Website & SEO Optimization Audit: Stay on Top of Search Results
It’s important to reflect on the past year and set ourselves up for success in the year ahead. The truth is the landscape of SEO and website optimization is always changing, and what worked last year might not work this year, and what works this year might not work next year. This is why it’s so important to stay ahead of the curve and continually evolve your optimization strategies.
Why is website optimization so important?
With the ever-changing landscape of SEO, it’s more important than ever to stay ahead of the curve and optimize your website. So, the rise of mobile users is at an all-time high, with no plans of slowing down. Therefore by optimizing your website, you can ensure that your site is visible to search engines, easy to use for visitors, and able to rank for the exact keywords you want to target.
What factors should you consider when optimizing your website?
There are several factors to consider when optimizing your website. Some of the most important ones include:
1. Technical SEO refers to optimizing your website for search engines.
So this includes site speed, site structure, and indexation. Make your website fast, easy to navigate, and set up in a way that search engines can easily index and understand. Pro Tip: Make sure the user has a user-friendly experience across all device types.
2. Content marketing: Content is still king when it comes to SEO.
Make sure you’re creating high-quality, keyword-rich content to help your website rank in search engines. This includes things like blog posts and videos. Think of content as being a conversation with your audience rather than talking at them. This makes it easier for people to read and share your content, which is important for SEO. Pro Tip: Create evergreen content that will remain relevant years from now.
3. User experience: In addition to creating great content, it’s also important to create a great user experience on your website.
Make sure your site is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and provides a great user experience. And don’t leave out mobile optimization. The market has shifted, and mobile purchases are outweighing that of desktops. Pro Tip: Use a heat map to see real-time user actions to optimize experiences.
4. Link building: Link building is another vital aspect of SEO.
So by building links to your website, you can help improve your website’s authority and reach in search engines. The more links to your site, the higher it will rank in search engines. However, it’s important to note that not all links are created equal. You should be building natural links from reputable websites in your industry, not just any old site on the web. Pro Tip: Use tools like Majestic and Moz to find out which sites link back to you and what those sites have in common.
5. Social media: Social media has become increasingly important for SEO.
Make sure you’re active on social media and share content with followers. Optimize your social media posts for SEO by using keywords, a link back to your website, and an image. Pro Tip: You can use Buffer or Hootsuite to make this process easier.
If you’re just starting to think about optimizing your website and SEO, and you know your business isn’t showing up on the first couple of pages of Google search results, it’s time for an audit!
Our free SEO checklist is full of tips that are easy, actionable, and will make a huge difference for your business SEO. Remember, SEO is a must for any business looking to boost its online presence.
Tools to help with website optimization
1. Google Analytics: Anyone running an online business or marketing online knows the importance of Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a free tool that lets you track your website’s traffic and performance. This is a valuable tool for understanding how people are finding and using your website. You can also use Google Analytics to see which of your content is performing well and what people are searching for. This will help you better understand what kind of content to create in the future.
2. Google Search Console: Google Search Console is another free tool from Google that lets you track your website’s performance in search engines. This is a valuable tool for understanding how well your website ranks in search engines and troubleshooting any issues you may be having with your site’s ranking.
3. Screaming Frog: Screaming Frog is a paid tool that allows you to crawl websites and analyze their structure and content. This tool can find technical SEO issues with your website and ensure that all your content is optimized.
4. SEMrush: SEMrush is a paid tool that allows you to research keywords, track your website’s performance in search engines and build links for your site. This will help you research keywords, monitor your site’s performance in search engines, and build links for your site.
Resource: Small Business SEO Checklist
Make the best use of Permalinks
Permalinks are permanent links to a specific piece of content on your website. They make it easier for Google and other search engines to understand what that page is about and how it relates (or doesn’t!) with similar pieces of content on the site. Because they’re so useful in SEO, permalinks can also help you drive more traffic from users sharing links. Keep them short and clear. If possible, limit your URLs to no more than two levels deep and ensure they don’t contain unnecessary characters or punctuation marks.
Don’t neglect older content
We marketers all seem to have different opinions on balancing updating old content and consistently churning out new content. The reality is the effort should be 50/50. Why? The whole point of content marketing is for the content to remain relevant for years to come. After all, ranking takes time. Once your site, blog and content begin to rank – you don’t want to stop the process but optimize it. New content keeps the site fresh and relevant to search engines. But it’s also important to keep your old content up-to-date and relevant. This includes updating broken links or ensuring your outbound links are still functional.
While Google’s updates aren’t meant to irritate, they are causing frustration in the marketing industry. So search optimization tactics that worked well in the past may not be effective in the future, and that should be considered.
So What Did We Learn?
- Why is website optimization so important?
- What factors should you consider when optimizing your website?
- Tools to help with website optimization
- Make the best use of Permalinks
- Don’t neglect older content
Is it time for a website audit or overhaul? You’re in the right place. Schedule a call with me today, or book your website audit to get the ball rolling.
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