Search engine optimization is the act of optimizing the content of your website so that it ranks higher in search results pages.
The goal of SEO is to have your website ranked higher than your competitors in the SERPs. This can be achieved by optimizing your content, building backlinks and ensuring that you are following Google's guidelines.
Good SEO practices can help you gain traffic and customers for your business. If done correctly, you can find yourself at the top of the SERPs and get more exposure.
It is a cyclical process, as you will need to update your website with new content, changes to design and more in order to maintain high rankings.
There are many different factors that affect SEO rankings and it can be difficult for beginners to understand how each factor interacts with one another. However, there are some key points to ensure you get the most out of SEO:
Use keywords in your content
In order to rank well on SERPs, it's important to use keywords in your content. These are words and phrases that people type into search engines when looking for information about a topic. They are often single words but can also be phrases made up of two or more words.
The type and number of keywords used in your content will depend on your target audience and their likely search behaviour.
And, it’s not enough to just include keywords throughout your content, you need to use keyphrases appropriately. Keyphrases are phrases that are more specific than keywords and help you rank for a wider set of search queries.
Keep page load times low
Optimizing for page load time is important for SEO. It improves the user experience and can have a long-term impact on your rankings.
The average site takes 7 seconds to load, but we’ve seen sites take up to 10 minutes to load!
There are many ways you can optimize your site for page loading time:
Avoid large images
Minimize external calls
Limit plugins
Optimize your code
Optimize images
Optimizing images for SEO is not a new concept. It has been around for years, but it is still not done as much as it should be.
Using the right keywords in the file name of an image can help with rank and search engine visibility. For example, if you are trying to rank on Google for "guitar," then your file name should be "guitar.jpg".
The alt tag on the image is just as important as the filename and should contain a brief description of what's in the image. This will make your images more visible to people who use screen readers or search engines that don't show images by default.
SEO & Web Development
SEO and web development go hand in hand. SEO is the best way to ensure that your website will rank well on search engines. Web development is the process of designing and building a website.
A good SEO strategy will take into consideration how web development should be done, what content should be published, and how the website should be structured.
If this is all new to you, it would be good to get expert advice. You can call Tony at 021-804-602 anytime you need help, at PC Onsite, we provide IT Support in Auckland. If you are unsure about the current condition of your website or mobile app, we provide a free usability review. Get in touch to inquire or find out more about our development and design services - you can also opt to book a free discovery call below.