Learn the SEO basics that will help you rank higher in Google
It’s a given, we all want to rank higher in Google because we know that’s the only way of securing growth in the long term without incurring ever-growing marketing spend.
However, most businesses are far from the finishing line and need to get their basics right first before building on that.
Get your basics wrong and you could be working really hard for little return later.
Rank higher in Google: Begin with the end in mind
Like all business-planning, the best approach is to visualize how you want your website and business to look in 5 to 10 years. Try to list the products or services you’re likely to sell, the tics you will talk about to sell them and the size of your website. How many pages will you need? How many blogs will you write every month? etc.
It is always a good idea to keep updated with News & Trends in the field.
Knowledge of SEO Basics will help you get a clear idea of what your website structure should look like now to be able to evolve into that.
1. Test your technology to make sure it can rank.
Make sure that your website technology is lean. Your hosting is fast (especially in target countries) and that it is secure and mobile compatible. You will need a security certificate which displays on your domain as https://yourdamin.com. For mobile responsiveness and speed, test your site using free google tools. This one for speed https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/ and this one for mobile responsiveness https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly. If you fail any of these tests contact us right away for a free consultation to discuss the way forward.
2. SEO Basics: your menus
The main problem a lot of people encounter is skipping step one and therefore creating a website structure (or sitemap) that confuses Google over time. Make sure that your categories are clear and your menu is set in a way that it cascades in a triangular structure.
3. Get Your Keywords right
A lot of businesses do not go through a rigorous keyword research process and end up optimizing for keywords that they will never rank for, don’t have traffic or both. It’s important to get your keyword choice right for your business. Its not simply about traffic but also about competition and intent (the intention behind the search). If you don’t have the expertise in-house this may be a good task to outsource to a professional SEO company. It’s one step you can’t make any mistakes with.
4. Optimize all your content.
Make sure your content is optimized for the keywords chosen. Make sure your website used the correct H tags for subtitles and titles and insert all image tags.
Once you have all the basics in place you will need to wait a minimum of 3 weeks before you check how things are doing. If you would like to improve your ranking and are not sure about the next step. Download our detailed checklist here to find out if your basics are completely in place.
