SEO is not something that you will learn overnight. Furthermore, you will not see the results of a successful web site right away. It will take time to see the results. However, below are some of the sure-fire ways to turn your website into a SEO success story:
URL Tips
Let’s start with your URL’s. Make sure they are correctly formatted and that they are actually about what your page is about.
For example: www.carsalesguide.com/article_344445_page_index/
is not as effective as
www.carsalesguide.com/all-about-insurance/
for letting the readers know what the article is all about.
You should also look into removing any stop words from your URL’s. These are words such as “I”, “it”, “the” and “what.” They are stop words because Google tends to completely ignore them. When it comes to choosing a URL, think simple.
Meta Descriptions , Page Titles and Headings
Moving on to your Meta descriptions, make sure you are writing concise and focused meta descriptions. This is the tag that goes in the head section of your webpage and relies information about the page that may not be in the title. Meta descriptions are still used by most search engines to describe the content of your page. Stick to concise and accurate meta descriptions for the search engine results.
When it comes to your Headings Tags, you want to follow the three golden rules: 1) don’t skip heading levels. 2) try to have the H1 heading be the first on your page. And 3) use the main keyword on your H1 heading.
You should also always optimize your page titles. What this means is that your important keywords always occur within the first 60 characters of your page title. Make your page titles fresh and interesting, taking into consideration the emotions of your readers.
Images and Sitemaps for Success
Two more things to consider – images and site mapping: When it comes to your page images, make sure you always use the Alt and Title attributes. Alt tages will describe the content of the image to the search engine so your image will actually be found during a search.
As for site mapping, make sure you have one. XML sitemaps are the best as they provide an easy way to inform search engines about new pages on your site and are fairly easy to construct.
Social Media and Backlinks
And finally, never underestimate the power of social media and backlinks. These are incredibly important for your page ranking. Write a blog, join Twitter (and tweet regularly), post comments on other relevant blogs and network your site out there.
One final note – your website is not just about SEO. The most important aspect of any site is the content. You need to ensure that what you are actually saying is worthwhile reading. Be fresh, informative and entertaining to attract a loyal following.
Want to learn more about the tricks and trades of SEO? Contact us today for more information on how we can improve your business or create your company a web presence that will dominate the search engines and deliver results. Call today at (612) 558-1020 for a free phone consultation.
