When people consider search engine optimization (SEO), they often think about putting keywords in specific places in the HTML code and site content to get higher search engine rankings. That may have been true of online search efforts 20 years ago, but today’s organic SEO encompasses much more than just optimizing for search rankings.
Website optimization efforts should be focused on the overall performance of your website and toward long-term growth. By using proven optimization techniques, and not fly-by-night strategies, you can positively impact your business performance online. If you’re ready to speed past your competitors online, keep reading.
Key Components of Effective Website Optimization
There are a number of factors that go into properly optimizing a website for search engines. Typically, when discussing SEO, though, these are the main areas of focus:
- Keyword Research – In-depth analysis of how your target customers are searching for your products and services allows you to discover and speak their language on your website.
- Keyword / Content Optimization – Once you have discovered your audience’s language, it’s time to incorporate it into your content. Optimizing your site tags and content for keywords in a natural way impacts search engine performance and, perhaps more importantly, provides value to your target audience.
- Link Building – Links from external sites with a variety of anchor text, including some that is keyword rich, improves search performance, boosts credibility, and helps attract targeted traffic. But not any links will do. With extensive research and relationship building, you can get the inbound links that have the most positive impact on your site.
- Technical Site Optimization – While a site can look good and function well, what’s behind the scenes in the form of extra “junk” code can result in a low-performing site when it comes to search. Don’t let this happen to you. Eliminate bloated code and other technical site issues to ensure your site is positioned for search engine success.
- Website Architecture – The overall structure of your site is also critical to your success online. Shore up your domains and URLs, website navigation, and overall webpage structure to ensure better search engine performance.
- Mobile Optimization – Your site MUST be optimized for mobile devices in today’s search engines. This entails more than just implementing responsive design. The way content is presented and unique usability factors impact how well your website performs in search engines.
- Local SEO – If you serve a local clientele, you can bring them right from the search engines to your front door by implementing local SEO best practices, such as optimizing your site for local listings, implementing the appropriate schema code, and having a strong customer review strategy.
Campaign Management
SEO is not a one-and-done prospect. Search algorithms are always changing, and you need to adapt to those changes to maintain your stellar web presence. Therefore, effective optimization is an ongoing process. Continually revisit the issues above to ensure that your site maintains the best search engine performance possible.