SEO, also known as search engine optimization, is a combination of disciplines with a single aim: making your website appear higher in the search engine results pages of relevant audiences. However, rather than being a single technique, there are a few different core tenets of a decent SEO strategy. Here, we’ll break them down.
The technical side
You need to know what search engines look for when it comes to optimizing your site for them and the first answer is a website that works well. This means that your site needs to have decent page load times, have no broken links or images, and doesn’t otherwise throw up any roadblocks to the user experience. Of course, making sure your website is technically sound, through better hosting options as well as using smaller files and checking for bad links, also helps boost internet sales by making sure that customers have a smooth journey to the point of checkout.
The content side
Content is king when it comes to marketing and that is no different when it comes to SEO. In terms of content, you need to make sure it incorporates the keywords that your customers will be looking for and is formatted in a way that makes it easier for them to engage with. Services like content analysis can use data from well-performing sites to both help you get an idea of what content you are missing as well as how you can improve existing content. Sharpen up your content and your page is much more likely to not only get more visitors through search engines but also to help convert them.
The structure side
It’s not just about the individual pages, it’s also about how the pages connect together as well. You need to be aware of the need to structure your site appropriately. This means having navigation that makes sense but also connecting relevant pages through categories and sub-categories. This increases the navigability of your site, which search engines will merit you on, but it also increases crawlability. This means that search engine bots will more easily be able to go through your site and index all of the content on it, which is how pages appear in search engine results pages, to begin with.
The linking side
Link building in SEO is crucial. You can build links internally, be it through relevant pages and categories, that improve site structure and architecture. The side of link building that takes more effort is external link building, however. You need to have other sites, especially more reputable ones, link to your site. This might mean having a strong PR strategy, guest posting on relevant blogs, and having your site shared through social media by promoting your own pages to those most likely to have interest in them.
The four tenets above all go a lot deeper than we have been able to explore here, However, you need to make sure that you’re working to improve each to give your pages the best possible chance of taking that first place for relevant searches.
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