We all want our website to show up on page one of Google. But, it’s so hard to know how to make that happen. I want to help so I’m sharing 8 SEO tips and tricks for your website.
But before getting to the SEO tips, let’s explain what SEO – Search Engine Optimization – actually is.
SEO, is the process of optimizing your website’s content so that a search engine (Google, for example) will show it as a top result for searches of a certain keyword. The goal is that this will increase both the quality and quantity of traffic to your website, as well as exposure to your brand, through non-paid (organic) search results.
Each search engine has its own formula, or algorithm, for determining which websites rank higher in organic search but here I am going to focus on Google.
At its core, SEO is all about the user experience. Google is a business and they want to make their users happy so they keep coming back. When someone searches for something, Google wants to provide them with the most relevant search results possible. If Google brings your website up high in a search ranking and then people visit your site and leave quickly (or bounce), Google will assume your content is not relevant and/or you’re providing a bad user experience. If this continues to happen, you will start to rank lower.
So, what can interior designers and other home professionals do to rank higher in organic searches? Here are my 8 SEO tips and tricks.
Tip No. 1 - Define a keyword list and use longtail keywords
Keywords are an incredibly important part of your SEO strategy. You’ll want to come up with a unique keyword phrase for each page (and post) on your website. By keyword phrase, I mean longtail keywords. Think “how do I decorate a white bedroom on a budget” rather than “bedroom”.
To come up with keyword phrases, you’ll want to think like your ideal clients. What would they actually type into Google to find you.
Think …
What do you do?
Who do you do it for?
Where do you do it?
There are some tools available (both free and paid) to help you with keyword research and here are just a few:
Tip No. 2 – Use your keyword phrases in your website content
Now that you have your keyword phrases for each page and post of your website, you’ll want to include that phrase in the text on that page.
It’s important to work the keyword phrase in naturally and not force it, or keyword stuff, as Google can tell when you do that and it is frowned upon.
Also, Google is smart enough to recognize synonyms and variations of the keyword so it doesn’t have to be the exact same words.
Ultimately, it’s important that your write your website copy for the user and not for Google, but keeping the keyword phrase for the page in mind is helpful.
Tip No. 3 - Create fresh content that is high quality
Google wants to know your site is not abandoned so it wants to see activity on your website. That’s one reason why fresh content is so important.
Blogging is a great way to create fresh content. It allows you the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in your field.
But, be careful with your blogging strategy. It’s not enough to just write new blog posts – the content needs to be high quality. And, it should also be content that your ideal client is searching for. If you’d like to learn more about fresh content, click here.
Tip No. 4 – Make sure your website is mobile responsive
When a website is responsive, the layout and content responds (or adapts) based on the size of the screen it’s presented on. A responsive website automatically changes to fit the device you’re reading it on.
Because most web traffic is done on a mobile device, Google considers a mobile responsive site to be an important ranking factor.
To find out more about what a mobile responsive website is click here.
Tip No. 5 – Improve you page load speed
The speed in which your website loads is very important. It can be damaging if it loads too slowly. If your site is slow, you have little chance of a high search ranking.
Ideally it should fully load in under three seconds. Most visitors to your website will not wait eight or nine seconds for your page to come up. They will get frustrated and leave.
One of the biggest culprits of slow page load time are images. Optimizing your images (see tip no. 7 below) will help to speed up page load time.
You can check your website’s page load time by visiting these websites:
Both will give you a list of what needs to be improved.
Tip No. 6 – Optimize your images
Images are a crucial component of your website and help to engage visitors. However, you’ll want to make sure you optimize your images before you upload them to your website.
To learn more about image optimization, you can click here.
Tip No. 7 - Have an SSL certificate
SSL stands for secure sockets layer. You’ll know a website has an SSL certificate by two things:
The URL says https and not http.
You’ll see a padlock icon in the URL bar.
SSL is part of Google’s search ranking algorithm so having one is important for your website.
Tip No. 8 – Provide a quality user experience
When Google does rank your website on page one for a certain keyword phrase and potential clients click through to your website, you’ll want to ensure that their user experience is top notch. There’s so much that goes into this, but here’s a quick summation of what you should focus on:
- Keep your navigation simple
- Ensure that your content is scannable
- Use fonts that are easy to read
- Remember that white space is your friend
- Have a clear call to action
- If it should be clicked, make it obvious
- Make it clear and simple
If you’d like to learn more about user experience, click here.
Ranking higher in organic search is something every business needs to work on. Since everything is moving more and more to online, getting found is harder and harder.
If your potential clients are turning to Google to do their research before hiring you, they need to see you in there – it’s the same way you used to have to be in the yellow pages years ago.
SEO can be complex and confusing and best practices can change quite often.
If you found these SEO tips helpful, I hope you’ll share it with others who may benefit from it using the links below.
If you’d like to start the conversation about working together, please fill out the client application form and I will be in touch to schedule a complimentary introductory call.
