The search engine optimization (SEO) landscape has changed a good deal since Google first came into prominence about a decade ago. Ranking your website in the search engine results pages consists of more actions than it used to, when all you needed were just a handful of links to appear on the first page for your chosen keywords – no matter where you were in the globe.
In fact, as a local website design company in Seattle noted, local search has a better ROI than global methods do. It costs you less time, effort and money – usually – to promote your site with an eye towards local rankings, than it does in trying to reach people all over the world. We’ll investigate some other top methods that will get your website sitting atop the competition.
- Use Long Tail Keywords
Long tail keywords are simply more targeted, which means you save money in your marketing plan – while at the same time obtaining more qualified traffic. The people who arrive at your website are much more likely to convert and spiral down the sales funnel if you use keywords like “vegan hamster food” and “healthy treats for hamsters”, instead of short-tail words like “hamsters” and “hamster food.” To find the long-tail, visit forums and popular subject websites for the comments that people leave. You can also use Google Keyword Suggestions.
- Optimize Your Website for Speed and Design
With the rise of the mobile device, it has become very important for your website to be readable on a multitude of different screen sizes. This feature is called responsive design, and is essential for maximizing your conversions. If your site doesn’t show up on well on tablets and smartphones, metrics show that visitors will simply navigate away from it – you just lost a potential customer.
Additionally, the same behind-the-scenes tweaks that grant you responsive design speed up loading times. A capable SEO company always has an HTML and CSS designer that can help you bring your site into modernity.
- Employ Social Media for Website Rankings
Social media is as important as SEO. If you have a robust network, it can bring in just as many – if not more – visitors as Google’s keyword-targeted search results can.
Join the biggest social media platforms and hire a social media manager if you can. College students can be had at great value for this; you’ll need them to leave posts on your Facebook Wall, pin interesting images on your Pinterest Board, and send out Tweets on Twitter.
- On Page SEO is Important
On-page SEO consists of making sure your title tags, meta description and image-related alt-tags are well-formed. These are beacons to the search engines; they help Google figure out what title and description to write for your site’s listing in the search results pages.
These so-called meta-tags should have your keywords sprinkled conservatively throughout, and be descriptive enough to alert the user as to the product and service immediately. Throughout the on-page text, use headers appropriately; these are further signals to the search engines that you’re a legit site with valuable content.
- Spy on the Competition
What better way to jumpstart your SEO than to have an idea what the competition is doing? There are various offline programs that can scan websites for backlinks; this way, you can see what keywords they’re using, and what kind of websites are accepting backlinks.
Additionally, by perusing the website, itself, you can see what topics are popular; of course, you should never plagiarize; but perhaps you can provide better, more well-researched content using this as inspiration.
- Local Marketing
It turns out that incorporating your city and state into your SEO efforts goes a long way in boosting your Google Search rank. Use the social media platform, Google+, and list a business location to really ratchet up your marketing efforts. Visit the websites of local organizations, charitable causes and directories, and see what you can contribute to the cause in exchange for a backlink. Setting up a consultation with a local SEO company can reap huge dividends, too, as Google’s algorithm continues to evolve to highlight local influences more and more.