8 Essential Tools for Optimizing Your Site’s SEO
There is so much – maybe too much – advice out there on the World Wide Web for optimizing website SEO, including what are considered to be the “basic” tools needed. But what are truly the essential tools you need to know about?
Check out this list of the eight most useful tools to gain superior results for your website SEO.
- When You Build Your Website, Consider The User
What makes sense to you, if you were to navigate your site as a potential customer? Start with the basics, and continue from there. If you have social media channels set up, and you are working on a successful paid advertising campaign or acquiring organic links, you can’t accomplish much without excellent and unique content, thorough and accurate company information, and a Google and user-friendly infrastructure. Once you have the foundation built, you can add whatever you’d like – but, it’s important that your start from the bottom and work your way up and out.
- Take Into Account What Search Engines are Looking For
Search engines want to point users in the direction most relevant to their search, so it’s helpful to know what search engines are looking for when they decide what website or content to rank on the first and second page. Do you have unique content going up consistently, responsive website performance, and a clear path for users to take once they land on your site? Is your site easy to navigate? Search engines want the best, so your investment into being the best is going to be important.
- Know what NOT to do
It can be easy to overdo it when it comes to wanting the most optimization for your website, when it’s more important to focus on what is most helpful. DON’T overuse keywords – this is called keyword stuffing, and it’s bad for SEO and user-experience. It’s difficult to read and follow, and people won’t be inclined to find out more about you. DON’T purchase links (this will get you nowhere, and it’s a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines). DON’T make your website difficult to use by buying too many ads – this makes your site look spammy, and no one (especially search engines) like a spammy site.
- Ask Yourself: What is YOUR Business Model?
Take a minute to focus on what your primary goals are – If you want to guide people along the path to purchase a product, great! Track those purchases. If you would be happy to see more local users visiting your contact form, that’s just as valuable and you can see that information very clearly by setting up a simple filter in Google Analytics.
- Optimize For Multiple Channels
Don’t forget to consider multiple platforms when you’re looking through the lens of optimization. This includes social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and offline channels like radio and television. Always be consistent with keyword phrases on all platforms. Establish your messaging from the start and stay at it! This streamlines your efforts with branding and allows your users to know which keywords you’re optimizing for, no matter what platform they use to find out more.
- Have Domain Name Consistency
Make SEO friendly URLS. Keep it simple, and keep them the same for the most user-friendly experience. As a best practice, use sub-directory root domains (website.com/example) as opposed to sub-domains (example.website.com).
- Use Optimization for Various Types of Results
With the ever-growing use of multiple technologies, it’s important to focus on more than desktop optimization, such as mobile and tablet user experience. Google is exceptionally focused on mobile usability, so you should be too (check out this developer tool from Google, so you can quickly measure how well-optimized your site is for mobile devices). Additionally, make sure to optimize non-text data, like videos and images, so search engines can utilize use that information, as well.
- Be Committed
Search engine algorithms are always changing, so be sure to keep yourself updated on the latest tactics and strategies. Sign up for blog updates, participate in SEO webinars, follow SEO’ers on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, or just hire someone to partner with you in these efforts. It’s worth the investment.
Keep these eight tools in your back pocket, and you will have the most strategically SEO optimized website out there!
SEO No To The Quo
