10 Search Engine Optimization Rules to Follow for Starters
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital to any business. A great understanding of how it works helps your website get found by potential customers. Listed here are the top ten Search Engine Optimization rules you should follow that will surely help your business grow in ranks.
Rule One: Do Not Cheat
If you think you can outsmart Google, think again. You won’t. Ever. Google employs genius scientists and developers – and by that, they’ve got hundreds. If you want your website to show up fine in searches, don’t ever think of cheating the system and ignore any advice that says so. Do not cheat. Period.
Rule Two: Pick Your Keywords
SEO keywords are the phrases in your web content that make your site visible when a user enters a search query in the search engines. After picking a few keywords that best describe the page of your website, use them in headlines, your first paragraph, in sentences and in links. Keep in mind that repeating them uselessly will do you no good.
Rule Three: Content is King
Want to rank your site quickly? Then create content. Want to keep visitors coming back to your site? Create content. If your website doesn’t have the content your user wants, they’ll surely leave it. Users search for content.
Each page of your website should lead with a relevant H1 tag with one your chosen keyword. The first paragraph of it should summarize the rest of the page.
Rule Four: The Homepage is the Most Important Page
Your homepage is not only important because it gives your users the first and lasting impression. It’s also important because it’s the key to your site being found by search engines. It should summarize your website as a whole and give a clear, compelling reason for your users to visit the other pages in the website.
Learn more on why a good homepage design matters in this article.
Rule Five: Title Tags are Vital
Your page title is what appears in search results. Every page of your tag should have a title with the site name and a summarized description of the page. Include your chosen keyword. Same goes for your navigation links. Adding the title where your page leads in your links also helps give you a significant SEO boost.
Think of it this way, being the visible part your users get to see when they enter a search query, the title with your site name and a summarized description of the page should give your users a clear reason on why they should click it.
Rule Six: Don’t Forget Your Links
Don’t ignore your links. Search engines pay a lot of attention to the links on your site and the links that leads to. Instead of using “click here” or “see more” for a link, it should describe where the link will take the user, such as “learn how you can improve your SEO”. The more relevant these links are the better your chances of ranking for that search phrase. Thinking about links where you should direct your users to go next after reading a topic would help you on what relevant links to include.
Rule Seven: Same Goes for the Alt Tags
Ignoring your alt tags? Don’t. Every image on your site should have an alt tag, more so if they are relevant to your page. Placing your keyword or search phrase on your alt tag labels help your page to be likely found. With proper labeling, your users will also be able to know what’s place there if for some reason the image was corrupted or was not loaded than thinking that your site has empty or broken sections on them.
Rule Eight: Clean Coding
A human-readable HTML code is searchable code. Your HTML should follow a website’s basic skeleton – starting from the navigation followed by your H1 tag then your first paragraph, and so on. Try to use descriptive tags whenever possible – use ‘p’ for paragraphs; ‘li’, ‘ul’, and ‘ol’ for lists; and for formatting, ‘strong’ for bolded text. Don’t overcomplicate your use of ‘divs’. That’s something to keep in mind for structure. You can always rock your website design on CSS.
Rule Nine: Make a Site Map
A site map is a xml file that helps both users and search engines navigate the site. This also allows search engines to crawl the site more intelligently. Don’t forget to make one and give it to Google.
Rule Ten: Focus on What Humans Want
The best way to make your site visible with search engines is to find what humans want. More than the design and the keeping your website functional, it should be purposeful. If you can provide people a website that is easy to use and full of what they’re looking for, search engines will find you.
Have more rules to Search Optimization rules to follow for starters? Comment them down below!
