Arguably the most important aspect of any given site’s SEO is its content. This is the substance of the site and the reason why people go to any given page in the first place. Everyone is competing for who will have the best content, so you want to be sure you follow the rules as thoroughly as possible so as to give your business the best possible chance of standing out.
What does this mean specifically? Let’s take a look at several key rules that you should follow to keep your site up to snuff.
What is website content, and how best to optimize it?
The content of your site includes all of the information on your site that can be indexed by search engines. This includes text, videos, photographs, etc. Companies like Mellow Promo specialize in helping businesses optimize content and can offer more detailed information and tools to help people. Here are a few basic rules to start with:
Know your audience
Before you get started with your site, take a look at your competitors’ sites, as well as their other social media. Do your best to figure out who their followers are. Even if you think you understand your target demographic, it will pay dividends to see how your competitors are faring with different groups. If you think that your products have a big appeal among young people, for example, but you see that most of your competitors’ followers are shifting towards an older demographic, you should adjust your content accordingly. Falling out of sync with your audience is a sure-fire recipe for failure.
Organize your keywords
You should do careful research to figure out which keywords are most relevant to your industry, and to your specific offerings, as well. Be sure to follow the rules of keyword usage carefully so as to maximize your exposure without the risk of appearing over-eager. What this means is that your keywords should be relevant, consistent throughout your site, and in reasonable numbers. You should be aware of the risk of “keyword stuffing” or the excessive use of keywords simply for the sake of getting noticed. The search engines frown upon this and your site will be downgraded if they detect it.
Be sure that your keywords are consistent both in the content of your text, as well as the other aspects of your site. Your titles are an important element of good SEO, as well as your actual URLs.
Tag your headings correctly
The correct use of headings is not simply a matter of bigger and bolder font. There are specific ways that you need to tag your headings for them to appear correctly in the search engines. If you are using WordPress, for example, you need to highlight each heading and subheading according to the “Heading 1,” “Heading 2,” etc. And you should ensure that your headings and subheadings make sense and are consistent with the message you want to relay to your audience.
Emphasize your location
If you own a local business, you will want to appear in results that emphasize your location so that people can physically find you. A good way to bring this out is by using precise geographic terminology in your location description. Location names are an important part of the SEO process, so be sure to phrase your locations precisely, using actual addresses rather than in vague statements such as “right in the heart of town!.”
Check your links and backlinks
You also want to be sure that whatever links are on your site are to relevant, trustworthy sites and that those sites are still active. It sometimes happens that sites will die or become corrupted, and having links on your own page will downgrade your ranking as a result. You also want to be sure that the anchors leading to the sites you choose are relevant and use the right keywords. If you choose anchors that you think are nifty sounding, but which don’t necessarily resonate with your audience, it won’t ultimately help your site in the end.
In addition to your own links, you should try to get quality backlinks from other sites to yours. You can do this in a number of ways, either by simply talking to people and presenting your business as a reliable one, or by actively working on gaining the trust of a group you’d like to be connected to. If you want to be connected to an industry association, for example, you can offer to give a speech or perform a service for them to help your business look like a solid player in the field.
Keep your messaging solid and consistent
Your content will likely change over time. Industry terminology, changing trends, and other factors are constantly in flux, so you want to be sure you stay on top of the trends. You should also ensure that your content is consistent across the various social media platforms you use. If you stay on top of things and keep an eye on your competitors, you should be able to keep up in the rankings!
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