Online users carry out over 2.8 million searches a day. And that’s only on Google. Add to that the fact that 67% of the clicks (the lion’s share) go to the first 5 results.
So, a first-page position can make a huge difference to your business.
How can I get my website to the first page on Google or Bing?
You might not be able to control off-site SEO factors. However, there are several effective, proven ways to optimize your website. Here are 13 SEO tips to ensure your content is ready to rock the Internet.
Title Tags
The title tag is displayed on the search engine results pages (SERPs) in the form of clickable headings. They play a critical role in SEO, usability as well as social sharing.
Google usually displays the first 50 to 60 characters of a title tag. Keep the title under 60 characters to ensure they display properly.
Your title should be catchy, natural and read well. Use your main keyword first but avoid keyword stuffing.
Heading Tags
Header tags provide structure and break up the text making your copy readable and engaging. However, that’s not the only purpose they serve. By including keywords in the heading tags, you provide search engines a reason to look up your content to understand the context and relevance of your page.
Meta Descriptions
The meta description is a summary of a webpage. It tells the search engines what your page is about. Google usually displays up to 160 characters in the SERPs.
If you ask us, the meta description is your ad copy. Focus on crafting a catchy, compelling description using your target keywords to improve the click-through rate.
Content
Search engines aim to provide users with the best experience. Naturally, they are looking for quality content to display in the SERPs.
So focus on consistently creating original, unique and engaging content should be at the top of your mind.
Each piece of content you create should:
- Answer the user’s query.
- Not be directly copied from other articles except in the case of attributed quotes.
- Have enough meat. So aim to write longer posts once in a while anywhere from 500 to 2,500 words.
- Link to authoritative sources where applicable.
- Incorporate keyword variations instead of overusing the same keyword repeatedly.
URL Structure
A webpage’s URL is the first thing search engines and visitors see. So make a solid first impression by taking the time to create well-structured URLs for your web pages.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Optimize your URL for the relevant keyword.
- Avoid superfluous characters and words such as “the” or “and” as they are simply distractions and can be done away with.
- Keep dynamic URL strings to the minimum.
- Image SEO
- Images encourage visitors to reach your content. Well-chosen images also complement your message and can maximize your reach in image search results.
- Be sure to provide each image with a good ‘alt’ tag. A good ‘alt tag’ is easy to read, has your main keyword and is on point.
- This attribute strengthens your message in the eye of the search engine spiders while improving your site’s accessibility.
Page Load Speed
Page speed plays a critical role not just in SEO but also in user experience and eventually conversions. So check Google’s Page Speed Insights tool to test your site load speed.
Fix Crawl Errors
Crawl errors happen when search engines try to reach a page on your site but in vain.
Crawling is an important process the search engines use to visit each page on your site. You want to ensure the search engine bots reach all the pages on your site.
A failure in this process will result in a crawl error.
It’s important to ensure that each link on your site takes the user to an actual page. This could even be by way of a 301 redirect but the final page must return a 200 OK server response.
Use Google Search Console to identify and resolve any crawl errors.
Canonical Tags
The canonical tag is a very handy piece of code to resolve duplicate content and indexing issues.
What happens when you have multiple versions of the same page? Google chooses the URL that best represents your site. What if the version Google chooses in not your preferred choice?
That’s where the canonical tag comes to your rescue. This tag tells the search engines which version you prefer.
Let’s say, your site has 4 versions of a particular product page but only one of those is clean and optimized for SEO. The canonical tag funnels down the SEO value of each of the other 3 URLs to one single URL that must be displayed in the SERPs.
Mobile Friendliness
Smartphones are fast replacing desktop computers to become the medium of choice for online surfing. So it’s important to ensure your website is mobile responsive. A mobile responsive website adapts to the device it’s accessed on to provide a consistent experience.
Internal Links
Internal linking helps improve your SEO. The great news is that this is completely in your control. Every new page and post you publish much include at least one link to another page/post on your website.
Search Engine Blocks
Check the Robots.tx file to ensure any important pages aren’t being blocked from the search engine spiders. Any pages/posts that contain the “disallow” tag could create trouble.
It’s a good idea to block admin panels as well as low-quality pages that you don’t want the search engines to index. However, all your main pages and blogs must be allowed in the search engine index.
Schema Markup
Schema markup is a code you use on your site to help search engines find more informative results for your users. More than a third of search results rely on Schema markup but only 17% of marketers use it.
If your website is built on WordPress, use the SEOPress to add schema markup easily to your pages.
Supercharge Your Online Visibility
Blackbear Media is a leading digital marketing in New Jersey with many years of experience and a proven track record. We use a data-backed and results-driven approach to optimize your website and bring it to the top of the SERPs.
Contact us today to request your free SEO audit.
