SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s a way to improve how well your website appears in search results. This includes things like keywords, title tags, meta descriptions, and content. But you may be wondering, how can you improve your SEO to rank higher in search results? Here are 10 ways to do so.
Keyword Research
Researching your keywords is a crucial step in the SEO process that will significantly help you rank higher in search results. This means you will need to do some research. You want to make sure you’re using the proper keywords, ones that are relevant to your business or what you write about.
There are keywords and there are keyword phrases. Keywords are the single words used to describe what your content is about. Keyword phrases are phrases with your keywords in them. They need to be specific to your business and the content you’re presenting.
A great way to start your research is by asking yourself who your audience is, as well as how and what they would search or look for to find your content. There are also many keyword research tools out there you can use. One good tool to start with is Google AdWords Keyword Planner. It’s free and easy to use.
Create Unique Titles For Each Page Of Your Site
Having unique titles for each page of your site will help viewers know what the page is for and what it’s all about. You want to have a good title tag. If you’re not sure what makes a good title tag, here’s a quick tip: make sure it contains your main keyword phrase. You should also use descriptive words that will help people understand what your page is about.
Add Keywords And Phrases To The Title Tag
Adding keywords and phrases to your title tags will help viewers understand what your content is. When writing title tags, you want to avoid using too much text. Try to keep them short and sweet. This will help your page load faster and give visitors a better user experience.
Include A Call To Action Button
If you’re trying to make money with your website, then you need to provide a call to action button. This means that there should be something on your page that encourages people to take action. It could be as simple as asking them to subscribe to your newsletter or sign up for your email list.
Publish Content that is Current, Relevant and Useful
Your content needs to be current, relevant and useful. You want to keep your blog posts and pages updated with current information that is also helpful and relevant to the viewer. Think about your audience. Who are they? What problems or questions might they have and how can you answer or help them with your content. You’re writing for your audience and providing some sort of solution or clarity for them. You also want to make sure your content is original and different from what’s already out there.
Link To Other Pages From Within Your Blog Post
You should be sure to link any relevant pages from your site within your blog posts. You can link to other pages within your own site by using anchor text. Anchor text is the text that appears under the link. So, when you write “Click here to learn more about our services,” you’re telling Google that you want people to click on the word “services” and go to another page on your site. You can also insert links whenever you mention other blog posts or pages on your site that may be relevant.
Write About Topics That Interest You
If you’re writing about topics that interest you, then you’ll naturally find yourself being more interested in what you’re writing. This will make your posts more interesting and easier to share with others.
Boost the Speed of Your Website
If your site is slow, it is likely people will not stay very long. In fact, studies have found that visitors typically leave if a website does not load within 3 seconds. Search engines also put your website speed into consideration when ranking. This is why it’s important to keep your website up to speed.
Things that will slow your site down are:
- Plugins
- Media files, such as photos and videos
- Your cache
Here are 3 simple solutions to boost the speed of your website:
- Go through and get rid of all the plugins you don’t need or don’t use.
- Use plugins for cache
- Reduce the size of media on your site, such as images and videos
Header Tags
Header tags are another thing that search engines keep an eye out for when considering rankings. Each type of header has its own use and importance, the biggest being the most important and smallest being the least. For example, H1 is used for titles and includes the most relevant keywords, while H2 and H3 is used for subsections.
H1: Includes the text that is most important with relevant targeted keywords.
H2, H3: Used for Subheadings that go under H1
H4, H5, H6: Add structure to the previous subheadings
Example:
H1: TITLE
H2: Subheading
H4: What is a Subheading?
Header tags also help break your content into sections, making it easier to read and navigate through. Your viewers will easily be able to navigate and find what they’re looking for, which provides a better experience for them.
Use Photos and Videos
Photos and videos are attention grabbers, and have been shown to increase conversion rates. Videos and photos are more likely to grab a viewer’s attention than a copy of text, because they’re short, engaging and easy to follow. Incorporating photos and videos within your posts and pages will improve your SEO because of the time your viewers stay on your site. That’s right, Google likes to track how long your viewers have been on a page, so the longer, the better, and videos are the best for this. Even presenting your content in images, such as an infographic or photos of steps in a tutorial post for example, can keep a viewer’s attention longer. It may even end up being more beneficial for the viewer because the visuals are easier to process and understand. You will benefit tremendously by incorporating videos and images into your website content.
SEO is so important and crucial if you want to grow your business and rank higher in search results. Be sure you research, be unique, use relevant keywords, incorporate photos and videos, header tags and relevant links. Boost your website speed if needed and produce relevant and useful content that you also enjoy writing about.
Need help setting up a website or ranking higher? Contact us! At Oregon Marketing Group, we can build you a fully customized website, or update your current one, and help you get your website to rank higher on Google.
