Search Engine Optimization or SEO as it is most commonly referred to is often regarded as a task that only the SEO experts have the ability to figure out but knowing the SEO basics will certainly help in your understanding of it. While no one has the key to Google’s complicated search algorithm, there are certain steps that you can take to improve your ranking on Google. SEO is not a simple process as it is time consuming but when done correctly, the hard work and effort is sure to have a positive effect on your website’s ranking. It is also a strategy that is long-term as the algorithm is consistently changing. Squarespace often gets discredited when it comes to SEO because people believe that the better option for SEO is Wordpress but that is simply untrue. Squarespace is fully capable of performing SEO and even proclaims this on their website by stating that they have the technical side down and incorporate SEO features specifically into all of their websites. That being said, one of the most important items for SEO is incredible content written for your audience and not just for a search engine. The content that you create should be written with the highest quality for your audience while naturally interjecting the keywords that you have selected into the post but the keywords and SEO should not be your sole focus. The entire reason why you want to increase your SEO is to increase the amount of traffic that your website receives but the content on your site is what will make people come back to your site. SEO only has the power to bring awareness to your website while it is up to you to create the incredible content that will interest your target audience. Below are some helpful tips that you can begin with to improve your SEO ranking in Google:
Keywords
The keywords are the words that you would use to describe your business and the services or products that you offer. It’s simply a few words that comprise a phrase that you will be able to use in the content (blogs, titles, etc.) that you create. Why are keywords so important when it comes to SEO? The keywords are the words that your potential clients will be typing into Google and your website will hopefully be one of the first to appear in the results. How do you find your keywords for your business? A few free websites to help you do this are Google AdWords (you have to have an account but it is free) and Moz.
Images
Make sure that your images are not too large that they will slow the process of your website’s speed. No one wants to deal with a slow website, which means that you will not gain more traffic. Optimize your photos by making sure they are the correct size for your website, name the image using your selected keyword(s) and fill out the description box using the same keywords and phrases. You are also able to tag your photos by location, which is helpful if you’re a business that is location based such as a photography business.
Headings
The headings of your website are an important factor to Google. While it might be tempting to name one of your headers with a cute name, Google will not be able to comprehend that well. Your headers should be direct to make it easy for both Google and your visitors.
Description
This is the description that will come up when someone Google’s your business or website and is one of the most important items that Google takes into consideration when it is indexing your website. The description should be concise and straight to the point so that people have a good understanding of what the purpose of your website is.
The above categories are the basics of SEO and there are more in depth tools to help with this such as Moz’s Beginner Guide to SEO. What are your thoughts about SEO? Do you have any other helpful tips to improve your SEO without hiring an expert? Share in the comments below.
