Wouldn’t it be nice if SEO was something that you could just turn on and forget about?
As business owners, we all know that SEO (or Search Engine Optimization) is an on-going strategy.
What’s more, Google has over 200 ranking factors to optimize your site.
How do you know which ones have a greater impact on your ranking?
It turns out that the following 3 main SEO techniques will help you see an improvement in the organic traffic to your website without risking a Google penalty.
The more traffic you get to your website, the more opportunities you have to convert visitors into paying customers.
In this blog post, we’ll cover the 3 essential SEO tips that can help you attract more traffic and build your business’s online presence.
Watch this video or keep reading 😊
Essential SEO Tip #1 – Website Speed
Essential SEO Tip #1 – Measure Your Website Speed and Apply the Tips Below
First, do you know your website’s average page speed?
Page speed refers to how quickly content loads on your web pages. It’s a key ranking factor for Google, so every business owner ought to take it seriously.
Figuring out your average page speed is the first step toward improving your search engine ranking.
Once you learn about your average page load times, then you can dig a little deeper and figure out what you need to remove, or change, to make your site faster.
How Fast Should Your Website Be?
In general, Google’s best practice is to achieve a page load time that is under 1.3 seconds.
Research shows that 47 percent of internet users expect pages to load within 2 seconds (or even less).
What’s more, 40 percent of internet users have also said that they will give up on a site altogether in the event that it takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
How Do You Measure Website Speed?
The easiest way to figure out your website’s average page speed is to use a free tool from Google called Page Speed Insights. This free report tells you your average load time and gives you a list of things you can fix to make your site faster.
Tips for Speeding Up Your Website
The following are some of the most common steps our clients need to take to speed up their websites:
- Remove Unnecessary Elements
Start by removing all unnecessary elements from your website.
For example, do you have any deactivated plugins or widgets that you installed but aren’t currently using?
If so, go ahead and delete them.
If you haven’t cleaned things up in a while, you’ll probably see a big difference in your page speeds just by taking this step.
- Upgrade Your Hosting Plan
Are you using a shared hosting plan? It is common to start with this type of plan because it’s relatively inexpensive.
However, with shared hosting, you are sharing (hence the name) a server with a bunch of other websites. This can lead to slower page load times.
You may want to consider upgrading your hosting plan (especially if your website has experienced a significant increase in traffic recently).
That way, you won’t be sharing a server and competing against as many sites for space.
- Compress Images and Files
Compress images and files as much as possible.
This will reduce their size and, by default, the amount of time they take to load.
Try to limit JavaScript and CSS files as well. They take up more space and slow down page load times.
- Reduce Font Sizes
Reduce font sizes as much as possible.
However, don’t make them so small that they affect the readability of your content.
After you change them, be sure to check font sizes on desktops and mobile devices to ensure they’re not too small.
- Reduce Redirects
If users regularly get redirected to a new page (or new pages) after they click on a specific link, that can slow down your website.
Reduce redirects on the back-end as much as you can so your website can run more efficiently and load more quickly.
- Install AMP
In addition to using Google’s Page Speed Insights, we also recommend installing or adding Google’s AMP Framework.
AMP is short for “Accelerated Mobile Pages.”
Keep in mind, it’s not just for mobile; it also works for desktop pages.
AMP speeds up your web pages by limiting CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.
It helps to lighten up your web pages, so to speak, which results in shorter loading times.
Essential SEO Tip #2 – Link Building
Essential SEO Tip #2 – Link Building Helps Add Credibility to Your Business
Next, the second-best SEO strategy: Link building.
Link building is a fundamental component of a successful SEO strategy.
It’s all about getting other, trustworthy websites, to include links back to your website in their content.
Think about it this way. Do you usually like it when someone is trying to sell something to you?
Or, do you prefer it when someone else is talking about how great a particular product or service is?
The second option is a basic summary of how link building works.
When you can get other websites to talk about you and your products or services (and include a link back to your website), this helps to add credibility to your business.
This is especially true when the website that is linking to your site is a credible, high-quality one that receives a lot of traffic regularly.
Link building is a great way to get people thinking and talking about your business.
However, you might be wondering how you are supposed to get people interested in adding links to your website to their blog posts.
Tips for improving your link building strategy:
- Build Relationships
It’s easier to create a good link building strategy if you have strong relationships with other business owners.
If you have friends who work in the same industry or run a related business, you’ll have an easier time asking for back links and giving your business a boost.
When it comes to networking and building relationships, a good place to start is joining niche-related communities.
Join forums and social media groups, for example, and engage regularly. Share relevant comments and posts to start making valuable professional connections.
Over time, when you actively participate in these online communities and build relationships, you’ll feel more comfortable asking for back links and forming strong partnerships in the future.
- Offer a Link for a Link
How can you expect to get others to link to your website if you’re unwilling to give them something first?
A great way to start is to make a list of authoritative blogs, such as your local chamber of commerce or other industry-specific sites.
Once you’ve finished your list, reach out to these sites and organizations and offer them to link from your blog to theirs. When you include links that benefit them on your site, they’ll be more inclined to return the favor in the future.
- List Your Site in Online Directories
An easy way to build links to your website is to list it in online directories.
Not only does this provide you with a back link, but it also offers you a chance to share other valuable pieces of information about your business.
For example, you can include details about your products or services, as well as the hours when your business is open (if you have an in-person shop).
- Write Guest Posts
Consider reaching out to lifestyle blogs or news sites and asking if you can write a guest post. Guest posting allows you to share your knowledge about a specific topic, and you can include a link back to your website.
Some websites charge for guest posts that include promotional links. However, many of them will accept posts free of charge as long as you follow their specific writing guidelines.
- Never Buy Links
Remember, link building is all about quality, not quantity.
In other words, never buy links!
This might seem like a good idea at first.
However, it can backfire pretty quickly and brings your business’s credibility into question. Save your money and work on building relationships instead.
Essential SEO Tip #3 – Social Signals
Essential SEO Tip #3 – Social Signals Help Create Links Back to Your Site
Last, but not least, let’s talk about social signals!
Where do social media and SEO cross paths?
A lot of people think that social media is not important for SEO. However, those people couldn’t be more wrong!
Social signals do impact search engine rankings.
Imagine that in your niche industry, you share a post with high-quality content such as an important guide on how to improve your manufacturing process. Once you publish this guide, people will start sharing and talking about it.
This creates more links back to your blog page and, by default, your website.
Over time, this results in more traffic to your website, more people reading your content, and more time spent on your website.
All of those are ranking factors for Google.
Keep in mind, too, that if your social media post is that good, people will start searching for it.
In other words, they will be Googling it with the name of your company.
This boosts branding signals, which is also an important Google ranking factor.
Therefore, it is important to take time to create a social media strategy.
Use it to post rich content for your specific target audience so they will love it and want to share it.
Tips to help you put together an effective approach to social media:
- Create Quality Content
As with pretty much everything when it comes to SEO, quality matters more than quantity. Focus on creating posts that provide value to your audience and look good.
When it comes to looks, use colors that align with your branding and ensure that the photos and videos you share are high-quality and well-lit, too.
- Make Sharing Easy
Make sure it’s easy for people to share content from your blog to social media. Include social sharing buttons so that readers can easily share posts on their timelines and expand your reach online.
- Optimize Social Media Profiles
When crafting your social media profiles, be sure to optimize them. Include your business name, a link to your website, and a brief description of what you do and what products or services you offer.
This will make it easier for people to find you when they’re searching for brands like yours on different social media platforms.
- Optimize Images
Optimize your images for search engines. An easy way to do this is by renaming your image files with the specific keywords for which you want to rank. Add keywords in the alt-text and title text, too.
- Engage with Your Audience
Finally, make sure you include time for engagement in your social media strategy.
Respond to comments and direct messages promptly. This helps to improve your reputation and increases the likelihood that people will continue to share your content in the future.
You can also use these communications as opportunities to direct people back to your website.
Improve Your SEO Strategy Today
There you have it!
Three essential SEO tips that you can use today to change your tomorrow.
1. Start by running your free Google Page Speed Insights report to address website speed. Then, remove all unnecessary elements that slow down your site and install Google’s AMP Framework.
2. Next, address your link building strategy and start building your media list.
3. Finally, don’t forget to boost social signals by improving your social media marketing strategy.
When you take all these steps, you can bring more traffic to your website, generate qualified online leads, and increase conversions.
Also, if you want to learn more about SEO and website optimization, make sure you check these blog posts too:
Website Security To Improve Your SEO
Do you have more SEO optimization questions? If so, our team at Boral Agency is here for you.
Contact us today to set up a free 30-minute consultation.
We’ll work with you to identify what is working and what isn’t. Then, we’ll get started on a plan to help you level up and give your business a boost.
Which of these essential SEO tips shared today will you be implementing? Comment your answer below!
