There are 101 reasons why you may want to have a website. Maybe you have a product that you would like to push online. Maybe you’re a writer or an artist who wants to use the internet as an avenue to promote your work. Or maybe you’d just like to socialise and share the things you like with others online. However, the stark reality is, all of this amounts to nothing, if you can’t get any visitors to the site.
If you would like people to find your website online, then you must invest in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). SEO is a general all-encompassing term that refers to the various methods and techniques used to get a leg up in the search engine’s listings, such as Bing, Yahoo, Google and MSN. Regardless of the type of website you may have, it’s very important that you leverage off SEO in order to get your site pages at the very top of the results page. The tips below won’t guarantee that you rank at the top, but they are things that are essential to helping others find your site through the search engines. You can hire some of the best SEO companies in London and they will help you increase your website traffic successfully.
1. Focus on Something Specific
Search engines are always looking for sites that are an authority in something. So if you have a speciality, in a particular topic, then it’s best practice for you to build your entire site content around it. Are you a professional cook? Then you should consider building a website on food. Don’t create a general website, where you’re talking about cars in one article, then about cooking marshmallows in another. Making something on that scale work (with all the various topics), would require a lot more than just yourself.
Specialising in a single topic area is the key. If you’re a fishermen with a specialty in fly fishing, then that’s what you should base your site around, as opposed to deep-sea fishing for example. Build your site around the one thing you know you can bring the most amount of insight to.
2. Write High Quality Original Content
If you would like repeat customers, then you need to craft content that is comprehensive, evergreen and of course, original.
When you create original content, you are expressing to your viewers, your own unique expertise and perspective on the topic area. This in turn will help you build valuable relationships. In addition to that, all the major search engines, are built on algorithms that are designed to prioritise original content. Those individuals that choose to practice SEO coupled with original, high quality content, are likely to see the best results in the search engines.
You want your content to be comprehensive. That means, whatever topic you choose to tackle, should be done so, thoroughly, leaving no stones unturned. When you craft comprehensive pages, it lets the search engines know that you’re an authority in the subject area.
There are all kinds of tools and research methods that you can use, to help you create the best content. So I recommend you do some research on your options in this area.
Another thing for you to think about is evergreen content. This is essentially content that has long-term value. The kind of content that will generate traffic over a significant length of time. When done correctly, your content will continue to pull in traffic and generate revenue, even when your attention is somewhere else.
When constructing your evergreen content, you will need to spend some time thinking about the kind of topics that will bring that long-term value, without you having to constantly update it. Try to stay away from breaking news articles, seasonal titles or time-sensitive stories. These articles are likely to generate traffic for only a certain length of time.
3. Create Enticing Title Tags
The method in which the major search engines, such as Google generates webpage titles, in their listing has forever changed. Google know, relies more on the content of the article when ranking an article or post, than the actual title of it.
So how much less is it?
Studies have shown that in 30%+ of the time, Google will rewrite the title tags of an article. This may sound like a significant number, but in truth, 70% of the time, the title tag remains consistent.
To put things simply, in 70% of the time, the title shown for the article in the search engines, is the same title when the end user clicks through to the page. For this reason, you should still priories titles, making sure they are compelling, and enticing enough for people to want to click on them.
4. Pick the Right Keywords
When you go with a website that is focused on a specific topic, it makes it easier for you to pick your keywords. So, what exactly are keywords? They are essentially the word(s) that leads visitors to your site. Oftentimes people will look for common phrases people are searching on, and use that when constructing their websites. In other circumstances, a user may want to create a keyword based on the various elements; videos, articles, images, etc.
The keywords you choose should be in your header tags, META descriptions, URL and alt attributes. Basically, you want the keyword sprinkled throughout your article, so that the search engines have a general idea of what the content is about.
Your keywords should mirror exactly what users are searching on. If you’re selling cars on your website, then your keywords should be based around the various models highlighting various selling points of them. Additionally, you may want to look at long-tail keywords, which is basically much broader search terms people are searching on.
A long-tail search term may point to something more specific like “what is the best car to buy in 2022”. Building content around much broader terms, oftentimes means less competition, but at the same time, less traffic, so there’s a trade-off. Just be sure to not make your terms too obscure, otherwise all your efforts will amount to nothing.
5. Continue To Learn About SEO
One thing every webmaster should be aware of, is that Google’s algorithm is forever evolving, and as it does, best practices also change along with it. That is why you need to stay one step ahead of the game to make sure you’re not using methods that no longer work.
There are many websites, webinars, podcasts and videos that you can source, to keep you up to speed on the latest happenings.
Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website https://www.compuchenna.co.uk
