Keep updating your website content and making improvements to the layout, the titles, the images and the menus. A blog is a fantastic way to add new material to your site and it means that you can keep your customers up to date with new products and developments. You could also add a “New Promotions” page to keep things fresh, or a “Product of the Month” page. Search engines are looking for good quality, recent content which shows that you are actively promoting your website and not just leaving it untouched for months or years.
4 – The Right URL
A quick word about URLs – search engines and web users prefer short and memorable URLs, so choose carefully when you are buying a domain name. Something short, punchy and easy to remember has a better chance of ranking well than a long and confusing name. Try to find an available URL which contains your product name or another word which is vital to your online business. It’s all about attracting people to your site through the easiest possible means.
5 – User Experience
Visit all the pages of your website periodically to make sure that everything is functioning correctly and that it is easy to navigate from one page to the next. User experience is an important aspect of SEO and search engines explore your website to make sure that the whole setup is user-friendly and straightforward.
6 – Your Presence on the Web
Getting yourself known on the internet is another piece of the SEO puzzle. Devise a social network strategy on websites such as Twitter and Facebook and approach relevant websites for good-quality links. It is not worth buying links as these will not be considered high-quality by the search engines. If your website is unique and offers exciting products at good prices, much of the web-presence work will be done for you and you will start receiving organic traffic.
If you follow these six SEO tips you can transform your online business and start making great sales. Over time your money-making ability will increase as you keep improving your website and your web presence. Keep adding content and keep thinking big – the results will follow.