If you’re relying on organic traffic, every piece of content you write will need to be optimised. But what does that really mean? Well, let’s get started and kick off with a brief explanation of SEO - for those who aren’t quite sure what I’m bangin’ on about. 

“SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.” - Moz, moz.com

With every blog, landing page or general web copy, you’ll realise that within your chosen topic there’s a bunch of keywords your website would like to rank for. These keywords are a type of category let’s say. While many optimise their websites for the sole purpose of pleasing Google - despite almost three out of every four searches starting on the search engine - it’s important that your content reads clearly and coherently for readers. After all, they’re the ones who are actually engaging with/buying from you.

Writing for humans, not just search engines

Nevertheless, we need to take note of how people search. I like to use this example myself… 

Let’s say you’re looking for some new trainers. You’re not going to just type “shoes” into Google, are you? Since you’ve already decided you want trainers, you’ve probably also decided what type. Let’s go for “running trainers”. But you’re also a big fan of Nike, so you add “Nike” at the beginning. But hold up, you don’t want to be shown sales and shopping options for size eight when you’re a size five, do you?

This then equals: “Nike running trainers size 5” Tadah!

But wait a minute, you came here for 7 tips to improve your website’s SEO. Let’s jump right in.

1. Improve your page load time

Your page load speed is so important, for a number of reasons. We are increasingly less patient these days, so if your customers land on your site and it takes too long to load they’ll be off. This is your bounce rate.

How to improve it:

1. Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML

2. Reduce redirects

3. Leverage browser caching

4. Catch our upcoming blog on technical SEO/page speed

2. Optimise your images

Images are a great opportunity to sneak in a few keywords, as long as they are relevant. But as well as helping with the odd keyword, they also greatly affect point number one, which is your load speed.

Be sure to compress images in Photoshop or another program beforehand, or, if you’re working in WordPress there are plenty of plugins such as Smush that’ll do it for you as you upload.

How does it help:

By reducing the size of your imagery, your website can load a lot faster, reducing your bounce rate from Internet users who want content as quickly as possible.

3. User header tags to break up copy

Where possible, user header tags and even other formatting options to break up your content. Users want content quickly and as efficiently as possible, often skim reading their way through your website. 

Headers help to separate your content, giving it structure and making everything look more appealing.

But wait, what are they?:

H1, H2, H3 (and so on…) are header tags. They’re easy to spot in most website builders such as Squarespace and WordPress.

4. Start a blog on your website

Blogs are the perfect channel for lead generation and SEO, keeping visitors coming back to your blog when they discover that you’re a valuable source. 

Producing fresh new content shows that you’re hot on your topic area, staying relevant and obviously, still working. There’s nothing worse than landing on a website that posted its last blog back in 2004.

5. Take advantage of other multimedia

Text is great, but other multimedia such as video, slideshows or audio can all help to improve user experience. If you’re working within a tough subject area, your explanation can come across far easier in video form - compared to long form text. 

Bonus tip:

The longer people watch your videos, it’ll dramatically improve the amount of time they spend on your website.

6. Use both internal and external links

Linking users around your website is super important. Not only does this keep them for longer, but it also helps them to navigate to further information. Of course, external links back you up when you’re making claims.

Bonus tip:

Be sure to fix any broken links before they ruin your hard work. Use tools such as Dead Link checker to search within your website.

7. Make sure your site is mobile friendly

When was the last time you looked at Facebook on a desktop? Although you might not be up there with the social media giant, mobile use is on the rise every day. Ensure your website is optimised for mobile searchers, or it’ll hinder the user experience and they’ll be bouncing off in seconds.

Are you ready to rocket your site’s SEO?

Improving upon these seven areas will help to kickstart your SEO journey. Be sure to check back soon for our upcoming blog on improving your site’s speed with plenty of technical SEO tips.