With the Internet being saturated with content, everyone is trying to improve their SEO. Search engine optimization means more traffic, and more traffic means more profit. SEO still rules in the world of Internet marketing, but sometimes, it is not enough to stick with the old techniques. The Internet is constantly changing and what worked two years ago might not work today. If you are struggling with your SEO efforts, in this article we will list nine proven tips which will help you improve your SEO.
9 Proven Tips to Improve Your SEO
With Google releasing algorithms almost every few days, there are no fixed strategies that can be applied to all websites. However, constant effort in the correct direction will help you to swim through the ups and downs and stand out from the crowd over long run. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the below mentioned tips though effective will take some time.
1. Focus on Helpful Content
Google released a helpful content update to reward the useful content over generic articles targeted for advertising and affiliate commissions. Nobody wants to read irrelevant content. One of the best ways to improve your SEO is to write relevant, updated and, above all, helpful content. In short, you will need to provide something of value to your visitors. Of course, the simplest way to do this is to help them. ‘How to’ tutorials, for example, are a very popular method of providing helpful content.
2. Content Length
Data has shown that content between 2000 – 2500 words in length ranks highest in search engine results. Of course, content length in itself is not the most important factor behind search rankings. However, you should remember that your content should not be too long or too short. Consider that visitors do not wish to spend too much time reading through large blocks of text. Avoid overly long content and use subheadings and bullet points to break up your content.
3. Keyword Research
The importance of proper keyword research in SEO cannot be emphasized enough. Keyword research boosts your chances of performing well in search rankings. The difference between a vague phrase such as ‘Finance news’ and ‘Finance news US’ is substantial. Knowing how to target a specific keyword phrase helps your content feature more prominently in search results. Keyword phrases must be relevant and specific to your business. There are dozens of keyword phrase generators online. If you are having problems with keyword research, these tools can help give you the right ideas.
4. Write a Killer Headline
Your headline is probably the most important part of your content. A compelling and impactful headline can do wonders for SEO. In fact, a powerful headline matters as much as the rest of your content, if not more. Research has shown that eight out of ten people read your headline copy, but only two out of ten read the rest of the content. This makes very clear that a good headline is critical for your SEO content.
Some of the tips to create a killer headline include:
- ‘How to’ tutorials.
- ‘The Secret to’ which tells the reader something important.
- Action headlines. Example ‘Get more conversions following ten simple tips’.
- ‘Tips to’ headlines, letting the reader discover new ways to do something.
- Use powerful, action-driving words such as Awesome, Powerful, Proven, Secret, Easy.
5. Pay Attention to Page Loading Speed
Page loading speed tends to get overlooked when it comes to SEO. Nothing can be more wrong. Long loading time and page speed will drive visitors away from your site. Long loading speeds increase your bounce rate and reduce the number of pages viewed, and this hurts your SEO ranking.
You need to optimize page load speed. Some of the ways to do it:
- Optimize Image size and format.
- Optimize dependencies.
- Avoid redirects.
- Optimize catching.
6. Always Be Original
In this case, originality means that your content is not duplicated. Republishing articles from other sources creates duplicate content. Your site’s search ranking can be affected negatively, but you also run the risk of committing copyright infringement. You should always check your content for duplicate content by using plagiarism detection tools such as Copy Scape.
7. Formatting
Properly formatted and optimized user interface improves user experience. If your web page is not properly formatted, your content will not be easy to read, and this will drive visitors away. Follow these tips to improve your website’s usability and create a better user experience.
- Use plain, easy-to-read fonts. Don’t use fancy fonts, chances are, it will drive visitors away.
- Be sure to use subheadings to break up your content and make it easy to read.
- Use colors, bold and italic style to mark important information and make it easy to spot.
- Make sure your paragraphs do not contain more than three or four sentences.
- When possible, use shorter sentences for better clarity.
8. Update Your Content
Timely updates make your content relevant and help generate traffic to your website. Regular updates ensure your site is optimized to offer only relevant info. To update your content and make your site more user-friendly remove any broken links, outdated or irrelevant content and include helpful hyperlinks to relevant sources.
When updating content, make sure to showcase the last updated date on the article instead of original published date. This will help search engines to understand the article is updated and rank it properly for the current situation.
9. Include Links to Social Media
According to data, 76 percent of marketers use social media to support SEO. More social media content will be indexed on Google and other leading search engines. Links to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and other social media are among the top results in search rankings. Brands have recognized the power of social media. Marketers are investing all their efforts to make their Facebook posts and tweets rank higher in search engine results page.
Optimizing your content for social media will bring you clear benefits and serve to improve your SEO.
Conclusion
With little time and effort, you can significantly improve your SEO today. Traffic from SEO may result in higher numbers in the short term, but investing in better user experience will result in higher conversions. These simple and effective SEO tips will help you if you just want to improve your traffic as soon as possible. However, better user experience should be your long-term goal.
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