Search Engine Optimization.
This can sound like a big, scary group of words to some small business owners and new entrepreneurs. Making sure search engines can easily find and send your website to the top of searches takes a lot of time and effort. This means a lot of trial and error. Sometimes you may even need to revisit website optimization should you find traffic, customer conversion rates, or profits decreasing or becoming stagnant.
If you are just starting out with website SEO, or are revisiting SEO issues, here are a few things to avoid to make sure you have the best success possible.
Simple is the name of the game in regards to having a website Google Search and other search engines love. When it comes to navigation, make sure it's simple and to the point. Not only will customers be more inclined to continue through your website, but those search engine bots will love it ,too.
Also, don't stuff your content and website with keywords. Nowadays, Google's search engine is programmed to weed out the SEO keyword-stuffed content. Keep those keywords to a minimum and in the right places.
Are you creating content without a purpose or without anyone in mind? Knowing your target audience when creating your content can easily optimize your website for search engines. Think about the type of lifestyle your target audience leads, what are some problems they are facing, and how YOU can be the solution.
Your content should also be avoiding the second or third page on a search. Making sure you have the right SEO keywords for your target audience will guarantee your content is appearing at the top of their searches.
This is one place that sometimes gets overlooked. Ahrefs Blog says that a title tag tells the possible visitor what your site is all about. Make sure your title tag encourages viewers to click, and make sure to add your brand name and important SEO keywords, too.
While we all want a large amount of traffic coming to our websites, it's not always the best thing in the end. Just because visitors are running to your website won't mean much if they are not purchasing from you or are avoiding your Call-to-Actions. You want to be able to convert the majority of your website traffic to repeat visitors and loyal customers.
Another area that is easily forgotten is images. Images also need to be optimized for your website for it to appear on search engines. Change the file names to be easily readable, and add alt-text so search engine bots can find them. Emfluence has a great article on how to get your images SEO ready, such as using the right format and creating image sitemaps.
By now, you know enough of what to avoid when dealing with website SEO. Your time is precious, especially if you are a small business owner and entrepreneur. Get it all right the first time!
Are you finding some challenges with SEO? Message us today! We are happy to help.
