While the trends of online marketing continue to evolve, it is important for business owners to reassess their strategies for improved results. Though internet marketing techniques and trends continue to change, what does remain constant is the need for search engine optimization (SEO) throughout the entire process. Without a strong presence of SEO throughout your marketing techniques, businesses do not stand a chance at keeping up with competitors and reaching the attention of their target audience. The first place in which this should be implemented is within your company’s website. Making sure that your website is completely optimized for increased search results, brand recognition, and traffic volume is key to any small business.
Keyword Research and Implementation
The very essence of SEO is the use of keywords and key terms strategically throughout your website and other marketing platforms. Therefore, the first step of any SEO campaign should be keyword research. This is essential to finding keywords and phrases that target consumers are searching for through various search engines. When researching, businesses want to ensure that they’re implementing keywords that are high volume but low competition. Essentially, keywords should be commonly used by target consumers but not often used by competitors. Implementing these key phrases throughout your website will essentially increase visibility on top search engines.
Technical Optimization Techniques
When a consumer types in a keyword or phrase the search engine then uses special software known as web crawlers to read the text code of your company’s page. If it does not have specific SEO implementations and other technical specifications, it can result in your page receiving a much lower rank than other companies. It is therefore important for businesses to consider some technical points suggested by internet marketing specialists.
URL Structure, Page Title Tags, and Meta Descriptions
SEO practices should go well beyond your main web page or blog. It should be embedded into various components of your website design. Some of the stronger areas of importance include the structure of your site’s URL, page title tags, and meta descriptions. When considering URL structure, it is a good practice to keep your URLs under 100 characters long. Other rules to follow include using dashes as opposed to underscores and avoid special characters at all costs. Consider adding a key term or phrase to your URL to improve search results. As for page title tags, each page that you have on your website, it is ideal to have a unique title tag that is about 65-75 characters long. Making sure that a good keyword is implemented at the beginning of each title is also suggested. Lastly, your Meta descriptions should give a brief synopsis of what your website will include, and is often attached to search results. Your Meta descriptions should therefore be unique and contain at least 160 characters to describe the page.
Creating a User Friendly Site
Another way to maximize your web design to improve brand recognition and search engine rankings is through creating a user friendly site. Search engines often provide their users with a listing of websites that are not only based on the best search terms or phrases, but also based upon their usability. Creating a site that users want to use and share can significantly improve your marketing efforts. Some areas to keep in mind include factors such as overall usage, navigation and the quality of content presented to your consumers. When considering usability, it requires researching things such as proper labeling of various components of the website, and making important information stand out while also being simple to find for consumers. Getting around the site requires navigational tools and resources. Good navigation should be considered throughout the entire site. Since search engines can rank your site based on various pages, navigation is required to assist users in finding the information they’re most interested in. Lastly, you will want to consider the structure and quality of content presented to users. The content on each page should be simple to read and clear to understand. The content should include a multitude of relevant keywords, and serve a purpose to the reader.
Maximizing your website design in these three areas is vital but may require the assistance of a web design company who is aware of the latest trends and techniques. Since your website acts as your company’s business card it is important to put your best foot forward from the very beginning. A web design firm can assess the practices you have implemented and help to strengthen areas that will improve search engine rankings and brand recognition.