This is an update of a prior post but still holds true. This underlines the fact that the ABC’s of SEO stays the same and consistent and you can succeed without getting bogged down by the details. Let us focus on the details and you focus on doing a good job.
The Google algorithm gets smarter and more complex every day. Google would tell you that they are constantly tweaking the algorithm and may have several adjustments each week. In the past, there have been one or two each year that are big enough to rock the industry and cause fundamental change to approach. In recent years, we seem to be on a roller coaster of constant ground shaking algorithm changes. In competitive markets, it is very important for your SEO company to be on top of these things and adjust accordingly, but as I have said many times, in SEO, the ABC’s have been the same since day 1, and the DEF’s change every day.
Get the ABC’s of SEO Right
That being said, I still see so many businesses that still don’t even get the SEO ABC’s right, or even SEO companies that don’t focus on the right things. Every website could fail an SEO test because there are so many factors and you just can’t be perfect, but it is important to work on the key pieces that move the needle in terms of getting your site found.
Build a Fast and User-Friendly Site
Make sure when you build your site that it is easy to navigate and show what you have to offer. Speed is becoming more and more important and sites tend to slow down over time. Start with a fast site with both the template you are using and the hosting. If it costs an extra dollar or two each month to have good hosting over bad hosting, it is worth it. Google what the fastest hosting companies are with good customer service. These days you may want to look into more speed advancements in hosting like CDN’s and other on the go speed optimization options. It is good to stay on top of what your hosting and others are offering and be flexible to make changes if need be.
There are tools like GT Metrix and even Google’s Page Speed Insights to test site speeds and you should make it clear to your web developer that speed is important to you. Test the speed of example sites they show you in these tools. If you already have built your site and have speed issues, these tools can help explain what is slowing it down.
Create Great and Unique Content For Every Product or Service
You should have a page on your site addressing anything you want to show up for in search. The more content you have on your site, the more you “feed the Google beast” and help Google see you as a trustworthy entity about your topic. Google is in the business of providing the best answer to searcher’s queries. Make sure you have thorough pages that provide good answers. Create a page for every service and explain what your service is and how and why you do it differently. Why should someone choose you? Keep in mind that someone finding you in search is quite possibly only going to see that landing page, so it is good for them to understand how you work and gain trust in you from that page.
Keep it digestible though. Your content shouldn’t be a wall of text. Break it up with images, headers, and even video that explains what you are offering. People want different information when they land on y0ur page. In many cases, they only need a quick answer to make it clear to them from your headings where that answer is. Google has even begun to use “passage indexing” which will look at individual passages on a page to determine ranking for the best specific answers to questions. Users want all of the content to be there, but they only want to read the exact piece they are looking for. Make clear headings and break up the content, but make it easy to understand.
Get Links to Your Content
Links are most likely the top individual ranking factor. Though Google would tell you that UX is the top factor, UX covers many different individual factors. Studies have shown the number and quality of links to your site as having an extremely high correlation to rankings. Get your content out there and turn any of your business relationships you can into links. That includes industry and chamber memberships, local sponsorships, and inclusion in blogs or news releases. Every page has a link strength and building links to important pages is more important than ever. At one time your domain strength pushed most of your page strength, but as time has changed, building to individual pages is becoming even more important. Links tell Google a story about your authoritativeness on your subject. Each link tells Google a specific story about relevance and trust. Who is willing to send their users to your site tells Google a lot about your site. Unlike the early days of SEO, it isn’t just about the most links, but good quality and relevancy of your links. One solid and real link today can be worth more than 100 of those spammy links people were selling 10 years ago and sadly I still see people selling today.
Link building can be very hard and is often the piece that businesses need the most help with. We help with this when you need that extra boost in a competitive market. You should bake link building into your business process and always be aware of the importance of links. The frequency and speed with which you acquire them are important, along with the number of links. Every reputable and relevant link you have can build your site’s trustworthiness and rankability.
If you focus on the three basics above with your site, that will get you in the door. If you are in a competitive industry, you may need help beyond that, or if you just want help anyway, so you can focus on your core business, we are here for you. Give us a call.
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