Search engine optimization (SEO) helps your business achieve and maintain preferred positions within search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. Having a well-optimized, keyword-dense and well-marketed website is important in achieving a high page rank and better SEO. SEO strategies are constantly changing and it is vital to adapt in order to stay visible in the rankings. Here are some of the best strategies and tips to increase search rankings.
QUALITY CONTENT: Make sure to offer unique and thorough content. Captivating content will draw out potential customers and make your expertise known, increasing your page ranking and web traffic to your site. Avoid making your content too concise, since you may miss the necessary keywords needed to increase optimization. Furthermore, if you are posting relevant information, avoid simply regurgitating content already posted by many other companies as it will not receive high rankings. This is exceptionally important because Google can penalize you for duplicating content, therefore eliminating your rankings. New and influential information will make your page stand out from the rest.
ONSITE OPTIMIZATION: Meta tags, which include titles, descriptions and header tags, are important for targeting keywords. One of the main types of keywords you should use is locations. In fact, 20 percent of searches on Google have the location included, so adding it into the description increases your chances of visibility. Blogging is another way to create onsite optimization for your business. Adding new blogs to your website adds a more searchable page, which creates more content for the page viewers to see. This results in a higher page rank for your company.
Social links and hashtags: On every site you manage, make sure there are always clear social links. This is crucial because social networks have the highest authority with Google, making those links the most powerful. Also, include keywords in the hashtags on Google+, Facebook and Twitter in order to maximize potential optimization. Hashtags are imperative because they are traceable topics, allowing for easy findings.
CLEAN SITE ARCHITECTURE: When coding your website, make it clean and precise so that the search engines have an easier time filtering through the content. Also, always check for broken links before launching and be sure to add a sitemap when updating content. This will allow search engines to crawl your website easily.
INBOUND LINKS: When creating press and blog content, always include links back to your site. The more links the site has, the more powerful it is under Google”™s standards. Also, make sure you have listings on all local directories with a link back to your site. The latest update, known as Pigeon, places more emphasis on all local directory listings.
MOBILE OPTIMIZATION: In today”™s day of technology, audiences are never in one place anymore. Tablets, cellphones and laptops are constantly used to browse the web when people are on-the-go. Google released its mobile-friendly algorithm last April to keep up with this trend. This update had a significant impact on the mobile search results. Websites that are not mobile-friendly will no longer rank high in the mobile search results. It is important to note that in 2016, over 50 percent of searches come from mobile devices.
By adapting these strategies into your SEO campaigns, you are sure to increase search rankings and gain web traction.
Mario Mirabella is founding CEO and executive creative director of MSM DesignZ, Inc, an advertising and design firm with offices in Tarrytown and White Plains and a satellite office in the United Kingdom. He can be reached at 914-909-5900 or by email at mario@msmdesignz.com.
