Search algorithms are always changing. Much of hat worked five years ago is almost obsolete today. For example, keyword stuffing used to be an effective SEO strategy. Now it just looks silly. Today SEO has become far more complicated. Many SEO strategies are not intuitive, so it’s important to keep up to date on new strategies.
Here are three essential and actionable strategies you can use to improve your SEO:
Links
There’s no way around it. To rank highly in a Google search you need links. Internal links to your own pages are useful, but you should also use external links.
Some feel hesitant to use external links because they lead visitors away from your site. While this is possible, providing your readers with easy access to relevant resources is important. Finding information online is easy, but finding relevant, high-quality information can take time. When you provide your readers with links, you offer them convenience and vetted websites.
Finally, if you never link to other websites, how can you expect them to link to you? Linking is a way to establish relationships with other businesses and experts. But what is undeniable is that you need quality, relevant links pointing to your website and target pages from third party sites in order to rank well in search.
Clicks
Another key factor in SEO is the number of clicks your website receives, or click-through rate (CTR). Sites with high CTR have higher search rankings because clicks indicate value and popularity, indicators that the Google algorithm loves. Alternatively, low or no clicks on a website lowers its standing.
Two powerful ways to increase your website’s clicks are through your headlines and meta descriptions. People decide whether to read an article based on its headline and a meta description – the small blurb that shows up below your headline in a Google search – confirms the reader’s interest in your page.
Speed
Your website’s speed is easy to overlook, but it’s one of the simplest ways to boost your rankings and is a crucial factor in SEO in 2017. Google’s algorithms prioritize sites that create a positive user experience. And fast loading time is vital to the web experience.
Sites that load quickly are more likely to retain their visitors; sites with low speed have a higher bounce rate – visitors who click your website but leave very quickly. It’s even more important for mobile websites to load quickly.
If you address just these three issues you are likely to see an increase in organic search rankings and traffic to you site. Of course, if you’d like a substantial increase in qualified, motivated potential customers you really should be working on a professional SEO plan. We’re here to help if you’d like to start.
