SEO is an extensive topic that is getting more and more complex as time goes on. This is why we have made this article, to help you figure out what are the most important factors when it comes to SEO. So, let’s get right into it.
1) Create High-Quality Content to Boost Website SEO
Sure, it’s easy enough to write random gibberish and pass it off as “content”. Most of the time, this involves stealing other peoples’ work and passing it off as your own. Another SEO setback can be creating content that is made exclusively for SEO, and not for the people reading it. Back in the day, this was a really popular strategy, since it allowed low-effort content to reach the top pages on Google search results. Thankfully, over time, Google has been cracking down on this by improving its software, and it does not work anywhere nearly as it did before. So, focus on writing high-quality, and authentic content that will make people want to read it fully, and the Search engine results page (or SERP for short) will reward you kindly.
2) Optimize the Page Loading Speed
Page speed is known to be one of the leading drivers of SEO rankings. Google is always looking for ways to better the experience of its users. One of the ways they are doing this is by prioritizing fast-loading websites over slower-loading ones. This policy started in 2018. with the algorithm update. This update has also made mobile-friendliness one of its core principles when giving ranks to websites. The basics that influence page speed include:
• The plugins a website uses
• How many images, videos, and media the website uses
• The website’s coding scripts
Your focus should be on reducing the bounce rate as much as you can. Google made their interaction statistics between page loading speed and bounce rates accessible to wider audiences. If a site load takes between 1 and 3 seconds, the bounce rate chance increases by 32%. If the site load takes between 1 and 10 seconds, the bounce rate chance can increase up to an outstanding 123%. Taking this into consideration, we now understand why Google has made page loading speed one of its core principles behind SEO ranking.
3) Add Structured Data
Structuring your data serves the goal of visually pleasing and giving more information to the person behind the search engine. To give a basic example, if you hang up images on your “products” page, and label those images as products, Google will make the connection for you, and let the potential buyer know that that image is a product which will then be paired with a price tag.
4) Make Sure the Images are Mobile-Friendly
If mobile SEO isn’t handled accordingly, it can result in a very high bounce rate and a low conversion rate. However, if you manage to pull it off, you will be rewarded with higher ranking power, and better community engagement ability. This reaps nice rewards, but how do you make an image optimized for the mobile-first index? The best way to deal with this is by creating responsive images. Responsive images scale in size depending on the device the user is currently using (mobile or desktop).
If you would like to learn more about responsive images and image manipulation, check out Mozilla’s extensive, and well-constructed guide here.
5) Find and Address any Errors on Your Website
To not spend days searching for bugs and errors on your website, we recommend that you use tools such as PowerMapper and Sentry. The most common form of error is “404 error”, aka when a web page is no longer working and there is no redirect implemented. By fixing this problem, you improve your SEO by optimizing for a better UX, as well as a faster page loading speed. This is amplified when you take into account that spelling mistakes can also hinder your SEO. Don’t toss aside proofreading duties, do the extra work for the best SEO results.
6) Optimize the Page’s Titles and Descriptions
Google not only uses images and keywords as part of its algorithm, but page titles and descriptions too! You’d be surprised how much information Google takes into account when doing its search engine rankings. Things such as header tags, page copy, structure data, metadata, all have an influence on how well your website ranks. It can sometimes be overwhelming to take all of these factors into account, especially if you don’t have much experience in SEO. This is why, if you are in Australia, you should consider going to Sydney’s best SEO agency, as they will make this job seem like a piece of cake.
7) Make Readable URLs
One factor that you might not have considered is making your URLs readable by people. Your main goal is to attract as many people as possible to your website. If you make it readable where the URL goes, then the potential visitor will know exactly what that link is. This way, the potential visitor does not have to think twice about the link or doubt its intentions. It also isn’t difficult to accomplish. In WordPress, you can just go to “Settings”/“Permalinks” and then select “Post Name”. Simple! Now you know how to create a user-friendly URL for your website.
8) Create Interactivity
Interactivity is a result of allowing the user to see the changes based on their actions and decisions on your website. This can be anything from more information popping up as you scroll over a box, to an item rotating as the user presses their mouse button.
9) Web Analytics
Image by Chetan Nada from Pixabay
JavaScript offers a great tracking program that allows you to see how far people actually read the content you post with the help of a heatmap. It is an excellent analytical tool that will help you figure out what you are doing wrong and rectify it.
10) Generate High-Quality Authority Links
Authority links act as a staple of approval for whatever you are claiming on your website. If you want your website to do well in the vast digital plain, you will need to back your claims with strong authority links. A lot of people make the mistake of making really good content, but they don’t bother putting any external or authority links that will help the algorithm differentiate their content from plagiarized, and, overall, low-quality content.
