Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in 2017 but has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
If you want to be found on major search engines like Google, then prioritizing Search Engine Optimization (SEO for short) is one of the most crucial things you can do for your website. Without SEO, you’ll be wasting everything you’ve spent on building a website and creating content! But where do you start? Here are 10 SEO tips to get your website found by more searchers so you can start seeing results today.
Disclaimers: 1. This article assumes you have already done your keyword research and know what keyword(s) you want to target in order to be found on search engines. 2. We go further in detail on a lot of these SEO tips in an article we wrote entitled Content And SEO: What You Need To Know. We highly suggest you read that article too!
10 SEO Tips to Be Found by More Searchers
1. Stick to your keywords in page and post titles
The biggest mistake we see when it comes to page and post titles is that people and companies try to get too “cute” with their naming. If your page is about a new baseball bat that you are selling named The Super Bat 5000, you shouldn’t title it “Chicks Dig The Long Ball.” Instead try something like “Super Bat 5000: The Baseball Bat That Will Hit The Long Ball.”
For example, here are some of our recent blog posts with titles that include the keywords we want to rank for — words like “inbound marketing,” “get found on Google,” etc.
Also, keep in mind the length of your title. Research shows that your page title should be between 50 and 60 characters. Anything more and the title will not show in its entirety on search engines and thus you will lose out on users getting to your site simply because they are unsure if your result is what they are looking for.
2. Add keywords to your image titles
Every image on your website should be uniquely named and contain your keyword(s). No random titles from the image source site allowed! To stick with the baseball talk, if you’re selling a baseball bat, you should have at least one image of the bat on your website. The image title should have the name of the product and the words “baseball bat” included as well.
3. Remember your ALT image tags
Image ALT tags are a snippet of text where web browser readers tell visually impaired users what your image is. So if someone can’t visually see your image, the web browser reader will read out what you’ve put in the ALT tag. Make sure to include your keywords and then describe what the image is.
4. Make Sure You Have Enough Content
While there is no magical amount of words your content should have, it is a good idea that each page should have a minimum of 300 words. There are exceptions to that rule but the idea is to have enough content for search engines to find and understand what your page is all about. You would be surprised how easy it is to write 300 words when you start talking about something you know a lot about! Mix your keywords throughout your content but do NOT force them. We’re not trying to stuff your page with a bunch of keywords for no reason. Make them flow easily so the reader has a good experience. If your site is hard to read because of the random keywords thrown in, readers will bolt and find an easier article to read from a competitor.
5. Only create quality content
Even as you’re trying to stay on top of your schedule, don’t just write something to write something. Do your research. Find good resources (we’ll get into that later). Don’t just have a page with one paragraph and a button. The quality of your content is a very big deal to search engines and user experience. One of the most common ways to ensure your site will not get found on search engines is to have a page with low-quality content that isn’t helpful for anybody. This tip has never been more important than it is now. Google has recently updated its algorithm with its Google Helpful Content update. It is rewarding unique content that is helpful for users.
6. Prioritize consistent content scheduling
You should be constantly adding content to your website. Do not let your website sit idle. Write and write often! If you are selling baseball bats, write about your individual products, write about tips for the perfect swing, write about why the bat flip is or isn’t ruining the game of baseball. Just write! The more content you produce, the more eyes on your website, the more trust you build with a user, and the more chances that a user will purchase from you.
7. Include internal links
Your pages and posts should have what are called internal links. These are links that point to other pages and posts that already exist on your website. Remember reading the disclaimer right before SEO tip number one? That is a perfect example of an internal link to another article within our own website. Internal links are important because they allow users to navigate a website, help establish an information hierarchy, and help spread ranking power on a website.
8. Include external links
You should also be using external links. As we stated in SEO tip #5, do your research. Find other experts in the field and then give them credit when you learn something and pass on that knowledge on your site. Providing external links creates a sense of trustworthiness for the user and search engines alike.
Bonus Tip: If you choose to link out to a website, industry professional, or company, let them know! They may post a link to your blog on their own social channels boosting the visibility of your content.
9. Use social media to promote your site
Using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. will bring users to your site. This tells search engines that you know what you are talking about. Then, in return, search engines are more likely to consider you an authority on the topic and will give your site precedence over the competitors.
10. Seek out partnerships within your industry
Another great way to get exposure is to find a blogger who reviews products or items in your industry. Let them know that you have written an article on the subject or just produced a product on the subject and encourage them to write an honest review and link your site on their blog. This linking to your website from an outside source is called a backlink, which is a super effective strategy for getting your site to rank higher on search engines! Here’s a video from our partners at HubSpot to explain more.
If your website isn’t product-driven but is instead idea-driven, find someone who writes about that topic and let them know that you have weighed in on the idea as well. Encourage them to consider and review your idea.
Let Soulheart Help Take Your SEO to the Next Level
There’s a lot more to consider when it comes to SEO because it is an ever-evolving industry with new tools coming out all the time. These 10 SEO tips will give you an awesome head start to getting found by more searchers, but you’ll want to do more to get your website to the top of the search results!
If you’re ready to invest in an SEO strategy that propels your business forward, consider hiring an expert agency like Soulheart. Start by checking out our SEO services and bundles to see how we can meet your needs. Or, get our FREE Website Analyzer tool to learn how your website is performing and what areas you can improve. We’re excited to help you on your journey to SEO success!
