Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a very complex field with ever changing analytics and tips & tricks of the trade. While it is worth following the latest news and staying informed, not everyone is titillated by the technology behind SEO. And, not everyone can afford to pay an outside company to handle the work for them. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, there are a few SEO steps – a checklist if you will – that every website should follow to boost its visibility. Think of this SEO checklist as your website backbone—the foundation of your SEO plan.
Keywords. There is debate on the value of entering keywords into the backend or meta data portion of your website, but whether you do that or not, you need to know the main keywords for your website or each website page. Try to think of 5 to 10 words that define each page, what you do, what you sell, etc. Think of those words in the vernacular of your website visitor and avoid using technical jargon they wouldn’t use.
Title Tags. Make sure you have optimized your title tags to fit with the latest Google guidelines. Think of about 60 characters that best define your company. Use your name and your location if that’s important. Use a keyword that reflects what that page is about, and enter this in the meta data.
Alt Attribute Tags or Image Tags. Every image on your page should have an informative, keyword-rich label. Don’t overdo it here, but rather than saying “Image 6” or some other generic description, describe what the image is with a few of those vital keywords and perhaps your website name.
Headings. Your web page’s content should be organized with a title that describes the information that will follow, much like a headline over a newspaper article. This needs to be coded and entered into your web page’s back end as well.
Analytics. There are a number of free analytics programs available, but Google Analytics is probably one of the most popular. You don’t need to be an expert in SEO analytics, and you definitely do not have to use every feature they offer, but it’s very useful to start keeping some baseline statistics to see what keywords are working for you, what pages are most popular, where your visitors are coming from, and other useful information.
There are more SEO techniques you can use to boost your web appeal, but this is a great starting place for new and old websites looking to improve their search standings.
Do you have any SEO strategies that have worked particularly well for you? Any that you don’t fully understand or have chosen to avoid? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
And if you’re ready to boost your SEO efforts to the next level, the talented team at Filament will be happy to help you.
