SEO is one of the most important aspects of online marketing. It can be the difference between a website that is successful and one that is not. However, many business owners are unaware of the SEO tactics that can help their website rank higher on search engine results pages. We’ve decided to highlight five of the most overlooked strategies!=
Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
One of the most important, yet often overlooked, elements of SEO are page titles and meta descriptions. These are the first things that potential customers will see when your website appears in search results. Make sure that they are clear, concise, and keyword-rich.
For some reason, many people think that they need to stuff as many keywords into their titles and descriptions as possible. This is not the case. In fact, this will often result in your website being penalized by search engines. A good rule of thumb is to keep your titles under 60 characters and your descriptions under 160 characters.
Image Optimization
After this, website managers also tend to forget about image optimization. Whenever you upload a photo to your website, be sure to include keywords in the file name and fill out the alternate text field with a brief, keyword-rich description of the photo.
Why is this important? Search engines can’t read photos, so they rely on these descriptions to determine what the photo is about. If you don’t provide a description, the search engine will have a harder time determining what your website is about, which could hurt your ranking. Instead of challenging search engines, make everything as easy as possible.
Anchor Text
This is the text that you click on when you’re looking for a specific link. For example, if you wanted to find a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, you might click on a link that says “chocolate chip cookie recipe.” Anchor text is important for SEO because it gives search engines an idea of what the linked page is about.
When choosing anchor text, be as descriptive as possible. Don’t use generic phrases like “click here” or “more information.” Not only is this bad for SEO, but it’s also not very user-friendly.
High-Quality Content
Go onto any guide and it will tell you to produce high-quality content – yet, so many businesses don’t. A lot of the time, this is because they’re focused on keyword-stuffed pieces that provide little value to the reader.
Yes, keywords are important for SEO, but they should be used sparingly and only when they make sense. The focus should always be on creating content that is interesting, informative, and engaging. If you can do this, not only will your SEO improve, but you’ll also find that you get more traffic and conversions.
Link Building
Similarly, link building is also overlooked, regardless of how many times it is suggested. The reason for this is usually because businesses don’t want to put in the effort, or they don’t think it will be worth their while. However, link building is still one of the most important aspects of SEO.
There are a few different ways to go about building links, but one of the best is to create great content and then reach out to other websites and ask if they would be interested in linking to it. If you can provide them with a good reason to link to your content, then you’re more likely to get a yes. For those who need help, an SEO company is only ever an email or phone call away.
