Search Engine Optimization is a tricky business—internet marketing industry “best practices” are constantly evolving and Google’s updates make keeping your website optimized a full-time job in itself. Though a complete website SEO makeover can take weeks or even months, the following optimization tricks will help you remain in good standing with Google and retain (or even improve) your current web ranking.
#1. Make Sure Page Titles Are Well-Written & Original
Of course, your webpage’s title tag is an important part of SEO—this means including keywords (but not “stuffing”), placing those keywords at the beginning of the title, and making sure that each page has an original, non-duplicate page title. Perhaps even more important than the Title Tag’s contributions to SEO, however, is the message you convey to your audience. Try using words like “best,” “new,” and “guide” will encourage people to visit the page, and if you’re in doubt about how to structure your Title Tag, use this simple formula:
Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name (example: SEO Company – Web Design | Alecan Marketing)
#2. Craft Awesome Meta Descriptions
The often-neglected partner of the Title Tag, Meta Descriptions are the most powerful selling tool at your disposal. Employing keywords in the Meta Description is a good idea (especially since Google puts words that match the original search in bold), but more importantly, a website’s Meta Description should feature a creative “hook” to entice users to explore the page. Why should someone click on your link and not one of your competitors? Your page’s Meta Description should tell them.
#3. Fix Broken Or Skewed Analytics Tracking
Google Analytics is a valuable (and free!) resource available to everyone, but a website’s Analytics data results can be skewed if your tracking code is broken, absent, or if Spam Bot are artificially inflating your organic traffic results. If you are unsure if your Google Analytics is functioning properly, contact Alecan Marketing Solutions today for a free consultation.
#4. Properly Embed Videos & Be Sure They Play On All Devices
Adding video can be boost website traffic and decrease Bounce Rates, among other benefits, but an embedded video that won’t play will leave your visitors dissatisfied and may actually hurt your SEO in the long-run. Make sure your site is optimized by checking that videos play in all browsers and on all screen sizes.
#5. Cut The Extra Code!
While writing extra pieces of code can help your site look and perform the way you want, too much extraneous code can slow down page load times and, at worst, even break your site (if the code conflicts with your website theme’s original coding). At Alecan, we like to keep things as simple as possible; if your page doesn’t need that code, cut it!
#6. Always Employ An XML Sitemap
Creating an XML Sitemap is one of the fastest, easiest ways to make sure your site is “crawled” and indexed by Google’s bots, which in turn will help Google properly categorize your web pages and return them in the SERPs. Most Content Management Systems include simple plugins, like the YOAST SEO plugin, to help you create a basic XML Sitemap.
For more great tips and tricks on how to optimize your website, visit our regularly-updated blog!
