What is SEO? And How Can You Improve Yours?
Learn how to optimize search engine results for your website.
Marketing experts often throw around the term “SEO,” but what does it mean and why does our team recommend it to all of our clients? SEO, or search engine optimization, uses informative and engaging writing, formatting, and behind-the-scenes tinkering to bring your webpage to the top of the search engine results. SEO is about driving visibility and awareness more than making conversions. If you want to improve your website’s SEO, focus on these main components:
Meta Description
The meta description is the small summary of your webpage that appears in search engine results, giving users insight into what your webpage has to offer. A good meta description should include a cue line at the beginning and a call to action at the end to both attract and engage the user. Try to keep it around 158 characters and make it simple, creative, and conversational. Talk to your readers. Pro tip: your title tag should mimic your meta description in just 60 characters.
Keywords
Keywords are words in your web content that connect search engine users to your webpage. They should speak the same language as the user. Search Engine Journal suggests two strategies for maximizing keyword opportunities: 1) apply keywords from your more popular web content to your slightly less popular web content to improve its ranking and 2) create content based on keywords for which your competitor ranks highly to improve its popularity.
Linking
Links connect users to other webpages or websites. In your own content, there are two types of links: internal, which link to other pages on your website, and external, which link to other websites altogether. In others’ content, though, links to your website are essential, too. Search engine algorithms consider links to your website from other websites an indication that you are trustworthy, engaging, or high-quality. So when you are more linked, you appear higher in search engines.
Content
Content is one of the most essential components of SEO. As most marketing experts will tell you, content is key.
Length
In the case of content, size matters. You should always vary your article’s length based on your article’s keyword. Using SEM Review Tools, find the average length of related articles with similar keywords and then shape your content based on that.
Formatting
When it comes to content formatting, the visual organization of your webpage should attract interest and attention. When possible, use short paragraphs, bullet points, and numbered lists. Create interesting headers. Pull quotes from your content. To make your content more dynamic and interactive, incorporate relevant images, videos, or audio.
Writing
When it comes to content writing, on the other hand, your words should stand on their own. Punctuation is meant to organize your writing, not to attract interest and attention. Use only one space after a period, only three dots in an ellipsis, and a spare amount of exclamation points, all caps, italics, and bold. That way the exclamation points, caps, italics, and bold you do use stand out.
SEO comes across as complicated and confusing, but it becomes much more approachable with these three easy tips. Focusing on your meta description, your keywords, and your content length, formatting, and writing will immediately improve your SEO.
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