Its best to start thinking about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) at the beginning of your website project. SEO is the process of structuring and tweaking a website so that it will rank its best on search engines such as Google. Having a better understanding about SEO will help you structure your website and its content. A good website has a balance between design, function and content.
The items below are listed to help you start thinking about SEO and your content/structure.
- Analysis of Competitors
To start thinking about writing website content have a look at your competitor’s websites (consider reviewing competitors in different cities and countries). When you search keywords related to your industry what websites are in your search results? What content is on those pages? How much content does the entire website have? Are there specific pages dedicated to an important keyword? Does the website have a blog that includes interesting posts? Is there a FAQ section?
- Keyword Research
Looking at your competitors should help you come up with some ideas of keywords to focus on. You can also look at online tools to help you determine keywords for your industry. Here is a keyword generator tool to help assist you: https://keywordtool.io/
- Structuring Content
Once you have an idea of what content is on successful websites in your industry and what keywords you want to focus on you can start creating your content. Content is the most important element in your SEO strategy. If you have no content how is Google suppose to determine where to rank you?
Here are some things to think about when structuring your website content:
Headline: Each page title should include a descriptive and compelling title that includes keywords pertaining to that page ie a garage might have a page about Oil Changes those keywords should be in the title at the top of the page. The same applies for any subtitles included on the page.
Introduction: The introduction is the portion that comes after the headline. This is important especially if you are writing blog posts. Your introduction should include at least one keyword phrase and be written in a way to compel users to continue reading on.
Content: Keep in mind when writing your content that you want to include keywords but also make sure it is interesting and provides value to your users. Its easy to get carried away and put your keywords in every sentence, this is called keyword stuffing and will work against your optimization efforts. Pages should have a minimum of 300 words. More sometimes is just more. If your website content gets your message across that is sufficient. Remember your content isn’t written in stone, you can change it as your business evolves. If you are finding that you repeatedly are asked certain questions by your customers make sure to revise your content to include that information.
Content Formatting: Items such as bulleted or numbered lists, bolding, italicizing tells Google that the information is of importance. Try to use it for texts that includes your keywords.
Page Links: Be sure to include links to other areas of your website and/or external links. Ideally you want your link to include keywords and not just say click here. The keywords on the link will help google index your page. You should also consider requesting that other websites in your industry link to your website if possible. Links to and from your website will boost your ranking on Google.
Call to Action: A call to action should provoke a response from users to do something while on your website. This is what your website is all about! You want someone to visit your website to purchase your product or service. Examples are: Sign up for a free trial, Sign up for a quote, find out more, call us today, click here to get started etc. Consider what you want someone to do when they visit your website and make sure to include specific call to actions each of your website pages.
Local Optimization: You should consider including your location within your content in a natural way to help you rank for your location ie “We are located in the heart of downtown London, Ontario”. Usually I would include the address in the footer or if the location should be more prominent on the page include it in the upper right-hand corner. It is beneficial to include your address on every page of the website to help you rank best for that location.
SEO is something that you should review regularly especially as the services and products you offer change. Your ranking is something that will change over time. Keeping SEO in mind and your content fresh is the best way to maintain good rankings.
If you have a web developer assisting you with the creation of your website, they can help you generally structure your pages and will take your content and format it with headings etc to meet the technical requirements for SEO.
Do you need help getting started? I’d love to talk to you about your web project.