Businesses striving for strong search engine optimization (SEO) rankings have many options from which to choose. However, regularly using a checklist of best practices is a sure method to impact SEO performance positively. Check this list to learn SEO and the best SEO tips before you publish another article, blog post, or web page.
1. Pick your target keyword.
Selecting the best target keyword is as simple as using Google Keyword Planner. This free tool will provide you with estimates for any phrase. For instance, find out which phrases in your industry receive many monthly searches. If you want to refine the search, you must conduct some research.
2. Check out the competition.
Now that you have an appropriate search phrase, use your private browser mode to do Google searches. The results page will give you your top 10 competitors except for the ads on top. Now you can research your competition and determine their gaps.
3. Publish the best content.
You know what content your competition has; now, you need to craft content that surpasses the competition. If you are not a natural writer, this may be challenging. However, quality content impresses your customers and ranks higher in search engines; this is true whether you are creating a landing page, an e-commerce store page, or a blog post.
4. Use the keyword within the page title.
Use the keyword or keyword phrase in the page title for higher SEO ranking. Also, take some time to craft a clickable title. You want to draw the visitor to click the title and go directly to your landing page.
5. Use the keyword in the header.
A straightforward way to organize most web pages is to use a large title followed by sub-headers spread throughout the page; this is very helpful for visitors skimming your site, and it helps Google find your keywords more quickly. Use the exact keyword phrase in sub-headers several times if possible.
6. Use the keyword in the alt-tag and the name of the image.
If you use images, make sure the images contain names and alt-tags; this is another way to help Google understand what your site’s content contains. You use the alt-tag after uploading the image to the website. If the photo doesn’t load, the alt-tag is the text that shows the photo.
7. Use the keyword in the post and URL.
Google considers the URL to determine what your blog post is about. In other words, this is the text that comes after the .com or .org in the URL; search engines like keyword phrases rather than numbers or dates.
8. Use internal links.
You want to advertise your own best content across your blog and site; this is precisely the reason to internally link your highest quality SEO content throughout the pages of your website. You will need to invest some time to do this; however, the effort will pay off well.
9. Obtain external links for much better SEO.
This last tip is very important to SEO. External links are from blog posts and sites other than your own. Google places quite a bit of significance if another site links to yours. It means that your content has quality. You may advertise your business and promote it all day, but when others advertise your business for you, Google takes notice.
Crafting high-quality content is the beginning of this process. You will need to invest some of your time to do link building; this means researching other websites, finding their owners, and contacting them to ask for links. It will help if you compliment their website and content.
This nine-point checklist is a collection of some of the best, most productive tips for improving SEO. However, the list is not exhaustive. Still, put these best practices in place and use them consistently. Above all, make sure your keyword and keyword phrase is directly targeted to your industry and desired consumer. You will be ahead of your competition, and your posts should begin seeing higher SEO traffic quickly.
