While it’s never too late, prioritizing SEO earlier can help a business grow in the long term.
Optimize your website content to focus on specific keywords that are related to your business or niche.
Search engine best practices are the guidelines that help businesses understand which lines they should not cross. However, it does not describe how to get there.
HOUSTON, TEXAS, U.S the engines’ strict guidelines. However, these best practices are only guidelines on how not to cross the lines that are set and considered manipulative. For example, these guidelines will not explain how to optimize a website except what to avoid.
Search engines like Google are constantly updating their algorithms. These guidelines can often change, which can affect how well a website is optimized. Using its years of experience helping clients fine-tune their websites, Actual SEO Media, Inc. offers best practices on how to practice Google’s best practices.
A company’s website is the foundation of its online activities. Whether it wants to use online marketing strategies or have a platform to interact with customers effectively, a website is a must. When building the foundation of their website, many choose self-hosted open source solutions, such as WordPress. Although this type of solution allows businesses to optimize and customize the website to their liking, technical skills are needed to optimize templates, handle constant updates and create strong security.
One of the biggest issues with customizing a website is making sure it’s also mobile friendly. There is a specific clause for that in Google’s policy. If a site is not also mobile friendly, it will rank lower than sites that are. So even if a website has everything optimized for a browser, it may not be optimized for a phone or tablet screen.
The main core behind most search engine guidelines is user experience. If a user does not quickly and efficiently find what they are looking for on a website, the search engine will notice and lower the website’s ranking in the search results. One of the components of a website is website speed.
Website speed can be divided into four other factors: fast hosting, fast website, fast user internet access and fast user mobile device. Although two of these factors depend on the user themselves, the other factors depend on having a properly optimized website. Of the two that a business can control, having fast hosting is important because it can cause a website to appear slow even if the website’s speed is optimal.
3. Refine title elements (a.k.a. title tags)
It’s not enough to just have the keyword for itself in the title anymore. Of course, when creating content pages, having the keyword in the title is a must. However, search engines prefer titles that are more descriptive. When a user looks at the title of a search engine results page (SERP), they need to have an idea of what the page is about.
The search engine will first identify the user intent behind the keyword phrase, and then rank websites that match that intent. That’s why search engines prefer titles that are more descriptive and give a better idea of the intent they want to target.
By definition, the alt text is an HTML attribute of an image. In essence, alt text in the image describes what the image is about. Alt text is important for four reasons:
– Visually impaired users can read the alt text through text to speech – If the image does not load correctly, the alt text can describe the basic essence of the image – Search engines use alt text to understand the context of the image – best practice for alt text is to use it to describe what the picture is about.
5. Pay attention to the URL structure
The URL structure is less for search engines and more for the user. A cleaner structure will make it easier for users to see where they are going. Of course, they may not even see the URL, especially if they’re on mobile. When in doubt about which URL structure is better, it’s best to ask, “How will it affect a potential user?”
6. The optimal way to use headings
Like titles, headings on a page should be used to describe the text section that follows it. Search engine crawlers use headings as a way to index and navigate pages on a website. That is why search engines have a number of guidelines for how headings should be formatted.
It is not necessary for the keyword to be present in every heading. Write clear and concise headings that are descriptive so readers know what they are about to encounter. Each headline should also be further optimized. For example, never jump from an H2 to an H4, and don’t use All-Caps for headings because it can confuse readers into thinking it’s an acronym.
7. Create an internal path with an internal link
As with headings and alt text, search engine crawlers use internal links as a method of navigating the site. It allows the search engines to determine which links are the most important on the site. Internal linking also allows website visitors to easily navigate around.
Some sites only have menu bars at the top. However, it makes it more convenient for visitors if they can seamlessly move between pages with appropriate links in places they can see. For example, a sentence may describe a specific product, which may pique a reader’s interest. It’s a perfect moment to add a link to said product, making navigation easier.
Although Google and other search engines may set guidelines for websites to follow, these are only rough outlines of what not to do. Optimizing a website is a lengthy process. A company may not see results in the short term, but the results will show after careful fine-tuning and frequent updates.
As a leading Houston SEO company, Actual SEO Media, Inc. encourages its clients to further expand their online presence. By harnessing the power of search engine optimization, the company helps businesses expand their online visibility and establish a stronger Internet presence. This company ensures that its customers’ websites follow the search engines’ updated guidelines to ensure maximum visibility and brand awareness. For more information, contact the office at (832) 834 – 0661 or by email at info@actualseomedia.com.
Jamin Mootz
Actually SEO Media, Inc.
+1 832-834-0661
