SEO (search engine optimization) can be a tricky term to wrap our heads around.  We may think of optimization as something that has to deal with keywords, using the ones that matter and just sticking them into our website.  Unfortunately, SEO can be a bit more complex than that.

Knowing what SEO is and how it can work for you is essential in creating a website that attracts visitors from search engine results.  So, here’s a few questions you may have when working on your understanding of SEO.

How many keywords should I be using?

Hate to say it but there is no magical number of keywords you should be using.  You should never stuff keywords into your blog or website to help it appear in search result pages.  Adding them in where they wouldn’t normally occur can actually hurt your search page result ranking.

Add keywords in where they would normally appear.  If you feel your keywords appear too often, look at synonymous words.  Chances are, people are looking for those similar keywords, too.

How many internal and inbound links should I have?

Avoid the same thing as with keywords.  One to two internal and inbound links in your website page is enough to help SEO.  Adding too many looks like you are trying to desperately appear in searches and will also negatively affect your ranking.

Having these links will help categorize your website in searches.  So be sure not to also forget them or leave them out.

Do I really need alt text on my images?

YES.  Search engine crawlers (which crawl your website to index pages for searches) cannot read images, only words.  That is why it is so important to add alt text to all images on your website.  Your image could be the thing that ranks the highest, taking visitors directly to your website.  

Alt text isn’t only for ranking your website or blog.  If people looking at your website are having slow loading times or are seeing impaired, this text can help them know what the image is.

Is SEO always the same?

The short answer, no.  It would be easy if SEO rules never changed.  It would make our jobs a lot easier!  Unfortunately, SEO is constantly updating so that’s why it is imperative to always take an SEO audit on your website.  Google even tells us how often they change the algorithm a year….  Which is 500-600 times!  Crazy, I know.  The best practice is to monitor your traffic, and when you see dips, it’s a good indicator to do an audit to find the problem and get a solution.

SEO is a constantly changing process that we need to stay on top of.  You can tackle SEO on your or hire someone to help you out.  If you do hire someone, be sure they are up to date on the current SEO rules so that you get what your website needs to draw more traffic.

Do you need help with your local SEO from a local Austin web design company?  Send us a message today to see how we can help you!