There are a variety of SEO practices that can be used to increase website traffic. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the method of increasing and improving traffic to your website through search engine results. When typing keywords and phrases into a search engine, people are provided with numerous results. In order for companies to ensure that they are included in the primary results, they have to utilize certain techniques. Search results can be paid for, but organic search results are those that are natural and solely based on merit. SEO is incredibly important, as search engines make up 70.6% of all website traffic. However, deciding which practices to incorporate into your campaign to reach the most customers organically can be difficult. To help guide your SEO process, we have compiled the 5 most effective practices, beginning with the most important, below:
- Optimize website loading speed
Decreasing loading time for your site is crucial because many people are impatient and may choose to click on whichever website loads the quickest. 40% of people actually leave websites that take over 3 seconds to load, according to eConsultancy, and 80% of visitors don’t return. A few ways to optimize loading speed is to use lightweight themes, compress images, and use “lazy loading” (which loads images while users scroll down your page).
- Optimize title tags
Title tags play a big role in search engines. As Google once said, “it’s important to use high-quality titles on your web pages,” and “search engines pay close attention to the terms that you use in your title tag.” Therefore, you should try to include your main keyword somewhere early in your content, and preferably in your title as well.
- Improve your site’s user experience
Ensuring that users enjoy your content is essential to reaching others. To improve their site experience, you must public interesting and original content that will keep them engaged. Doing so will prevent “bouncing”, or the action of leaving your website to view another, and this is necessary because if bouncing rates are high for your site, search engine rankings can decline.
- Use clear and meaningful URLs
Search engines require that URLs be as clear and straightforward as possible. Otherwise, search engines can potentially be confused. Keeping URLS brief and straight to the point will appeal to customers since they are memorable and easy to type, and because they are preferred by search engines.
- Create backlinks
Backlinks, or inbound links, are links from one website to another. These can be beneficial for search engines because if the links are included in credible sources, your site will also appear as a worthy, reliable source of information. Creating original content and researching the backlink profiles of websites with similar keywords can increase backlinks, which will in turn have a positive effect on search engines.
