Like it or not, a basic understanding of SEO has become a crucial skill in any digital profession. Without proper SEO, even prominent events, like the Met Gala, Oscars, or Grammys, would go unnoticed. Sure, large-scale projects and big corporations would be wiser to invest in hiring a professional SEO expert (or even a team of experts). However, when running one personal or professional site, it is possible to take care of SEO on your own – especially given the number of available tools and tips on the subject.
Here are the best SEO tips that will take your site to a new level.
1. Double-check on-page SEO
On-page SEO is more than simply stuffing your web page with keywords – it is about structure and logic. Your main keyword must always be present in:
- URL
- Meta title
- Meta description
- H1 header
Another important tip is to make the page scannable using H2 and H3 headers. Make sure the page has proper structure; for example, it would not be logical to have H3 after H1 or H4 after H2. Ideally, place at least one image on every web page, and make sure this image is properly tagged with relevant keywords.
2. Add schema markup
Speaking of structure, schema markup can be very helpful to make your website readable for google. Today, Schema.org offers plenty of relevant markup templates for all sorts of pages, from local business descriptions to product reviews. Adding relevant structured data to your web page will simplify many things for Google, which will positively affect your website rankings.
3. Do not ignore security
This tip is not new – SSL certificates have been affecting website ranking since 2014. Besides, taking care of security is one of the most important small business SEO tips because they contribute to your reputation. Sure, when running a blog, investing in security may seem excessive, but Google has a different policy on this matter. And, of course, any site that presupposes registration, payments, and storing user data must have a proper security certificate.
4. Design an effective content strategy
Quality content is one of the top, most obvious SEO blog tips, but it is equally important for all other websites. As of 2018, Google gives preference to content that is informative and trustworthy. Ideally, it should answer specific questions users ask, but most importantly, all keywords you use in metadata should actually correspond to the contents of your landing page. Simply put, you cannot claim to discuss SEO title tips in your meta-data and try to sell your web page visitors a new fridge.
5. Improve website loading speed
Website loading speed is one of the most important parameters and not just because web users grow ever more demanding. Google analyzes your page speed, too. A tip from professional Google webmasters is to aim for half-a-second landing speed, but in practice, your site can be a little slower than that – two or three seconds are not bad either. If your website loading speed exceeds three seconds, the top SEO tips are double-checking your images, server settings and minimizing HTTP requests whenever possible.
6. Make sure the site is mobile-friendly
Mobile-friendliness is one of the most important SEO optimization tips – both for Google rankings and for the site visitors. Today, most traffic comes from mobile devices, and website developers have long used ‘the mobile first’ principle. Some of the most vital tips while optimizing your site for mobile is to pay attention to button size and fonts that should be large enough for easy reading on small screens. And, since Google lists mobile-friendliness as a major SERP factor, check your site on Google’s free mobile-friendly test tool.
7. Run regular keyword checks
It can be tempting to compile a list of keywords and just hope they stay relevant over time, but this method hardly ever works in practice. Staying on top of the latest keyword requests is one of the most crucial local SEO tips because user queries tend to change along with local trends. This tip is also important for businesses that depend on seasonal demand – for example, for online shops around Christmas or Easter or local food venues with seasonal menu offers.
8. Build quality links
Quality link building is one of the top organic SEO tips that can seriously improve your website ranking. The more trustworthy sites have links to your website, the higher is your Google ranking. Sure, no one can achieve this in a night but creating quality content or offering quality services eventually does just that. Perhaps, one of the easiest ways to grow your backlink base is to create infographics other blogs can use and refer to.
9. Remove all duplicate content
Most websites these days reuse their old content, which is one of the most effective SEO writing tips that save time and effort on content creation. Besides, it ensures that all posts and product offers to remain relevant and up-to-date. Still, you should remove all duplicate pages or at least set up 301 redirects because website content should be not only informative but also unique.
10. Don’t forget crawlability
Even though Google bot crawls web pages all on its own, it can still use a little help from you. Submitting a newly published page is a good start to making this page visible. Give Google easy access to all images, CSS, and Java files on your website by adding a relevant file in your root directory.
Conclusion
These simple SEO tips will not require much effort or technical knowledge on your part. All in all, quality SEO to improve your website rankings is about a systematic approach and attention to detail. Keep updating your website regularly, and see the results of your work sooner than you expect.
