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Many people don’t realize that establishing your branding in cyberspace is not just about creating a website and publishing content. Regardless of how attractive, convenient, accessible, and professional your website may be, it won’t matter if users cannot find it.
That’s right – publishing a website doesn’t mean it will automatically appear in search results. Whenever individuals search for something related to their business, they compete with all other companies to gain the top spot in search engine results. Before you gain website traffic, you have to optimize your website to increase your SEO ranking. A higher SEO ranking results in higher searchability, leading more people to your brand. By being on top of the search results, you have a higher chance of gaining a click. This opens up your business to potential customers.
You might be wondering, “What exactly is SEO?”
SEO might be new to those unfamiliar with how search engines operate. For starters, SEO refers to search engine optimization. Whenever we search for something on the Internet, there are millions of possible answers to our search query. Have you ever wondered how search engines present all this information in an orderly manner? This is through SEO. Every search engine has its algorithm for determining which website is relevant to a particular search query.
How do search engines rank websites?
Content Quality
Your website’s content is the search engine’s primary way of identifying your business. As such, it is essential to be mindful of your published content.
A search engine looks for many categories, including your published content’s quality, quantity, frequency, and reliability. You must be mindful of the quality of the content you put on your webpage because quality content gets clicks. If many people constantly visit your website, search engines will think that your website is relevant to a particular search query.
Update Frequency
Not only should you constantly publish new content, but you must also make sure that you update previously posted content. A study from Safari SEO Sydney found that websites that updated old and existing content received 111.3% more organic clicks than those that did not. By constantly updating what is written on your website, the search engine begins to understand that the information on your website is never outdated. As such, it is still relevant even for newer search queries.
Proximity to Search Query
You must be mindful of how broad or specific your content is. How you phrase your articles determines who the audience of your content will be. If you make your website content too broad, you join many other companies with a similar nature of business in the competition. If you make it too specific, you might exclude your website from general search queries. It’s all about finding the right balance. For example, by using the keyword “homecare” as your leading website branding, you have to compete against all other companies that also provide homecare services. However, by narrowing your content down to “home care in Orange County, California,” you limit your possible competitors.
Back Linking
In finding ways to boost your website’s SEO rankings, you must first understand that the entire webspace is, in fact, the web. Websites build each other’s credibility through linking. A page link is like a recommendation done by one website to another. Having several websites linking back to yours signals the search engine that your website is reliable. Whenever another website publishes an article that links you to a particular word (“cellphone,” for example), the search engine will recognize your website as something relevant to any “cellphone” queries. As such, in boosting your website SEO, you must invest in building your network and relationships with other businesses. How you plan on doing so depends on your SEO strategy.
Improve WordPress Website SEO
1) Choose a good web host
Whenever someone clicks on your website in the search results, you undergo a split-second critical moment. Within that split second, your potential customer will decide to stay or leave your website. If your website does not seem appealing to the customer, they will immediately press back and look for other websites to visit. However, if your website doesn’t load within that period, you considerably harm your SEO ranking. As such, choose a good web host to ensure quick loading time.
2) Make your website attention-grabbing
Whenever a person decides to immediately press back after clicking on your website, you automatically stain your website ranking. The search engine will interpret this action as an indicator that the website visitor did not find your website relevant to their search query. This means the search engine will rank you lower for that particular keyword, decreasing your chance of gaining website views. An attention-grabbing website can convince potential customers to stay long enough, positively affecting your SEO ranking.
3) Alter the default permalink structures
You must use all your resources to advance your SEO strategy. Permalinks create lost opportunities for adding another keyword to your website, which affects a particular page’s searchability. You need to use all the methods you can in terms of SEO. Even if this may seem small, its impact will pay off.
4) Use a caching plugin
Notably, this visit may be slow when someone opens a website for the first time. Given that the website will be accessed for the first time, the device does not have any data about the website that is about to be accessed. However, by allowing caching, you can give a device the option of saving some of the website data. This way, it no longer has to load as long as the first time.
5) Integrate internal linking into your SEO strategy
You have to think of your entire website as one big brand. By linking each of your content to one another, you can help the search engine better understand the content of your website. Not only that, but this virtual map also helps both users and bots navigate your website more conveniently. By linking related posts to one another, a user may decide to read other related blogs you’ve posted.
6) Optimize the images you use on your website
Images are among the heavier files that may make your website load much slower. In a fast-paced environment where people are looking to get what they need instantly, slow loading times won’t do. Compressing, resizing, and optimizing your images is best to prevent this. This can significantly improve your website’s performance.
7) Play around with your post titles
Whenever you integrate keywords into your post title, the better chance of your content showing up in different search queries. The keyword you choose to use also matters a lot. If you select a high-competition keyword, you must compete with all other companies that use that phrase. Choose a keyword with low competition to increase your chance of ranking on top. Also, make sure to make your title as informative as possible. The primary reason why people search for things is to fill a knowledge gap. By showing potential customers that you are posting informative content, the chances they choose to click are higher.
8) Open your blogs for social media sharing
You need all the help that you can get. By making your blogs available for social media sharing, you allow readers to share your content. They have a higher chance when it’s easy for readers to share. As such, always make this option available. You improve your website’s SEO rankings whenever your readers attract new clicks.
9) Make sure you have a responsive website design
With the many options individuals have for internet access, you must ensure your website is adaptable to other devices. If a potential customer takes interest in your website in the search results but sees that your website is not optimized for their mobile device, the lower the chances of them staying. If you’re on your mobile phone, you won’t take the time to do horizontal and vertical scrolling, especially if you can find similar content on a different website. You will always choose a mobile-friendly website to find the information you seek.
10) Reliable SEO services
You can’t beat the work of a professional, but you can always choose to hire SEO experts from a reliable company. SEO specialists can monitor your website’s progress, update your content, and optimize your website to achieve the best possible results.
In a highly competitive digital market, businesses must do what they can to stay ahead. As a business owner, you must realize the direction the world is heading in. Now, companies are moving out of physical stores and into the digital world. While it’s still early, make sure you position your business ahead.
Author Bio: Louise Savoie is a Digital Marketer at proweaver.com, a web development company specializing in Custom Web Design, which helps small companies increase their sales and grow their business. You can connect with them on Facebook: @webdesignproweaver and on Twitter and Instagram: @proweaver