Whoever told you that creating a website is all you need to establish your business’ presence on the internet has clearly not heard of SEO. You probably would have had this word thrown at you on multiple occasions. It stands for Search Engine Optimization. If you are clueless as to what it means or how it is supposed to help your online business grow, worry not, its never too late to catch up.
What is SEO?
We all use web browsers to access the internet. In order to perform a search and find exactly what we are looking for, most of us seek the help of a search engine such as Google, Bing or Yahoo. On what basis do these search engines categorize the results of your search? That’s where the website SEO score comes into the picture. Your website’s SEO score determines its ranking on a search engine results page. It is a measure of how well your website is optimized to be found on the vast place that the internet is, and how authoritative and relevant the search engines deem your website to be.
We have put together a list of six easy SEO hacks that you can master. Read on to find out how you can give your website better visibility online.
1. Perfect your keyword strategy: Ever given any thought to what a user must type into their search bar in order to find your website? Keywords are words or even phrases that succinctly describe what your business offering is in order to attract your target market audience. For example, if you run a pottery business, find out if your potential customers are searching for ‘pottery’ or ‘clay vessels’. Once you find the keyword which has the highest search volume, check what keywords your competitors are using and run with the one that is less competitive.
2. Make your website mobile-friendly: It is 2019 and more and more people are accessing the internet through their smartphones. Google updated its search engine algorithms back in 2015 to factor in whether a website is responsive or not, and penalizes those websites that are not optimized for mobile phones and other devices with smaller screens by taking them off the search results list.
3. Create a blog: When your business has a blog that is regularly updated with good quality, compelling content that your target audience finds engaging, Google believes that you are an expert in that topic. This inevitably helps to better your site’s overall SEO score and drive more traffic to your website. But remember, it is not about quantity when it comes to content, but quality. Ensure that your blog is not a host for duplicate content or plagiarized material because if big brother Google finds out, you could lose whatever ranking you had achieved so far, and it will be even more difficult to get your site re-indexed.
4. Ensure that your site loads fast: According to Google, ‘site speed’, or the speed at which the desktop and mobile versions of your website loads, is a determining factor when it comes to search engine rankings. Remove heavy sliders or images that could be slowing your website down. Use an image optimizer to make sure all your images are as light as they can be without affecting the quality. It would also be a good idea to fix any broken links that you may have on your website. Throwing a 404 error at a user isn’t something that Google seems to look very kindly on!
5. Be active on social media: If your business doesn’t already have its own Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts, now would be a good time to create them. There may be discussions happening on these platforms pertaining to your industry and it would be a good idea to jump right into those and establish your business as an authority on the subject. Turn your business page into a repository of knowledge that your end customers would find relevant and timely.
6. Use Google Search Console: Formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools, Google Search Console is a free service that helps you better your site score. From creating detailed reports about the number of visitors your website has had and the type of browser/device they were on, to telling you what links are broken and whether your pages are responsive or not, Google Search Console is one tool you need to help your website with its SEO.
When it comes to SEO, remember that no rule is permanent. Google constantly updates its search engine algorithms to ensure that users have a good experience on the websites that it ranks high. What may be the norm today may not even exist in Google’s rulebook a year from now. Hence, it is important to keep yourself updated about search engine trends and other industry practices.
