53% of trackable website traffic comes from an organic search. That means that while word of mouth and social media are important, search engines still have the edge on directing traffic to you.
With that comes a need to know how to direct that traffic. If you’re trying to draw in more visitors through organic searches, how do you go about it?
You’ll need to know how to utilize Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Don’t worry though, as anyone can use these DIY SEO tips!
1. Plan Keyword Usage
Keywords are one of the most important factors Google uses to determine search engine rankings. That’s why it’s important to do your research on the right ones to use.
There’s a lot of software out there that will give you keywords people are searching for related to your service or product. You can also consider what people might be searching for that would lead them back to you and blend those phrases into your website.
Make sure to do it seamlessly so that it doesn’t look forced. Keyword stuffing is a real, damaging concept and might have the opposite effect than intended.
2. Take Note From Competitors
You should take note of competitors’ websites. What are they doing that you aren’t?
There are also websites that can compare your site to others and tell you what they rank for that you don’t. This can be immensely helpful in noticing which keywords you may be missing and incorporating them into your site to beat out the competition.
Overall, while it’s important not to copy or plagiarize, it is important to keep an eye on what the competition is doing.
3. Consider Location
Nearly one in three searches are located to the consumer’s location. Local SEO is very important.
People might be searching for a “product near me” or specifically their town or city name. Incorporating these keywords and designing your website around the specific location it’s based can make a huge difference — especially if it’s a service and you only cover one area.
It’s often not enough to just have the location listed in the contact information. Make sure you have it throughout your blog so that those who are searching by location — as people often are — find you.
4. Publish Fresh Content
A common mistake people make in their digital marketing strategies is to find something successful and run with it. They might post various blog posts that are kind of on the same subject, or only a little different, thinking that because it worked for them once, it’ll keep working.
Don’t do this!
All this does is split the traffic between pages which makes it more confusing for Google. If something has worked for you before, you can consider updating the page to give Google some updated information.
Otherwise, you should find new content that works as well. Just try not to double up!
5. No Heavy Images or Videos
While images and videos work great for drawing people into your site and demonstrating the service or product well, having too many of them can be damaging.
Google ranks websites by load time, among other things, and slowing down the load time can be detrimental to your rankings. Not only that, but if the site is taking too long to load, people might click out before they even get the chance to see those images.
Make sure you optimize each file and find the balance between quality and accessibility. It’s all about balance!
6. Internal and Outbound Links
It’s important to have both internal and outbound links, as they’ll help your SEO rankings.
For internal links, try linking through to other relevant pages or including a call to action to a contact page at the end of a post. Try and make sure these links are actually helpful and related as, otherwise, they could just annoy consumers.
For outbound links, the main thing is to ensure you don’t link to competitors as you’d just be sending people away from your site! It does help, however, to link to a couple of authoritative studies or news articles backing up the point you’re trying to make in a post.
7. Optimize Your URL
Google puts a huge emphasis on URLs, so make sure yours is curated carefully. Sometimes a URL will automatically populate that’s just a mess of words, but bringing it down to some concise keywords can make a world of difference in ensuring your page ranks.
If possible, get the top keyword in there. If not, make sure it’s short and clean and incorporates at least one of the key phrases people will be searching for.
Remember not to change your URL once a page has been published, as this can result in broken links and may damage the page’s relationship with Google.
8. White Space
A common aesthetic tip that many people don’t consider is utilizing white space!
While you might have a lot of information to convey and might be stuffing it into blocky paragraphs to get it all across, rethink. Google and consumers both love visually appealing pages and large paragraphs can seem hard to swallow.
They often result in people clicking away from the page, which isn’t good for SEO.
Keep paragraphs short but still varied, and use bullet points where possible. This helps to break down information in a concise manner and keep the page opened up enough for everyone to take in the information easily.
Use These DIY SEO Tips for Success!
SEO can seem like quite the beast to deal with when trying to figure out how to get your website to rank on Google. However, anyone can use these DIY SEO tips to move their website further and further up the search engine page.
Make sure your page is clean, accessible, loads without a fuss, and makes use of keywords. If you do that and follow the other tips, you’ll rank highly in no time.
Need help with taking your SEO even further? Let’s talk about it! Book a 30-minute consultation with us for some help and we can see what we can do.
Bipper Media
855 Gaines School Rd
Suite A
Athens, GA 30605
706-350-1063
