Google is notorious for its ever-evolving search algorithm. Not even big brands are safe if they’re caught using spammy tactics. In turn, SEO also evolved from finding shortcuts and loopholes to focusing on making a site rank-worthy. If you’re trying to do SEO yourself, it’s best to put your eggs in time-tested strategies that get consistent results. Here are ten SEO elements you should worry about:
1. Keyword Optimization
You really can’t have SEO without keywords. Today, there are several aspects of keyword optimization for on-page SEO such as using keywords as the first words in the title tag, targeting long-tail keywords, putting keywords in the first 100 words in a post, and using LSI keywords. Of course, all of these will only work if you did sufficient keyword research.
2. Social Sharing Integration
Simply put, if you’re running an online business, then you can probably find prospects in social networks. Optimizing for social not only helps for SEO, but it will also help your brand connect with a large audience and generate buzz. That’s why you need to integrate social media with your site using social sharing buttons.
3. Speed
Site loading speed is one of the most important factors for on-page SEO. Remember that site speed directly affects user experience – what Google cares about the most. Additionally, a sluggish site leads to a high bounce rate, which in turn will result in poor conversions.
4. Content Quality
Content is the lifeblood of SEO and online marketing as a whole. First of all, Google hates sites that only offer poorly written, thin content. You may get around Googlebots, but manual reviewers will punish your site for this. Great content that has visual elements can also boost dwell time, which leads to the next point:
5. Dwell Time
Dwell time is another important metric for SEO. It measures the time an average visitor spends on your site, which directly indicates the level of engagement. In addition to content quality, you can also boost dwell time by encouraging communication such as asking readers to leave a comment.
6. Inbound Links
A site’s backlink profile is crucial for increasing SEO metrics such as traffic, PageRank and Domain Authority. That is if you focus on building quality links from traffic-generating and relevant sites. Don’t forget that building quality links takes time. Whatever you do, do not resort to spammy methods of link-building to avoid being penalized.
7. Outbound Links
Keep in mind that link juice flows forward and backward. The practice of generating as many inbound links as possible without paying attention to outbound links is called link hoarding. Google regards this activity as spam. Besides, your readers will thank you for linking to useful and authoritative resources, so don’t be afraid to send out those outbound links.
8. Internal Links
Internal links can be used to bring traffic to related or older posts. It will also help Googlebots explore the link structure of your site and discover more pages. A rule of thumb is to use only 2-5 internal links per post.
9. Domain Name
When buying a domain, be wary of domain names that are already banned or penalized in the past by Google. This oversight can significantly hinder your SEO efforts. When starting from scratch, it’s best to focus on a brandable domain name that can immediately tell the audience what your site is all about.
10. Image Optimization
Yes – even your images must contain keywords for SEO. How do you do this? Look for the “Alt Text” input field in Content Management Systems such as WordPress.
Conclusion
SEO is complicated, but it doesn’t have to be confusing. Just Take one step at a time and develop a strategy that covers the SEO elements listed above. In doing so, you can guarantee measurable results and make the most out of your efforts.
Guest Post by Charlie Robinson, a marketer and interim VP of Marketing of multiple tech companies. He is currently heading marketing at Adling a digital agency in Cupertino.
