Do you have a business website? Are you running an online business? Well then, is it ranked on Google? If not, then that’s why you aren’t generating enough traffic. Failure to getting our sites ranked is a pretty common problem seen in this world. Therefore, as a B2C and B2B digital marketing expert, I have come up with a short guide coming from my vast experience with international B2B marketplace to provide you with website optimization tips that can increase your chances of getting ranked.
The strategy used to optimize a website is known as SEO (search engine optimization). SEO friendly sites are always more likely of getting a better rank. However, due to Google’s constant rollout of algorithm updates, you still have to be on your feet to make the necessary alterations. Yet, after going through all the updates and predictions for the year to come, I’ve come up with essential power tips to help you optimize your business website.
Table of Contents
1. Make Sure your Site is Mobile-Ready
In March 2018, Google announced that websites that are mobile-friendly would experience an increase in the crawl rate of their website. This was called the mobile-first indexing update. This update was expected as in 2019; it is probable that around 63.4% of the world’s mobile users will access the internet through their cellphones.
After looking at the following researches, it would be a foolish step to ignore optimizing your website for mobile. Other than that, you also have to make sure that all your content is viewable in all types of screen sizes. This means that you have to focus on your image size and page layout. Remember, if you want your site to land up anywhere on the first page of Google, mobile optimization is crucial.
2. Create Exceptional Content
The algorithm updates of Google in 2018 revealed clearly how much this search engine is focusing on the quality and authority of the content available on a website. Google has dedicated its search engine for its users. That means, if you’re publishing average content just to keep your blog active then that isn’t going to work.
If you really want to optimize your content so that it ranks, the first thing you should focus on is the topic. Try writing something on a viral or trending topic to get a good push up the ranking. Otherwise, even if you choose a general theme, your title and introduction are two crucial elements that will prove the authority of your blog.
Many content writers may know how to write, but due to a lack of SEO knowledge, they merely miss the keyword factor. Keywords are what you’ll probably be ranked on. If your content doesn’t have a good keyword density, then even Google’s crawlers won’t be able to give you a rank where you’d wish to be. Keywords are words or phrases that people type in Google searches. There are many online tools that you can use to initiate keyword research. For example, if you use the Google Keyword Planner, you’ll be able to know the number of monthly searches, competition, and even get a slight idea of how much it’ll cost you to run a paid ad on a specific keyword.
Therefore, next time you are about to publish content on your site, make sure it’s high on quality and keyword optimized for better outcomes.
3. Voice Search Is Here, and It’ll Grow!
It’s true that voice search will grow in popularity as years come. Apart from that, you can see many people using Siri and Alexa for their searches and commands. Google, also accepts voice command searches which means that they are working on improving this technology. According to research, by 2020 30% of all the searches will be made without a screen. This research shows that more people will eventually start using voice command, and you better start working on this.
One of the biggest SEO optimization tips for you to know is that all these updates and innovations are focused on to provide the best results on the go to users. Here are a few things you should add on your to-do list if you plan on optimizing your site for voice search.
· Use Conversational Search Queries
Instead of going for the one or two-word keywords, you should focus on conversational phrases. The best way to come up with such keywords is by asking yourself how you’d search for a specific topic in voice search.
· Utilize FAQ Pages
It can get a bit tricky to use conversational phrases as keywords on most of the pages of your site. Especially if you are running an e-commerce business. Therefore, you should have an educational FAQ center to target all these long-tail voice search keywords.
· Focus on Mobile-Friendliness
As I mentioned above, mobile optimization is a crucial element in getting a better rank. However, when we talk about voice search, it’s pretty apparent that the majority will be made through mobile devices. – Another great reason to work on mobile optimization thoroughly for your website.
4. Improve Your UI and UX
UX (user experience) is determined by the quality of your web pages, content, and even speed. If you want to enhance the UX of your site, you have to understand your users, their values, their needs, their limitations, and their abilities. Instead of going for a high-end website that is technical, simple is always better. In addition, here are a few key factors to focus on that were highlighted by an expert by creating the User Experience Honeycomb.
· Valuable
Everything available on your site has to be valuable enough that your users can use it somewhere else.
· Credible
You have to work on making your content credible. Trust is what’ll bring a reader back and encourage them to share on social platforms.
· Accessible
According to The World Bank, around 15% of the world’s population faces some sort of disability. Keeping this figure in your mind, you have to make your site accessible for such people as well.
· Findable
If users can’t find what they need on your site, then you’ve failed to create a good site for your visitors. Work on your sitemap and make sure that the navigation of your site is at its best.
· Desirable
In order to make your content and web pages, you have to increase the number of images, and banners on your site. Your design elements can target the emotions of your target audience.
· Usable
Your site should always be user-friendly. Technical sites are always ignored by users.
· Useful
All the content available on your site should be authentic. In addition, it should answer questions of your users as well as be highly informative.
Once you’re done with enhancing your website’s UX, you should work on the UI. The UI (user interface) design will have a substantial influence on the quality and usability of your site. The crucial elements that bring together this concept are visual design, interaction, and information architecture. Here are the best practices for maintaining an adequate UI of your site.
- Maintain a simple interface
- Tactically use texture and color
- Be purposeful in page layout
- Generate uniformity and use common UI elements
- Don’t forget the defaults
- Create a neat and tidy page layout
Wrapping Up
By knowing the current online marketing trends and SEO strategies that are expected to work in the coming year, you’ll definitely be ahead of your competition. Thought these strategies would take time and effort, you have to work hard on them as your website optimization strongly relies on them. Hopefully, the website optimization tips and trends mentioned above pretty much gave you an idea of what to look out for. So don’t waste any more time and start optimizing to get ranked and boost your organic traffic, which will enhance your lead generations and ROI.
About The Author:
Beatrice McGraw is a digital marketing expert who works for ExportHub – An Online B2B Marketplace specialized in connecting Chinese suppliers. She just loves to share her knowledge with the world in the form of blogs, videos and various other types of content. In her free time, she is an active gamer and a techwiz who adores researching innovative solutions that emerge in the digital world.
We love to create awesome websites for small businesses! It is our passion and goal to help as much as possible people with a beautiful online presentation that represents who they are and what they stand for.