New businesses, or businesses with a new website, may try to rank their website on search engines in Danville by doing the work themselves rather than outsourcing it to a company with more experience. They may not have the resources to hire a firm that understands search engine optimization. These suggestions will help a company when money is tight but they want to optimize a website right from the start.
Why is search engine optimization (or SEO) so important? Using the right SEO can help people find your business if they are doing a search for it online. The more people who are able to find your website on search engines in Danville and the surrounding cities, the more likely they will be to visit your website or your physical business.
Another reason to begin using the best SEO possible at the start of new website or business is that it usually takes some time for these efforts to be visible. When you have the right SEO from the start, your website will achieve these results sooner than if you started your SEO efforts later.
Even though there are other analytic options, most experts agree that Google Analytics are the best. Take time to install Google Analytics on your new website as soon as possible. If you’re unsure how to do this, Google provides detailed instructions at support.google.com.
While you’re at the Google Analytics website, set up a “destination goal” if you are selling products on your website and someone makes a purchase or provides contact information and your site will have a Thank You page.
Google Webmaster Tools are also suggested as they provide education for those new to running a website as well as providing a variety of tools to help improve your website. When you’ve created both of these, be sure to link them to get the most benefit from these tools.
Take time to research keywords for all services or products your company offers. Are there specific ‘trade’ names for your products? How would a customer look for them on the internet? Make a list of the various ways your products or services may be referenced. Once you have your list, use the Google Keyword Planner to help you narrow your list down to the phrases you want to target. The goal is to use keywords that the most people will use to find products like yours and have a low ‘per click’ cost which means there is little competition for them.
When it comes to adding content to your website, be sure that you include a unique title for each page of your website. If you can, try use one or more of your targeted keywords within the title along with your business name. Do your best to keep these page titles under 60 characters.
You will also want to add unique meta descriptions for each page, being sure to include the same keywords you used in your title. Meta descriptions should be less than 155 characters total.
Add a keyword into the URL, or address, for each page. You will also want to include only one h1 tag that contains the keyword and two or more h2-h6 tags.
Ensure the each page can be accessed from the homepage within 3 clicks or less. This helps readers to navigate to what they want easier.
Use keywords as anchor text when you link to another page within your website. And, if your website includes many images, using ALT tags will allow the search engine, and visually impaired users, “see” what other users see.
Be sure to set up a blog to go along with your website and host it on your business domain. Add new content regularly, at least once a month, but more often is better. Try to think about what your visitors or potential customers would like to read and would find interesting. Include targeted keywords within the content, but make sure they flow naturally within the text.
Don’t be afraid to think outside of the ‘content’ box. Content can include more than just text. You can also use videos or audio content like webinars or podcasts. Infographics and free PDF reports also fall within content. Use the same SEO tips – unique title including keyword, description with keyword, and link back to a related page on your website – to get the most benefit from your content.
Using these start-up tips is not a guarantee that ranking your website on search engines in Danville will be quick, but they will help. If you feel overwhelmed by all that setting up a new website entails and want to seek the assistance of an experienced team, contact Bay Area Online Marketing for a free consultation. You may reach them at 925-736-5808.