Whether you have an existing website or if you are considering starting one up, the primary goal you need to keep in mind is your site’s ranking on major search engines. That’s the only way that anyone is going to be able to find you. If you don’t get picked up by Google, your website will be lost in the endless amounts of information out there in the internet world.
Instead of putting in all the work to disappear, know what you have to do to improve your SEO and ensure that you appear on that first page when someone types in the details related to what you’re trying to show them.
Have a Keyword for Each Page
Even though Google is a pretty powerful tool, there are things that you can do to help it do what you want. Make sure that each page you are writing has a specific keyword or a keyword phrase. Make that the main focus of all the content on that page. When Google can pick up what that page is about, the traffic will be directed to it when there is a search done on it.
Also, once you finalize the target keywords, make sure to use any of the free or paid search engine rank tracker tools to get a daily/weekly/monthly update on your keyword rankings. This way you will be aware of how many keywords of yours have gained or lost in rankings.
Fill Out the Backend Info for Images
There are no search engines out there that can read an image. Even if you find the most relevant one for the page you are working on, it’s not going to mean anything. You have to fill out all the backend data. It should have a headline or title that’s related to the image as well as a keyword attached to it. There is also going to be an alt text section that should be completed. This is what’s going to display if for some reason the image doesn’t load.
A user looking at it will understand what they are supposed to be seeing even if they can’t see the picture. No matter what you do, never leave the image name in its original state.
Make Meta Natural
In just 320 characters you need to tell Google what each page is about. That goes the same for the people that could potentially go and take a look at it. The voice you use should be natural, and it should clearly tell the visitor what they are going to see if they click on your link. It should sound just like something that was written by a human.
In the past, it was suggested to stuff the meta description with a bunch of keywords that search engines would pick up. That’s not what you want to do. Keep to your specified keyword or phrase for that page and write a complete sentence surrounding it. It is what is going to be displayed under the main heading when Google or any other engine pull up your page.
Use the Google Keyword Planner
Your keyword is the most important aspect of each of your pages. You want to pick out the most widely used ones in every instance. If you aren’t sure what those might be, you can use the Google Keyword Planner. It will even show you what the competition looks like in the rankings with the keywords that they are using.
The focus of this is to determine what potential customers type in when they are looking for the services that you have to offer. What you think they might be typing in could be way off from what they are using.
Stay Consistent with Name Address and Phone Number
Your name, address, and telephone number are your business ID when it comes to the internet. You want to make sure that they are displayed the same on each page. If they aren’t the same, Google might not pick it up and authenticate your company. You want to be verified by Google and stay that way. Make sure these are entirely error-free.
Attention Local Businesses
The bottom right-hand corner of the page is the ideal place to put your address because that’s where Google has the easiest time picking it up. You can put it in the footer, but you want your location to be visible anyways so that customers know where you are.
Update Your Sitemap
Now that you have all of your information updated, you’re going to want to let Google know. That’s the only way all of your hard work is going to pay off! You can create a free sitemap online, or you can use a webpage plugin to do it.
Your sitemap is kind of like a book’s table of contents section, but a lot more detailed. Search engines will be able to put your website in the proper category with it. After your map is done, make up an account on Google Webmasters and link your site to it. There will be instructions displayed on how to send in your sitemap that you’ve made. That’s it, you’re done!
Author Bio:
Sameer Panjwani is the Founder & CEO of Mondovo, an online marketing toolset that helps you track your rankings, monitor your site stats, and research your competitors. A man of many talents, Sameer is currently on a mission to help 1 million businesses grow organically through his products and services.
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