Improving SEO for your website
Here are some specific SEO suggestions to help you improve your on page SEO without spending a dime with some company that promised page one results for $300 but sent you an email from something like….garydoesseo@gmail.com.
“NO THANKS GARY! I rather not get scammed today!“
SEO is expensive - It just is…. and anyone selling it on the cheap should throw a red flag…..BUT - what are you supposed to do about it? You still need SEO for your business! You still need to be found! Well - Here are some things you can do quickly and easily to make sure you score better.
NOTE: This is not a comprehensive solution. No one can guarantee page one results for your desired keywords…. but this basic check list should help you get a running start.
Do keyword research
Identify Relevant Keywords: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to find keywords relevant to your content and audience.
Long-Tail Keywords: Target long-tail keywords that are less competitive but highly relevant to your niche. To explain the importance of long-tail keywords I will use this example. If you sell used trucks and want to rank for the Keyword “Chevy Trucks” you are never going to out CHEVY the CHEVY company for that keyword. However - “Chevy trucks for sale in Colorado Springs” will be much more achievable. This is also going to be a much better keyword for conversion. Meaning… someone looking for CHEVY TRUCKS may not be interested in buying a Chevy Truck, or located anywhere close to Colorado Springs. Long-tail keywords are easier to rank for and more likely to get the kind of traffic you are looking for.
On-Page SEO
Url Slug & Structure: The Url Slug is that last part of the URL. As an example: in the following URL https://www.adidas.com/us/samba-og-shoes - samba-og-shoes is the url SLUG and, as such…Should be the primary keyword in the title and heading. This tells Google that this page is a good result for someone looking for info on Samba OG shoes. When coming up with a URL slug - Use clean, descriptive, keyword rich text. Separate each word with a dash - NOT an underline…. “samba-og-shoes” is good ….but “samba_og_shoes“ is NOT.
Title Tags: Ensure each page has a unique, descriptive title tag with relevant keywords. These titles aren’t directly used by Google to rank your SEO - HOWEVER, they do influence whether or not someone clicks on a search result, thereby playing a roll in your SEO.
Meta Descriptions: Write compelling meta descriptions that include keywords and encourage clicks. These also are indirect SEO factors. The roll they play in influencing your click through rate is important.
Headings: Use H1 tags for main headings and H2/H3 for subheadings, incorporating keywords naturally. H1 (Primary headers), can be looked at like chapters in a novel. The H1 is the chapter title…. H2 & H3 are sections inside that Chapter.
Content Quality: Publish high-quality, original content that provides value to your audience. Use keywords naturally within the content. There have been tons of studies done showing that people scan until they find something they want to know about. At that point, they want as much info as possible. If your blogs are not original - they will not carry nearly as much SEO power as original content. You want your blog to establish you as an authority in a subject matter…. how can you do that if you are only posting other people’s blogs - Also, why would people visit your website to read your blog when they can go to any other number of sites that are sharing the same content. Remember this - Be informative, Be comprehensive, Be Authentic
Internal Linking: Link to other relevant pages within your website. This helps search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your content.
Technical SEO
Depending your level of access and what platform you use….Not all of these tips may be accessible to you… however -
Site Speed: Optimize your site's loading speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights. Some ways you can improve speed of your website is to focus on:
Compressing images to the smallest they can be without losing quality.
Compressing css and Javascript. A couple ways you can do that is by using some of the online free compression engines.
Mobile-Friendliness: I feel like this should go without saying….and yet - even in 2024 - I’m seeing a number of websites that aren’t mobile compatible. BECAUSE GOOGLE NO LONGER SUPPORTS WEBSITES THAT ARE NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY….I feel this is extremely important. Sorry for yelling… it is just really so important.
Sitemap: Create and submit an XML sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. I also want to take a moment to tell you that both of these services are FREE and SO CRITICAL to your website health. both products offer so much more than just sitemap submission. Search Console also allows you to check your website health and see the keywords that people are using to find you. This is a HUGE resource that people don’t use enough.
Robots.txt: Ensure your robots.txt file is set up correctly to guide search engines on which pages to crawl. This is a bit more advanced but if you know how to use it - It is super important and can help with security of your website.
Off-Page SEO
Backlinks: Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites. This can be done through guest blogging, partnerships, and creating shareable content.
Social Media: Promote your content on social media platforms to increase visibility and attract backlinks.
Email Campaigns are great ways to drive traffic…However, many people do them wrong. Your email campaign should not be a comprehensive newsletter that someone can read in their inbox…. It should be a teaser that drives people to your website to get more information. Email Campaigns are still a very active part of driving traffic.
Local SEO -
Google My Business: Google does not offer products like this unless it is important. You better believe it is. If you have a physical location, create and optimize a Google My Business profile. You should be driving people to your GMB business page to leave reviews, and you should be posting weekly with their posting options. Local SEO is also a much easier way to get your business to page one organically.
Local Keywords: Include local keywords in your content if applicable.
Content Marketing
Blogging: Regularly publish blog posts on topics relevant to your audience. You don’t need to post 3 a week…. but you do need to post regularly and be consistent. Also - Be in depth and informative. Sharing the occasional blog is ok but it does not help you or your website to posting blogs from other pages exclusively.
Multimedia Content: Use images, videos, and infographics to make your content more engaging. When posting video - you also want to transcribe when applicable. Google can see the video but not the content. However, if you transcribe the video and include that content on the page, google will be able to scan keywords and rank you higher.
Analytics and Monitoring
Google Analytics (GA) & Tag Manager: Use Google Analytics to track your site's performance and user behavior - There are a number of lessons that are free and online at Google Analytics Academy - these can teach you how to use GA and learn from what you find.
Search Console: Monitor your site’s search performance and fix any issues using Google Search Console.
User Experience (UX)
Navigation: Ensure your site is easy to navigate with a clear structure. Sites that are difficult to use, tend to frustrate customers and cause them to bounce from your website and …sometimes….not return.
Readability: Make sure your content is easy to read with proper formatting, font sizes, and spacing. Avoid Industry jargon or using a lot of $3 words. Explain things as if you are sharing with someone that has minimal understanding of what you are explainging, and you will do extremely well.
Regular Audits & Overall Maintenance
SEO Audits: Perform regular SEO audits of your website to identify and fix issues that arise. Check out Search Console to identify pages that are not being listed and see if you can request to have them listed. Search Console is a really powerful tool
Content Audits: Review and update your content periodically to keep it fresh and relevant. If you really have a hard time getting rid of the old stuff… consider an archive for blogs that are outdated.
In summary
Seo is a grouping of many different and equally important disciplines. It is also a heavily time consuming practice that requires a highly technical understanding of data and how all these pieces of software work together. For this reason - It should be understandable that hiring someone to do this is going to be expensive. No one is out there to work for $10 an hour on something that pays everywhere else at 4 times that rate. THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO GO WITHOUT! Every bit helps and moves you closer to the bigger goal. SEO is a marathon….. NO matter how cliche that might sound. IT is the truth. It can NOT be done overnight and NO ONE can GUARANTEE results…. So what better reason than setting aside one day a month to just take it easy - Put on some headphones with your favorite tunes….grab an iced tea or Cup of coffee and hammer out a blog - File your Sitemap with Google and Bing, Update your posts on GMB and check your pages to see if you can make them function any better. You can do this….I believe in you.
