Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an ever-moving target influenced
by two unique elements. As we outline an SEO strategy for our clients,
we identify “on-page” and “off-page” components. Each of these elements
should have complementary strategies, adhere to industry best
practices, and subscribe to the latest Google algorithms in order to
maximize performance.
Even though the priority between on-page and
off-page SEO is evolving – becoming more heavily weighted to off-page
elements, it is crucial to properly execute the structural elements that
make a good website. A solid foundation containing well-written,
engaging content, intuitive navigation and high aesthetic quality
provides better user experience and a great starting point for lowering
bounce rates and improving search returns. It is all part of the SEO
self-fulfilling prophecy: The more people who visit your site and find it useful, the higher ranked it is with the various search engines.
Meta
descriptions, page titles and keywords all still play an important role
in the development of SEO and should not be overlooked. When
considering on-page SEO, content is king. Pertinent words and concepts
are more easily pulled from clear and consistent site copy. These
characteristics may then be used to refine page titles and keywords.
The synergy between copy and keywords helps the site designer build
pages that are easily read and “crawler-friendly” on the font-end.
It
also helps the website coder to more easily reflect metadata on the
back-end. Code should be clean and easy for Google to navigate. So,
pull out any javascript or repeating bits of code and put them into
‘include’ files. For instance, if your header and footer are exactly the
same on each page, create header and footer elements from them and
include them in the page instead of repeating the code on every page.
This keeps the code sparse and makes for easier maintenance down the
road. When executed correctly, the process lends itself to individually
indexed pages for higher priority ranking in response to specific
search terms.
On Page considerations when building or updating your site:
- Content is king. Relevant, well-written content is essential to effective on-page SEO.
- Don’t try to trick or outsmart the algorithm. The days of massive keyword lists and hidden text are long over.
- Be thoughtful of page titles, headlines, bolded text and internal links. Headlines should incorporate keywords for the page and should be wrapped in <H1> or <H2> tags to indicate importance.
- Links should use relative keywords. Instead of using “Read more >>” You should use “Read more about keyword here >>” in the code.
- Update visuals and content frequently. The algorithm views a continually evolving site as more relevant and authoritative than a stagnant, dated site.
- Design and write your site to maximize appeal within your target audience. Throughout site development efforts, keep in mind SEO’s primary function—to more highly rank the best, most useful sites.
- Create an XML site map for your site. Index every page to make it easy to for Google to find you. Include the index in the root of your FTP server.
- Understand on-page enhancements are foundational. They set the stage, but it takes a well conceived and implemented combination of on-page as well as off-page strategies and tactics to take full advantage of SEO capabilities.
Remember, a website is simply a tool, albeit a
very important tool, in the much larger marketing communications tool
box. Well conceived and implemented on-page and off-page SEO
strategies, combined with other sales and marketing efforts greatly
affect search engine rankings. This approach will provide long term
benefits and will position your organization to take advantage of
synergies created from a comprehensive, strategic marketing
communications plan
.
No comments:
Post a Comment