High Quality SEO Tips
There are a lot of places on the web to get SEO Tips, some tell you that their SEO Tips are the best and others just drop handy advice onto their blogs as they learn the latest SEO Tips from websites such as moz.com or search engine land. However there is so much information on these sites it is hard to know where to begin.
Search engine optimisation is so much more than putting the right keyword in the right place on a web page. It involves multiple factors that involve both the entire website and the individual web pages. A single article cannot cover all the factors you need to take into account. But, you can use these 10 SEO tips to ensure you get it right.
ONE: Have an Active Blog Updated at Least Twice a Month
Both search engines and visitors love to see new and updated content on a website. It tells the search engines they need to return periodically to index new content. It tells visitors that more high-quality content will be coming shortly.
A blog is the perfect place to post new content. Create high-quality content and post it at least twice a month, though once or twice a week is even better. When visitors see that you post routinely, they are more likely to come back and see what is new. The same goes for search engine crawlers.
The latest data (2017) as of the time of writing this article tells us that articles over 1000 words get the best chance of having strong authority – so write well!
TWO: Up-to-Date SSL Certificate
Look up at the top of your web browser, where the URL is displayed. To one side, you will see a padlock. If the padlock is there, and isn’t struck out, that means the URL is using an SSL certificate. SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer. That certificate indicates that the data you send to that website is encrypted.
An SSL certificate is essential for building trust with your website visitors. It keeps their personal and financial information secure. It provides an added layer of authentication. Google has started labeling any website that doesn’t use SSL certificates as “Not secure”. And that can spell trouble for unsecured websites.
THREE: Domain Registration Longer than One Year
If you can, update your domain registration length to longer than one year. A longer registration period indicates a business that is serious about sticking around. That demonstrates dependability to website visitors.
The effect longer domain registration has on search engine rankings is not clear. However, when you build trust with website visitors, they keep coming back. And that demonstrates to the search engines that your website is more trustworthy than others.
In Australia we have the .com.au domain, it is a standard 2 year renewal so this isn’t such an issue for us, how ever if you use a .com / .net / .org etc this part counts!
FOUR: Have Country TLD Extension
When you are trying to garner the attention of users in a particular country, having that country TLD extension helps identify where your business is located. That location identifier makes it easier for both potential customers and the search engine crawlers to identify your business location.
For example, an Australian business website that wants to rank higher in Australian search engine rankings needs to have an Australian TLD extension, such as .com.au.
FIVE: Fast Page Loading Speeds
Search engine algorithms definitely take into consideration how fast it takes for a page to load. The crawler measures the time it takes to receive the first byte and reports it as part of the indexing process. The slower the loading time, the lower the indexing and ranking. Slow loading speeds also affect user experience and increases bounce rates.
There are plenty of ways to improve loading speeds. Cleaning up your code by minimizing CSS, HTML, and JavaScript size is one step. Minimize or eliminate web page redirects. Use properly sized images, no larger than they need to be. Use tools like PageSpeed Insights to optimize your website. How ever, GTMetrix.com is my personal favourite!
SIX: High Site Uptime
Your website needs to be up and working right for search engine crawlers to scan it. If you are experiencing a lot of downtime, or have the site down for maintenance for long periods, the search engine crawler will not be able to scan it properly. Short-term, it will hurt your ranking. Long term, if you don’t fix the problem, you may find your entire website de-indexed.
You need to solve the underlying problem. If you are having ongoing up-time issues with your website host, it is time to find a new provider. If you have your website down for maintenance, put time and effort to get the problem fixed and to keep the website up.
In Australia there are many hosting companies, I personally keep my hosting with Amaze.com.au as I have found them high in quality and their service is personal. They dont treat their customers like a number. All of their hosting is in Australia.
SEVEN: Server Location Can Influence Your Rankings in Different Geographical Regions
Search engines consider where websites are hosted. They will give precedence to websites hosted within the search target’s country. So, if your website targets one country in particular, it is ideal to use servers located in that country. So, Australian companies who do business in country, having a server located within Australia is ideal.
Another benefit of hosting the website in country is that it will improve load speed. As you can see above, that is another factor search engines consider in their ranking decisions.
EIGHT: Contact, Terms of Service and Privacy Pages
Search engines, like Google, want to provide trustworthy content to people using their service. Web pages like terms of service and privacy pages show users and search engines that your site is trustworthy and that you take your customer’s needs seriously.
We found that a good way to get this sorted out properly is through Progressive Legal, they have some nice deals to fit in with where ever you are at in business. Their pricing will surprise you!
NINE: Mobile Responsive and Optimised
The days of having a website that is not responsive to mobile devices is gone. Google has made it quite clear that mobile responsive sites get an edge, especially with searches done via a mobile device. They are adding “Mobile friendly” tags to the sites that perform well on mobile devices.
It’s this simple. If you want your website and its pages to rank high for all users, make sure your website is responsive and optimized for mobile devices.
TEN: Easy-to-Use Website
A poorly designed website will hurt you as far as SEO. If it is difficult to use or navigate, you will get reduced visitor time on site, fewer pages viewed and higher bounce rates. This diminishes user experience. Plus, search engine crawlers are going to see this poor design and rank accordingly.
A well-designed, easy to navigate website is going to be loved by website visitors and search engine crawlers as well.
As you can see, your SEO involves so much more than putting a keyword on a page. From its very foundation, your entire website needs to be optimised to ensure your search engine rankings are strong. These SEO tips will get you started.
