On-Page Website Optimization Tips

Let 2016 be the year you nail optimizing your website. You have an awesome product or service to offer customers; the website is beautiful and functional; you have top customer service and are active on social media… but, traffic to your site has stalled, and you are still failing to reach the top end of Google’s results pages (SERPs). Want to identify holes in your SEO strategy? It’s a good start to use website checkers like the one here from 1&1, which can give you an indication of where you are falling short.

More often than not, small businesses do not need to hire a SEO consultant or online marketing agency to ensure that their site is well optimized and Google-friendly. If you truly do have a top product on offer, and you are able to provide a good service, then Google wants to be able to promote your site, and what you need to do to help them find you will not cost a lot of money. It will cost time and effort, but so does everything worth its salt.

Below are three simple SEO strategies to boost your site optimization:

• Title Tags

Title tags appear in the lip of the tab of your screen. They are also the title displayed on the SERP. Title tags are often named as the second most important aspect to on-page SEO and it is easy to see why. These tags are used by Google to ascertain the subject matter of a webpage, and how likely it is to be trusted and offer value. For example, a title or description which includes spelling mistakes, lots of capital letters or spammy words, is going to rank less highly on the SERP than a page with a title tag and description which is well written.

Even if your site does appear on the SERP with a poor title and description, you then run the risk of turning away potential customers. You want to make sure that your title and description is concise and accurate, so that those landing on the SERP can see exactly if you are offering what they are searching for. Naturally, you do not want to lure in those you can offer nothing of value too, as this will only increase your bounce rate.

• More Content

Content remains the most influential factor that search engines use to categorize and rate a site. However, Google and the other search engines are sophisticated enough not only to recognize the subject matter of a webpage through written content (this is where keywords come in), but also the quality of that content. Therefore you need to spend time crafting unique, comprehensive and informative content for every webpage… and lots of it.

Indeed, across the board you will see further top-level corporations spending more money on talented journalists and other writers. No longer will the best sites be full of copywriting by interns.

Content also includes things such as photos, videos, infographics and podcasts. Create a lot of this for your customer base and ensure that it has been labelled with the relevant keywords so that Google doesn’t miss out on the good content.

• Get Personal, not Just Social

If content is king in the SEO world, then social is its queen. Most companies are fully aware of this and are signed up and active on all the major social media channels. However, as with content, quality is more important than quantity. When on social media, you should look at attempting to build up a community from the start. This cannot be done through constant promotion. Even your most ardent customers will get bored of a stream of discounts and deals. You need to post horizontally. This means posting about things other than your product or service, but that are within the same sphere of interest. For example, if you are an organic food store, you can share healthy recipes. Ensure that you are always giving your followers a reason to follow you.

Additionally, keep it personal. Don’t forget that social media is just that – social! With caution you can experiment with humor. Consider signing off each post or tweet with the initials of the respective colleague. Alternatively, ensure that you have come up with a solid and well-rounded company voice. Track data with tools like these but do remember: 10,000 Likes may be good for the ego, but if it isn’t leading to increased conversions, then it means nothing.