Search engines, such as Google, are the quickest and easiest way to find anything online. Ranking high on Google’s results list increases the number of clicks your business’ website will get. Web optimization refers to changes made to a website to help it rank higher in search engine results. Simple changes to your website, such as inserting keywords, can make a huge difference when it comes to web traffic. So investing time in optimizing your website is a time well spent.
Step 1: Choose your keywords The first step is to define the keywords that will make it easier for people to find you. Try to understand what your customers are lookisng for and write content for your site that points to these keywords. Use the Google Keyword Tool to find popular search terms related to your business.
Step 2: Make sure your website is optimized for search engines When a search engine performs a search, it does not search the Internet itself, but a huge database of content often called an “index”. In order for your site to appear in the results the search engine must be able to read its contents clearly.
Step 3: Optimize your content. Give good names to pages Each webpage’s name is written in HTML code and appears at the top of the browser window. The name of the webpage is one of the most important elements that search engines use to understand the content of a website. Each page should have a unique and individual name that includes the precise keywords for that webpage, for example, the product or service it contains. Try to create short names (around 70 characters). It is also often said that search engines pay more attention to the words at the beginning, so it is better to keep the keywords in front and the marks at the end (except on the home page).
Links between pages The links between the pages on a website do not only help users find their way, but they are also an important SEO tool. The site’s homepage appears to have more importance in the eyes of search engines. Links between pages can help extend this importance and improve the performance of other pages in search engines. Also, the link text (known as the “anchor text”) helps the searcher understand the content of the target page. Use alternative text in images The images on a website can have hidden texts associated with them (known as alternative labels). These tags allow people with partial blindness, through the use of screen readers, to use the Internet, but also help search engines determine the content of the page. The best approach is to write an alternative descriptive label that includes the words for each image. Be original Search engines check the uniqueness of the content of a page and locate the pages with content similar to other websites much lower in their results. For best results a website should have a totally unique content, and avoid standard descriptions.
Include keywords in the titles and content of the pages Using titles and subtitles that contain target keywords helps with SEO and makes the page easier to read. It is better to use keywords in titles and a few times in the main content of the page. Be careful not to over do it, since using a keyword too many times (“keyword overload”) is frowned upon by search engines. Keywords in the web address If the web address of the page (URL) contains keywords related to your products, this can help the page rank better for those specific words. The keywords of the URL will often also appear in the anchor text of the links that lead to the site where the URL is used, helping off page optimization.
Step 4: Upload the map of your site to Google Webmaster Tools Google sitemaps, managed through Google Webmaster Tools, allows a list of pages of a site to be given to Google. This should help include more of the site’s pages in its search results and quickly absorb any changes made.
Step 5: Publish regular, fresh and interesting content Search engines love frequently updated content, such as blogs. This is supported by the fact that blog posts often appear well positioned in search engine results, since the content of blogs is usually unique and is frequently updated. Blogs are not only good at boosting search engine traffic, they also help make a site more friendly, attractive and informal, encouraging visitors to return. Implementing these steps should direct you to a search engine optimized website, positioning it high for your keywords. Good luck!