Tips from WiseNetwork on search engine optimization

Easy Tips for Search Engine Optimization

With easy tips, you can get a good start on optimizing your website for search engines. With just a few hours of effort, you can improve your site's search engine profile. If you want to focus on optimizing your pages, check the following and make necessary changes as needed.

1. Check SEO Titles and Descriptions

The SEO title is the most important element affecting search engine optimization for a single page. It informs search engines about the topic of the page. The SEO title is different from the visible page title. The chosen keyword for the article should be included in the SEO title, preferably at the beginning.

The SEO title appears in search engine results. The SEO description often accompanies it in search results and aims to encourage clicks on the link. (Often, the search engine itself selects a suitable excerpt from the site as the description for the search result.)

2. Think of Suitable Keywords for Your Pages

Normally, basic search engine optimization involves extensive keyword research to determine the terms people use when searching online. Not everyone has the time or expertise for fundamental keyword research, but it's always worthwhile to spend a few moments considering the keywords people might use to find your pages. SEO should be based on these researched or thought-out keywords because there's no point in optimizing for terms that no one searches for. So, take a moment to think about keywords specifically from your customer's perspective—what are their problems, and what solutions can you offer them? Note that sometimes customers may use different terms than professionals do to refer to the same things.

3. Scan the Content, Check Headings, Write Captions and Alt Texts

While the SEO title is the most crucial factor influencing page search engine optimization, there are several other elements on the page worth investing in.

4. Avoid Duplicate Content on Your Pages

Search engines do not favor duplicate content. If your site contains two or more pages with the same or nearly identical content, search engines may not determine which page is the most important to direct visitors to. Duplicate content causes your own pages to compete against each other in search engine rankings.

Advanced Tips Requiring More Investment

If you have the time and enthusiasm, you can also conduct search engine optimization in a more comprehensive manner. In doing so, the results are likely to be more prominent than with smaller actions alone.

5. Conduct Thorough Keyword Research

If you want to build a solid foundation for search engine optimization, it's crucial to perform comprehensive keyword research. Keyword research can be highly rewarding because sometimes the words discovered through research may be completely different from those the company itself wants to be found with online. The company should identify keywords and phrases related to its industry that consumers use to search for information online. It's not worthwhile to optimize for keywords that no one searches for!

Actions:

• Perform the same actions as in step two.
  
• Additionally, in keyword research, it's beneficial to use various tools:
  
• Utilize the free Google Ads Keyword Planner tool from Google Ads. Creating a Google Ads account is necessary to use it, but you don't need to plan paid advertising. Google Ads can provide insights into keywords, but a drawback is that the account needs a sufficient amount of paid advertising before you can see detailed search volumes for keywords or phrases.

• Other free and good tools include keywordtool.io, soovle.com, and answerthepublic.com.
  

• A paid and thus more versatile tool is übersuggest (you get a few searches for free).
  

• Create an Excel spreadsheet for keywords and phrases, grouping them by topic and marking how you rank with those keywords (perhaps even compared to competitors).

6. Check URL Links

For search engines, the URLs of your site also matter. They should be clear and descriptive of the page content. It's beneficial to keep the visible URL of an article short as well. Clear URLs make it easier for both users and search engines.

7. Invest in Content

Good content is essential for effective search engine optimization because search engines aim to direct users to high-quality websites. Focus on the topic and cover only one subject per page. To attract more visitors, provide them with valuable content and reasons to return to your site repeatedly. For instance, blog posts, various tips, and guides offer a great way to create rich and search engine-friendly content on your site. Additionally, being active on social media positively impacts search engine visibility because engaging content tends to be shared more frequently.

Actions:

• Create a content plan based on the keywords and phrases identified in the keyword research.
• Focus on one topic per page; if you sell both towels and bathrobes, provide information about each product on separate pages.
• Regularly publish content such as blog posts, which are a good way to achieve this.

8. Internal and External Links

Internal Links

Internal links refer to those links on your website that lead to other content within your site. These links give search engines an idea of your site's structure. Through internal linking, Google learns which pages of your site are important (i.e., those that are linked to more frequently).

Actions:

• Link to your most important content (such as your product or service pages).
• Use natural and descriptive text in internal links.
• Whenever possible, include keywords in the links.
• Format the links to make them easy to notice.

External Links

External links are those located on other websites that direct traffic to your site. Google values links from other sites highly. The idea is that if many other sites link to yours, its content must be relevant, thus deserving a higher position in search results.

Actions:

• Ask your customers and stakeholders directly if they can add links to your website on their own pages.
• Actively share your content on social media platforms.
  
• Create high-quality content that others enjoy sharing and linking to in general.

9. Search Engine Optimization is not a one-time project - analyze and improve

Once you've gained momentum in search engine optimization, it's important to monitor the effects of your efforts, including through tools like Google Analytics. SEO is not a one-time project but an ongoing process of updating, analyzing, and improving based on data. There are also various paid tools available in the market for tracking results, such as Content King.