How To Optimize A Webpage
Search Engine Optimization is a marketing technique focused on both the technical and creative elements required to improve rankings, drive traffic, and increase awareness of your site for search engines and readers alike. SEO may sound complicated, but in just a few steps, you can improve your pages ranking on search engine result pages (SERP).
Page Titles & Meta Descriptions
The page title of a post is the user’s first impression of the content and will most likely affect their decision of whether they read the page or not. It should be no longer than 60 characters, relevant to what the post is about, appealing to readers, and keyword-optimized. The meta description of a page provides a summary of the page’s content, and is aimed at capturing the audience’s attention. This should be no longer than 160 characters, relevant to the post, and keyword-optimized. When writing a meta description, always write it with your audience in mind first, then search engines.
Formatting
Good formatting makes the content easier to read, and is visually appealing to both users and search engines. Both headings and URL’s should be formatted the correct way in order to optimize search results. Headings help make the content easier to read by dividing it into different layers of importance. Each heading has a different size, (<h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, and <h6>) creating a hierarchical structure that helps readers skip to the content that is relevant to them. It also helps search engines discover the most important parts of the content. URL’s should be simple and clear for both humans and search engines. The shorter the URL, the easier it is for readers and search engines to discover the post.
Linking
Internal linking can enhance a user’s experience by leading them to other relevant pages and posts. Well written links aim to allow a reader to continue their navigation through the site. These links also help the crawl-ability of the content by search engines.
Images
Images are also important in SEO optimization and enhance the reading experience for your audience. Images can be found directly through Google Image Search, so it is important to pay attention to their naming. However, the title is not the only important name of the image. The alternative text (alt text), which is essentially a description of the image, is also a key factor of SEO optimization.
Avoid Keyword Stuffing
It is more important to focus on the quality of the content rather than the quantity of keywords. Since search engines value the human factor, the readability of a post is what will improve your search rankings. The level of readability can be improved with easy-to-read text, short sentences, short paragraphs, organized structure, and in-depth knowledge of the topics.
New Content
Regularly creating new content helps rankings and boosts traffic. By adding more valuable content, visitors will continue to come back to read your posts, leading to an increase in readers engagement and building your website’s credibility.