Do you know SEO Best practices?
How many times have you discussed your website’s downfall with someone and received replies like “it’ll get better” or “don’t worry, it takes time to get there?” A million times, no? You spend so much time in despair that you forget to look at the bright side. Perhaps, one of the best solutions to your problem is practicing SEO. Understanding SEO is mandatory to significantly increase brand awareness and, not to mention, get more traffic! Sounds reassuring, right?
SEO is an ever-evolving institution. However, certain fundamental basics remain unchanged. Most listicles related to SEO best practices include outdated information or focus on factors that only appeal to 5% of the readers. In other words, they’re merely lists of SEO tips – not practices. However, it is pertinent for all to follow result-oriented approaches, whether you’re running an e-commerce store, a blog, or a local brick-and-mortar store.
This article covers a few of the essential SEO practices that’ll skyrocket your business.
- Optimize Image Alt-Text
Undoubtedly, image alt text has been a valuable constituent in SEO. Over the past years, there have been increasing discussions about Google utilizing machine learning to deceit what an image is and everything related to it.
Many people with little or no knowledge consider including alt-texts in images as a waste of time. Notably, you aren’t going to lose anything by adding suitable image alt-texts on your site. It is worth mentioning that machine learning is a new concept, and many still struggle to get a hold of it. While image alt-text might be an obsolete act, optimizing your images is still a good idea if you want to play it safe.
- The Canonical Link Element
If you want your website to remain original, incorporate canonical tags. Some of you may be struggling to understand the term. These tags are essential as they bring copyright laws to the table. For a deeper understanding, check out this Beginner’s Guide to Canonical Tags – you’ll learn a lot from here.
Canonical tags offer various benefits to your business. They help web admins avert duplicate content issues by identifying the canonical URL, the “preferred” version of a website page, which ultimately expands your site’s SEO. The idea is simple. If you have multiple versions of the same content, consider choosing one “canonical” version and direct the search engines to it.
It is easy to resolve the duplicate content problem through canonical tags, specifically where search engines fail to identify which version to show in their search results. Therefore, it’s the best SEO practice you’ll ever implement to maintain the integrity of your business!
- Targeting LSI Keywords
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords aren’t a one-way street to enhancing your search rankings. Still, taking your time to choose LSI keywords carefully can help to gain the necessary evidence related to the phrases and keywords you initially targeted. It further helps you get ranked while avoiding keyword stuffing forfeits.
Furthermore, in case you aren’t using LSI keywords, Google might find it challenging to pinpoint the SEO parallels and overlap between the content on your site. Besides, try not to use the exact phrases and keywords throughout your content. Instead, it is best to integrate LSI keywords to help Google bots recognize your brand and its relevance to user intent. The goal is to use them in a conversational, natural way. If appropriately used, LSI keywords will help website visitors discover the answers they need, and Google will better understand your content.
- Use Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)
Are you aware of what HTTPS can do for your website? If not, then here’s the answer. HTTPS makes the pages on your website more secure by encrypting information sent between the server and visitor. It’s been a Google ranking factor since forever.
You can easily identify if your website is already utilizing HTTPS by viewing the heaping bar in your browser. Notably, if the URL has a lock icon, then you’re good to go. If not, it is better to install a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate.
A handful of web hosts provide these in their packages. If yours does not, you can choose one for free from LetsEncrypt. Once installed, switching to HTTPS will become a one-time job. Also, every page on your website would be secure, including those you upload in the future.
- Add Internal Links in Anchor Text
Adding internal links to your webpage is an excellent approach for SEO because they traverse link popularity. In addition to this, the anchor text of the URL also makes a difference. It is the perceptible text inside the link that defines the related content. For instance, the anchor text, Tips to augment your Content for SEO, effortlessly describes the details of the linked page. That’s how search engines view it. Hence, it is best to use expressive anchor text and add target words instead of phrases like “read more” or “click here.” Besides, it’s good to include links with keywords, but, again, don’t go crazy with it. Having too many links with similar keywords will look fake, and Google might deny it.
- Create Interesting Title Tags
Your web page’s title tag (<title>) is undoubtedly crucial for website visitors and search engines. It is shown in your browser’s tab, bookmarks and appears in the search engine results. Notably, search engines consider titles that are relevant to the theme of the page. Therefore, it is best to utilize the following practices when generating titles:
- Ensure that the title includes your brand name: This can improve visitors’ likelihood of recognizing your brand.
- Place essential keywords in the beginning: The search engine detects these keywords for rankings and turns them “bold” in search engines.
- Use titles as call-to-action buttons: Always create titles that are compelling and descriptive.
- Keep them short: It is best to limit your title to 75 characters. Most search engines cut titles that exceed the limit.
The Verdict: SEO Is Your Staircase to Success!
It’s vital to keep in mind that upholding an impeccable online existence goes beyond search rankings! The practices highlighted above are an excellent starting point to achieve tremendous search rankings. However, it is best to keep in mind that the competition for the first page on Google is unbearable, regardless of the niche you’re working in. Once you work on these best practices, you’re on the right track. Hence, make sure you are satisfactorily up to speed with the latest SEO drifts and consider other SEO techniques from time to time to stay on top of the game.