Every day, it seems that new techniques in the world of internet marketing are developed, each of them being called ‘the next big thing’. Most, however, fizzle out and don’t end up becoming so important. All, however, come under the umbrella of search engine optimization, or SEO, and are monitored by experts in that field.
So, with all these changes that seem to happen on a daily basis, and all the jargon that is flying about, how can you actually make sure that your website is successful. How do you make sure that out of the average of 1 million results Google has for each search, yours is one of the top 10? Did you know that the first search result on Google receives 33% of traffic? This just shows how important it is to do well. Let’s take a look at the five things you need to do to improve your website.
- Linking
You have to focus on linking. You need to make sure that you link to other websites, but also that other sites link back to you. The higher the authority of these websites, the more of an impression it will make on your own Google standing. If you are linked by or to pages with a poor authority, or a sanctioned page, for instance, it will reflect negatively on you. So you need to check your links regularly.
- Excellent Title Tags
So many people forget that their HTML code should include excellent phrases within them. Try to find something that includes a popular keyword, as well as some sort of ‘active term’. An example would be “SEO Gone Nuts”, for instance. It has to be unique, and it has to be relevant to your overall site, so do think about this carefully, not in the least because it can be difficult to change your title tag at a later stage.
- See What Everybody Else Is Doing
If your competition is still getting visitors, that means they are doing something better than you, particularly if they rank higher than you. You need to figure out what that is and copy them, on top of all your other SEO efforts. Try to find out what their on and off page SEO tactics are, and look at how yours are working compared to them. You need to really study their pages, looking at the keywords they use and how, and whether you can improve on that.
- Check Your Keywords
Keyword research has to be an ongoing process. You have to always look at which keywords are popular in your particular niche right now, and find out whether they remain relevant. Just because on keyword was searched for in January, for instance, doesn’t mean it should still be in your content by July. Relevancy, keyword strength, and keyword phrases are all important.
- Make Sure Navigation on Your Site Is Easy and Clearly Defined
Last but not least, your site has to look good, and it has to be user friendly, both for your visitors and the Google spiders.