What are effective SEO strategies? They are basic activities that boost your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to get you noticed and ranked high on Internet search engines like Google. Why is that important? Because every day, there are 3.5 billion searches on Google. In the US, 78% of people turn to the Internet to do research before actually shopping for products and services. And for businesses, approximately 40% of website traffic begins with a search query. The Internet is the modern Yellow Pages, Encyclopedia Britannica and every other information source at your fingertips.
Now, keeping up your SEO game takes constant research, monitoring, testing, experimentation, and WORK. Search algorithms are always being updated to refine how search engines evaluate and rank websites, so you have to stay up-to-date on how SEO factors change. Is it that important that your business website ranks high on search engines? You bet! How vital is it? About 75% of Internet users do not even look past the first page of search results!
So, what can you do to keep your website ranking high on Google and other search engines? Here are a few time-tested and effective SEO strategies anyone can use.
Perform a Regular SEO Audit of Your Website
An SEO audit checks for things that can prevent you from ranking high. It is often the small things that cause our website to get overlooked by the latest Google algorithm. About every 4-6 months, you should perform a website audit, and look for the following things:
- Do all your website’s pages have optimized meta titles and descriptions?
- Is each page on your website optimized with the best keywords?
- Is your URL structure optimized for search engines?
- Is each page and blog post formatted properly?
- Do all your images have keywords in their ALT tags?
- Are you using links in your content?
These items are some of the most basic, and yet most overlooked, items for on-site SEO. Check for them, make any needed corrections, and then give the search engines time to crawl your pages again to see better rankings.
Use Highly-Optimized Landing Pages
A well-designed landing page can improve your lead generation. The more landing pages you create, the more gateways you open up for incoming search traffic. Think of fishing with 5 poles in the water, each with 2 hooks on the line, instead of a single pole with a single hook. Landing pages are opportunities for new users to discover your site and company.
You need to realize that many Internet users do not land on your company homepage; about 56% of clicks for B2B companies go to a landing page. Your homepage is important, but a landing page is where you facilitate a connection and possible lead. Users discover landing pages when you use digital advertising to drive those looking for something specific to a particular page (your landing page).
For example, a user is searching for or interested in grinding their own coffee at home. You advertise something special about your premier-quality coffee beans on social media and this user clicks the link to go to your landing page. Here is what they should find (key elements of a good landing page):
- No obvious page navigation (you want them to stay)
- Valuable content about the topic
- Eye-catching graphics about the topic
- A CTA (call to action) that prompts a response (trade contact information for a lead magnet, newsletter, free trial product, or something worth trading contact information to obtain).
- No extraneous copy, images or formatting – keep it simple!
Use a Responsive /Mobile-Friendly Website Design
Over 60% of all Internet searches are now performed on mobile devices – smartphones, tablets, even smart watches! Over half of all eCommerce is now conducted on tablets or smartphones. That means your website needs to be viewable and easily used on all these different devices in order to give users the best chance of finding what you have to offer.
What used to be called mobile-friendly is now more commonly known as Responsive Design. More than looking good on a mobile device, your website must change and be easily used on mobile devices. That means navigation that is easy to use with a finger, text and images that adjust to different screen sizes and every aspect of the site loads super-fast.
Many site architecture companies like WordPress have responsive design built into most of their templates. But you still may need to tweak some of your website elements to ensure they work correctly on different devices. Some images you use or graphics you create may not be responsive and can mess up the user experience.
Create and Share Valuable Content on Your Site Regularly
The heart and soul of digital marketing is content. Internet users are searching for information. Google algorithms evaluate the quality of information on your website now as much as they do quantity. New web pages and blog posts that provide users with quality information and real, relevant solutions are what will drive more users to your site.
Of course, your content must be optimized for SEO. This is why doing a regular audit is so important – as you add new content, you can make mistakes. An audit can catch those mistakes and correct them. Post new content in every available format that users want to see:
- Text
- Images
- Infographics
- Video
- Audio
When you add new content, promote it voraciously on social media, in your newsletter and every other means possible. Give away tidbits that will entice users to click the link and check it out.
Partner with an Expert Marketing Firm to Handle Your SEO Strategy
Does all this sound like lots of work? It is! So how are you supposed to keep track of all this while you run your business, handle customers, manage employees, and produce the products and services people want? The best way is to partner with an expert marketing firm that specializes in SEO strategy.
Just like your company may be Johnson City’s expert on coffee, cakes, pet grooming, criminal law, or dentistry, 1-FIND SERVICES is your local expert on SEO strategy for your company website. Contact us for a consultation and let us handle your SEO strategy while you manage a growing business.
