Having a solid SEO (search engine optimisation) strategy for your website is without a doubt one of the best ways to generate traffic and leads from your website. The problem is, learning SEO is by no means simple and it can take years to truly understand what to do right. In this article, I share three key things that, as a website owner, you should be doing in order to boost your rankings in 2018.
1. It needs to be mobile friendly and fast
Google has made it clear for some time now that mobile responsiveness has become a key ranking factor in their algorithm, and the reason behind this is simple. More Google searches begin on mobile devices as opposed to desktop devices. Your job as a website owner is to ensure your site is loading seamlessly and fast across all devices. This means, no horizontal scrolling and no large ads or pop-ups that fill the whole screen and are difficult to dismiss.
2. Genuinely answer a question
Over the years, the Google ranking algorithm has become increasingly more advanced. It can now understand the content of your pages better than ever before and knows when people are genuinely answering a question. Things like keyword stuffing and writing long fluffy content just don’t do the job anymore. Instead, you need to be genuine in answering your target query and Google will reward you for it.
3. No black hat SEO
Google has come down increasingly hard on any sites that are following what is known as “black hat SEO” practices. This includes things like buying backlinks, posting spam comments and duplicating content. Google can pick up on all of these and your site will be marked and punished for it for a long time. Instead, you need to be willing to provide useful, original content and to invest in the long-term rewards of SEO, not the short-term.
If SEO is overwhelming for you, then don’t panic. Everything can be learned and there are some great sources of content for you to learn from. I personally love learning from podcasts so here’s a couple I highly recommend:
- http://www.webmasterradio.fm/
shows/seo-101 - https://www.targetinternet.
com/digital-marketing- podcasts/
Don’t forget, you can head over and check out the rest of our blog. It’s filled with helpful digital marketing tips and tricks which will ensure your website excels in 2018 and beyond.