Search engine optimization is a big responsibility. It’s the strategy that determines how a website appears in search results. SEO makes your site more visible to users by making sure it’s easy for search engines to crawl, index and understand all of your content which means you, as a website owner, can focus on other things like adding value to your site visitors. If you want to get your site noticed by search engines, you need to know how to optimise it with best seo service best practices. If you’re just getting started with SEO or need a little refresher, we’ve compiled this helpful list of 10 tips that will make sure your website has an optimised structure and gets indexed quickly by search engines.
Always use your keywords in your title tags
The most important SEO tip is to make sure you always use your keywords in your title tags. Title tags are the most prominent part of your page that is visible to users and search engines, so it’s really important to include your keywords in them. You can get creative, but only if you include your keywords somewhere in the title tag. For best practices, a title tag should be between 50-60 characters, including spaces, and include your target keyword once.
Add a sitemap to boost indexing speed
Adding a sitemap to your site is another essential tip that boosts indexing speed. A sitemap is a specially formatted file that tells search engines and other websites what pages are on your site and what order they should be in. Once your site is optimised, it’s important to make sure your sitemap is up to date.
That way, if you make any changes or add new content, your site will be indexed more quickly. You can build and upload a sitemap in several ways. If you use WordPress, you can install a plugin, like Yoast SEO, that automatically creates and updates a sitemap for your site. If you don’t use WordPress, you can create a sitemap manually by creating a text file and indicating the URL of each of your site’s pages.
Use h1 and h2 headings
Headings are important on every page of your website, but they’re especially essential on your home page. A good rule of thumb is to make your home page at least 40% headings. Headings are the main way that search engines understand the content on your page, so you have to make sure they’re used properly. There are two main types of headings that you have to be mindful of: h1 and h2. The difference between h1 and h2 is that h1 is more important than h2. H1 headings should only be used once on a page, while h2 headings should be used multiple times.
Don’t forget the alt-text for images
The alt-text for images is one of the most important components of SEO that many people forget about. The alt-text for an image is the text that describes the image to your site visitors. It also helps the image rank for certain keywords, so it must be optimised. For example, if you have a photo of a man wearing a blue shirt, the alt-text for that image should read “man wearing a blue shirt.” If you’re not sure how to write the alt-text for your images, you can always use an SEO tool to help you create them.
Leverage Scheme Markup
Scheme Markup is the hidden language that powers the internet. It’s a simple code that lets different websites talk to each other. When you have your website’s structure optimised, it’s easier for other websites to link to you. When you make it easier for other websites to link to you, you’re also making it easier for search engines to crawl your site.
If you’re having trouble with your structure, you can always use an SEO tool to help you optimise. SEO tools, like Yoast SEO, often have a helpful structure audit tool that will give you suggestions for how you can optimise your site’s structure. When you’re linking to other websites, make sure you’re using the proper anchor text.
Install an SEO plugin
Many SEO plugins can help you optimise your site. Depending on the type of website you have and the platform you’re using, there are a variety of SEO plugins that you can use to optimise your site. SEO plugins like Yoast SEO make it easy to optimise your site by letting you know what you’re doing right and wrong. They’ll let you know which pages need to be optimised, which keywords you need to add to your content, and even provide sample content you can use to get started.
Don’t forget your footer> tag
When people think of SEO, they often forget to check their footer> tag. This tag is where you can include important information, like your contact information and copyright information. When you’re optimising your site and your copyright information is incorrect, it can hurt your site’s ranking. With a proper footer> tag, your copyright information should be the same on every page of your site. This is an easy way to make sure you’re including all the important information that your site needs.
Be cautious with CSS
While you want to make sure your site is optimised, you also don’t want to go overboard. Using too many CSS elements can hurt your site’s ranking because search engines have a hard time understanding them. When you’re creating a new page on your site or adding new content, make sure you don’t rely too heavily on CSS. If you’re relying too much on CSS, you run the risk of being penalised by Google because they have a hard time crawling your site.
Wrapping up
When you follow these tips, you’re well on your way to optimising your site for search engines. It’s important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy that requires patience and consistency. You can’t expect to implement these tips and see results next week. SEO takes time, but these tips will help get you on the right track.
