Understanding Search Engine Optimization Best Practices

What Is SEO And Why Do You Need it?

Whether you are creating original content for a page on your website or writing a blog, you’ve probably run across the idea of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) at least once. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your online content so that it will rank in the search results and drive people to your site. 

If you have not focused on it yet, it’s not too late to get started.  In fact, the success of your business quite literally depends on it. When a user is searching for something online, they type the subject (or keyword) into the search bar and click. The first five results account for 67% of all clicks. If you have neglected this very crucial part of digital marketing and you are not showing up, you are missing out.  To requote, the infamous SEO quote from The HuffPost, (Dharmesh Shah, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of HubSpot), “The best place to hide a dead body is page two of Google”. So, let’s get into it. We are going to run down the SEO Best Practices and get your business to where it needs to be for ultimate success.

How Does SEO Benefit Your Business?

Strategic use of SEO can offer insurmountable benefits to your business. It’s important to have well-written posts with keywords that relate to your business and a user-friendly website, so your user continues to explore your site once there. A successful SEO strategy will lead them right to your products or services so they can engage with your brand. 

Your content, whether in blog posts or pages should make your user feel confident in your product or service with the end goal of becoming a loyal customer. When used successfully, search engine optimization (SEO) will provide your business with increased web traffic and more qualified leads coming through the sales funnel. SEO has endless potential to bring more organic attention to your business without costing you advertising dollars. 

Five Essential SEO Tips

When it comes to SEO, how you execute a strategy can make a real difference in the future success of your business. To help you with this endeavor, we have highlighted the five best SEO practices you must be implementing in your business’s website, no matter what products or services you offer.

1.   Keyword Research

Keywords are the words and phrases that your potential customer types into their search bar to find a desired product or service. Keyword research is your first step and highly strategic. What you are offering to your customer should be obvious. It’s important to consider what readers will see first, what will keep them interested in exploring your site and most importantly what it will take to acquire them as a customer. But what exactly is keyword research, how do we go about it and why is it important?

Keyword research is an essential process in search engine optimization (SEO) that involves identifying the phrases and terms that people use to search for information, products, or services online. The goal of keyword research is to understand the language and the search queries that potential customers use to find products or services related to your website, and then optimize your website’s content around those keywords.

Keyword research helps you to:

  • Identify popular keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business or website.
  • Determine the level of competition for each keyword.
  • Find keyword opportunities that your competitors may have overlooked.
  • Create optimized content that matches the user’s search intent.

By conducting effective keyword research, you can improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs), increase organic traffic, and ultimately drive more conversions and revenue. This research can include analyzing search engine data, using keyword research tools, and examining competitor content to see what keywords they are targeting. Focus on creating high-quality, informative content that naturally incorporates your target keywords in a way that makes sense for the reader.

In addition, in selecting appropriate keywords, content creators can improve the chances of their content being discovered by users who are searching for information related to those topics. It’s important to choose keywords that accurately reflect the content, as well as those that are likely to be searched by the target audience. Additionally, it’s often beneficial to choose a mix of broad and specific keywords to capture a wider range of search queries. Overall, the goal is to choose keywords that will help to optimize the content for search engines and improve its visibility to potential readers or customers.

2.   Create Unique Content

You will need to create unique content on a regular basis to not only acquire new users but to keep current users/customers coming back organically. It’s that simple. When writing your online content, take the time to investigate what other articles exist on the same topic and make sure that yours is completely original, fresh, and current. Do the following for success in content writing:

  • Be unique, be authentic. It’s important that your content offers value and feels genuine giving your audience the confidence to proceed with your company.
  • Benefit oriented. Make sure that your content is relevant to the search page you want to target on a given page. Your pages should go into depth on a topic, not just two or three paragraphs. The subject matter should offer expertise on your products/services with the benefits to your consumer. Remember that consumers buy the benefits of that product or service.
  • Get Personal. Write from your own experiences and you are sure to have something that is going to be interesting and new. 
  • Stay Relevant. Make sure your content focus is relevant to the keywords you want to target on a given page. In addition, make sure your content is up to date with any changes that may be going on in your industry. Your user is counting on you to stay ahead of the trends.
  • Brainstorm. Collaborate with your team to explore creative new ideas that can draw people in. Think about both new and current users. 
  • Expand on older blogs. Finally, if you are struggling to come up with something new, consider expanding upon an older blog that may need a refresh and can offer a new perspective! 

Think about what you can add to your content that makes your website something special and stand out among the sea of other options that are going to out there. In short, give your readers something that cannot be found everywhere else!

3.   Write High-Quality Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

A title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of a webpage. It is displayed in the browser’s title bar and is also used by search engines to display a link’s title in search results. 

Optimizing your title tag is one of the easiest ways to improve your rank on Google. The title tag is the first thing on your page that gets seen, so understandably, coming up with an attention-grabbing title that also uses your keywords is an essential aspect of SEO. If your blog post or website article has a mediocre and uninteresting title tag, it loses appeal with readers and it will not get pulled to the top of search results. 

A meta description is a brief summary or snippet of a webpage’s content that appears in search engine results pages (SERPs) under the page title and URL. It typically ranges from 150 to 160 characters and provides a concise overview of what a webpage is about. Although, Google no longer uses meta descriptions as a ranking variable, Google search does use it and it is important for the click through rate.

Meta descriptions are important because they serve as a preview of a webpage’s content and help users decide whether to click through to the page or not. A well-crafted meta description can entice users to click through to a webpage by providing a clear and compelling summary of the content, while a poorly written meta description may discourage clicks or fail to accurately represent the page’s content. In addition, search engines may use meta descriptions as a factor in determining the relevance and quality of a webpage, so optimizing meta descriptions can help improve a page’s visibility and ranking in search results.

The quality of your title tags and meta descriptions are your chance to make a great first impression! Your title tags and meta descriptions are important for these reasons:

  • Search engines use them to understand the content of a web page. Title tags and meta descriptions provide a summary of what a webpage is about. Search engines use this information to determine whether a webpage is relevant to a user’s search query.
  • They can improve click-through rates. When users search for information on search engines, the title tag and meta description appear in the search results. Well-crafted title tags and meta descriptions can help entice users to click through to your website.
  • They can help establish your brand. Title tags and meta descriptions provide an opportunity to showcase your brand’s messaging and values. This can help establish your brand identity and make your website stand out from the competition.
  • They can improve the user experience. By providing a clear and concise summary of what a webpage is about, title tags and meta descriptions can help users quickly determine whether a webpage is relevant to their needs. This can improve the overall user experience and help users find the information they need more quickly.

4.   Make Your Website Appealing And Easy To Use

Seems simple, right?  It really is, but think about how often have you been to a website that you almost immediately left because it was just too difficult to get around and you were not immediately finding what you were looking to find?  The usability of a website is crucial because it directly affects the user experience and there are way too many other sources that people can go to if they do not find what they are looking for immediately. If a website is difficult to use or navigate, users are likely to become frustrated and leave, potentially never returning. Follow the advice and achieve success. 

  • User Satisfaction: A website that is easy to use and navigate will help to ensure that users are satisfied with their experience. This can lead to positive word-of-mouth recommendations and increased loyalty. 
  • Focus on Usability: Give the information to the user in the least number of cliques possible. People value their time and will not hunt for something once on your site. If you’ve managed to get them to your site, keep them there by making it a smooth, productive experience. 
  • Conversion Rates: Usability can also impact conversion rates, as users are more likely to complete a desired action (such as making a purchase or filling out a form) on a site that is easy to use.
  • Accessibility: A usable website is also important for users with disabilities or impairments. By ensuring that a site is easy to navigate and use, it can be made more accessible to a wider range of users.
  • Brand Perception: A website that is difficult to use can reflect poorly on a brand, potentially damaging its reputation and credibility.
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Usability can also indirectly impact SEO, as search engines take into account factors such as bounce rates and time on the site when ranking websites.
  • Call-to-Action: Make sure you have something to draw them in, complete a sale and gain a loyal customer. 

Overall, the usability of a website is crucial for providing a positive user experience, driving conversions, increasing accessibility, and improving brand perception. No matter how perfect your blog post or article is, it will never get read if your website is slow to load or poorly designed. Studies have shown that it takes about 10 seconds for someone to decide if a website is worth their time, so make sure that your website not only has visual appeal but is easy to use. A redesign may require extra time and resources, but hiring the right people to build your website and make sure it loads quickly is critical in keeping your user’s attention and lead them to your business. Remember, you have one chance to make a great first impression, and your website is speaking for your business!

5.   Quality Relevant Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. Quality backlinks can be very beneficial for improving your website’s search engine ranking and driving traffic to your site. Here are some tips and tricks for obtaining quality, relevant backlinks:

  • Create high-quality content that people will want to link to. If your content is valuable and informative, people will naturally want to link to it.
  • Guest blogging in your niche with a link back to your website can be a great way to get quality backlinks.
  • Reach out to other websites in your niche and ask for a backlink. Be polite and explain why your content would be a valuable addition to their site.
  • Participate in online forums and include a link to your website in your forum signature.
  • Create infographics, videos, or other types of visual content that people will want to share and link to.

Remember that the key to obtaining quality backlinks is to create valuable content that people will want to link to. By following these tips, you can increase your website’s visibility and attract more visitors.

Similarly, internal links play a major role in SEO and one of the easiest for you to implement for added success in your SEO efforts. Adding a well-placed link to another page on your site not only heightens the quality of your post, but also gives attention to the linked page that may have been overlooked otherwise. When inserting internal links, always write anchor text that tells what the focus is for the internal linked page while using keywords for both pages. This doesn’t have to be complicated—it can be as simple as using the title or topic of the linked page. 

Ready To Get Started With SEO?

Are you ready to implement a search engine optimization strategy into your digital marketing plan and see just how it can impact your business? Or maybe have more questions that you need answered first to understand how it all works for your business. Wherever you are on your digital marketing research, we can help!

At Conversion Pipeline, we have over 13 years of experience in SEO and digital marketing and a passion for seeing businesses thrive! We can answer your questions about SEO with knowledge learned through firsthand experience. We would love to talk with you and help your business get started with SEO. Contact us today to get in touch with an expert and find out how digital marketing can expand your business!

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