SEO best practices are steps you can take to help your website rank higher on search engines. There are so many ways to boost your Google rankings, ranging from simple quick actions to more advanced techniques. But it’s important to get the basics of SEO first. So, today we're going to make sure that your site follows current SEO best practices. That’s the foundation. Then, once you get your foundation in place, we'll dive into new and advanced approaches.
What Are SEO Best Practices?
SEO best practices are tried-and-tested tactics for improving a website or brand’s visibility in search engine results pages without paying for ads.
By following our SEO best practices checklist, you can enhance brand awareness and increase organic traffic (unpaid clicks) from search engines like Google. These strategies focus on optimising various aspects of your website to align with search engine algorithms, ensuring that your content is both accessible and appealing to your target audience.
5 SEO Best Practices to Follow
Implementing effective SEO strategies requires a comprehensive approach. Here are five essential SEO best practices that can significantly boost your rankings:
1. Align Your Content with Search Intent
Search intent refers to the reason behind a user's query, and it is one of the most crucial aspects of SEO and building authority online. Let’s take a look at the below example.
If you're planning a trip abroad for the upcoming summer, you're on a specific journey as a customer. You're either still exploring your options or know exactly what you want or are, which might eventually lead to a purchase. For the search query, "Summer Vacation Abroad", we can tell the buyer is still in the awareness stage and is probably on a browsing spree to learn more information. This type of buyer is still considering a few options, but isn't actually ready yet to make a commitment.
With this search query, "Summer Vacation in Cape Town Safari", the search intent is much more commercial. This type of buyer already knows what to look for and is committed to making a purchase soon. There's a big indication of this when we notice that these vacation packages display various features, like pricing, customer ratings and date ranges. For the buyer, this is a great opportunity to compare packages before making the final commitment.
Understanding and addressing this stage in our SEO best practices checklist can make your content more relevant and authoritative, which will improve your search rankings. To make your content authoritative, provide thorough and valuable information.
Authoritative content is usually well-researched, includes expert opinions, and is regularly updated with the latest information. Search Engine Journal outlines the three essential pillars of SEO authority, which include expertise, trustworthiness, and reliability. Incorporating these elements into your content can help you establish a strong online presence.
Also, it's worth mentioning that you should always optimise your website to be mobile-friendly. Many users search for information on mobile devices, and search engines prioritise websites that offer a seamless mobile experience. Ensure your website loads quickly and is easy to navigate on mobile devices to meet user expectations and improve your rankings.
2. Leverage Primary Keywords
Using primary keywords, especially early on in your content is a great way to ranking high in Google SERPs. Primary keywords are the main search queries or phrases that your target audience uses to search for information related to your business. Here's a good example, I've just searched for "Gluten-free Recipes". Let's see what this brings up.
This page is #1 in the search results for this term. So, I’ve clicked on it and as you can see, the primary keywords are used in the URL, at the beginning of the text and also in the H1. Incorporating primary keywords into your content can help search engines understand the relevance of your pages.
In addition to primary keywords, our SEO best practices checklist suggests that you focus on long-tail keywords. These are more specific phrases that typically have lower search volumes but higher conversion rates. Long-tail keywords can help you attract a more targeted audience and improve your chances of ranking for less competitive queries.
Be careful to not overload your content with keywords can lead to keyword stuffing, which can negatively impact readability and search engine rankings. Aim for a balance between keyword optimization and providing valuable,
3. Write Compelling Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are crucial on-page SEO elements that can significantly impact your click-through rates (CTR) and search engine rankings. Ensure your title tags are unique, descriptive, and include your primary keywords.
A compelling title tag not only helps search engines understand the content of your page but also encourages users to click on your link in the search results. Write meta descriptions that accurately summaries your content and include relevant keywords.
4. Optimise Your Images
Images are an integral part of your website, but they can also affect your SEO if not optimised properly.
Descriptive alt text for all images provides context to search engines and improves accessibility for visually impaired users. Including relevant keywords in your alt text should be a top priority for you as your follow our SEO best practices checklist.
A descriptive file name helps search engines understand the content of the image. Compress images to reduce file size without compromising quality. Faster loading times can improve your website’s performance and user experience, positively impacting your SEO.
5. Build an Internal Linking Structure
Following SEO internal links best practice should be your top priority. A well-structured internal linking system is important for improving your website's SEO. Internal links show search engines how different pages on your site are connected. Internal linking is also one of over 200 ranking factors determined by Google's algorithm. If you've noticed that your website doesn't show up in Google search, then creating an internal linking strategy to use for your website is a great place to start! So, let's learn more about the SEO best practices for internal linking.
There are many effective internal linking strategies, but for SEO best practices, it's important to limit the number of internal links on each page. Aim for a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 10 internal links per page.
For instance, if you have a vacation guide blog, you could create individual posts on 'Beach Destinations,' 'Mountain Getaways,' and 'City Tours.' By linking these posts to each other, you show search engines that they all fall under the broader category of 'Vacation Guide.' This helps search engines understand how your content is organised and related.
6. Submit Your Sitemap to Google
A well-optimised sitemap is a crucial component of an effective SEO strategy, serving as a roadmap that helps search engines understand the structure of your website and index its content efficiently.
Some of the most important sitemap seo best practices include keeping your sitemap up to date. Whenever you add, remove, or update content on your site, the sitemap should be automatically regenerated to reflect these changes, ensuring that search engines always have the latest version of your site’s structure.
Another key practice is to limit the size of your sitemap. A sitemap should not exceed 50MB or contain more than 50,000 URLs. If your site is large, you can break the sitemap into smaller, more manageable files and use a sitemap index file to reference them. Also, it’s important to prioritise URLs within your sitemap. Include your most valuable pages, those with the highest quality content and most important to your SEO goals, at the top of the list.
Also, submitting your sitemap to search engines, such as Google Search Console, can help accelerate the indexing process and provide insights into any errors or issues with your sitemap that may affect your site’s SEO performance.
SEO Best Practices Checklist FAQs
What Are the Primary Benefits of Following SEO Best Practices?
Following SEO best practices can help improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages, increase organic traffic, enhance user experience, and ultimately drive more conversions and revenue for your business.
How Often Should I Update My SEO Strategy?
SEO is a dynamic field, and search engines frequently update their algorithms. It’s essential to stay informed about the latest SEO trends and best practices. Regularly review and update your SEO strategy, ideally every six months or whenever significant algorithm changes occur.
What Tools Can Help with Implementing SEO Best Practices?
Several tools can assist with implementing SEO best practices, including Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, and Screaming Frog. These tools can help you conduct keyword research, analyse website performance, and track your progress over time.
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