Playing the SEO game can sometimes feel unfair, as if your opponent constantly shifts the goalposts and changes the rules. But while you may feel like you need spring in your shoes to keep up with developments in SEO, the good news is that the internet is becoming a better place because of it. Spammy sites are on their way out, and SSL technology is making transactions safer. Investing in making your website more robust and user-friendly rewards you for your efforts. Check out these five ways to optimize your website here.
1. Make your website fast and secure
Site speed is a ranking factor of most search engines. So, ensuring that yours is fast will earn you brownie points with Google and friends. But even better than that, you’ll convert more site visitors into leads. How come? Because of every second count. Literally. People have the patience of a gnat when it comes to online browsing. 40% of users will click out of a page if it takes more than three seconds to load. Three seconds might not sound like a long time, but time takes on a different meaning on the web. You may as well stick up a “come back in half an hour” notice on your door or point your customers to a competitor’s site.
Sites like GT Metrix can test your load speed and suggest ways to fix the problem. You may need to minify HTML code or clear up JavaScript and CSS. You could also have images that aren’t optimized and are draining your site speed or videos that take a lot of bandwidth. If you have customers in regions with slower internet speeds, consider using a CDN (Content Delivery Network). This will ensure that your site loads quickly despite local rates. Finally, install SSL technology to ensure that the user data you collect is secure.
2. Focus on your content
Make sure that the content on your website is well-written and engaging. If you have the budget, hiring a copywriter is a good idea, as they understand sales psychology. You’ll also need to ensure that you know your keywords and that your content includes the right amount. This will help your website appear higher in search engine results, especially when you know your longtail keywords well.
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Ensure all your blog articles, social posts, and site pages are optimized and engaging. Having a message that’s a joy to read is a great start. But you won’t get converting visitors if you fail to include strategic CTAs or are too thin on your keywords. You won’t even appear on a Google search. You cannot consider important elements like metadata, H1 and H2 headings, optimized images, and content length.
3. Improve the User Experience
You want your website to deliver a flawless user experience to everyone. Your site visitors should be able to find the information that they need quickly and easily. They should be encouraged to stay longer on your site and see what they want quickly. Ensure that all links are working and don’t get any error messages or aren’t with broken forms or redirected pages.
Localize your content to the language if you have foreign website visitors. According to the Common Sense Advisory, 87 percent of non-English speakers will not buy from English-only websites. So, ensure you produce a local language version that meets their tastes. Consider the appropriateness of colors, icons, and images, and make sure that weights and measures, currency and dates, and times are also converted to their needs.
Improving your user experience will enhance your conversions wherever you do business. Consider hiring a UX Manager who can run tests, check heatmaps to see what people are clicking on, and turn them off.
4. Capture data
Getting potential customers to your site is a big step, but that shouldn’t be the end goal. ‘That’s shouldn’tbeginning. It wouldn’t hurt if you started capturing their information. Not everyone who lands on your website will be ready to purchase. But offer them interesting information, a how-to guide, or the chance to get something for free. They’ll readily give you their details so you can build up a database of potential clients and include them on their mailing lists. Ask them what service interests them most so that you can target your offers to them. A word to the wise: be sure not to email them too frequently. Over-emailing is one of the most common ways to provoke unsubscribes.
5. Test your efforts
Once you’ve got all your ducks in a row, you’ve spoken, be sure to test your efforts continually. Ensure that your links stay fresh, your pages work, and your content remains relevant. Remove outdated offers and try different landing pages to see which provokes greater action. A/B testing, where you try out two different versions of the same page, is an awesome way of getting live customer feedback. Ditch the version that isn’t working and go with the one with fewer clicks. Tools like Hotjar and Heatmap are great for this.
Even the smallest changes on your website, such as the position or wording of a CTA, can have a huge difference in conversion. So, don’t think of your site like Michedon’tlo’s David. It’s not crafMichelangelo’sYou’ll nIt’sto make frequent changes to keep it optimized and appealing to you. Five ways to optimize your website are just the tip of the iceberg, as you’ll find out when you progress your SEO journey. But fixing your speed and safety, creating killer, optimized content, and a great experience are all great ways to start, along with frequent testing and a willingness to switch up your game.
Author Bio
Christina Comben is the Content Manager at translation and localization services provider Day Translations. Multilingual and qualified to MBA level
Christina is passionate about writing, traveling, and continuing education.
