Successful SEO optimization requires a good “partnership” with Google. But how do you build this “partnership”? Although Google is constantly updating and changing its algorithms, there are some fundamental elements that you should be aware of to improve your SEO. In this article, we will provide you eight essential tips so that you improve your SEO optimization.
1. Examine your keywords
You must choose one primary keyword for the piece of content that you want to SEO-optimize and possibly five to ten keywords besides that. To find out which keywords make the most sense for you to use, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- What is my target audience searching for?
- What questions does my target audience ask online?
Also, consider that your primary keywords should be searched often and at the same time be simple, short, and precise.
2. Consider the intention and format
When writing your headline, you should consider what keywords are included, as there should be some hint to the content. For example, if your content is:
- Informative, use words such as: “guide”, “guidance”, “what”, “how”, “tips” or “steps to”.
- Navigating, use words such as the name of the brand, product, or service in question.
- Commercial, use words such as “best,” “cheapest,” “top,” or “review.”
Then, when choosing the format for your content, it may be a good idea to get inspired and look at what others have done. Search your topic and see what the first 10 results that come up have done. Then ask yourself:
- What formats do they use?
- What call-to-action do they use?
- What are their titles and descriptions?
3. Design an optimized meta title
A meta title:
- Is in accordance with the search intention
- Contains relevant keywords
- Includes a maximum of 60 characters
- Captures users and makes them click
- Includes a call-to-action.
An example of a meta title could be: “What is SEO content? A guide to design successful SEO optimization.”
4. Optimize the meta description
The meta description is the short description under the heading when searching for content on Google. It must capture users, so they click. To optimize your meta description, you can do the following:
- Be unique and stand out from the crowd
- Write no more than 1-2 sentences (140-160 characters)
- Describe the specific page and what users can expect if they click
- Include your chosen keywords
- Consider influencing emotions
- Include a call-to-action.
5. Design a catchy headline (H1)
Your headline introduces users to your content and should therefore be clear. Some tips on how to design a catchy, sharp headline are:
- Be unique
- Represents what the content is about
- Include words like “how,” “why,” or “what.”
- Use numbers such as “5 best”, “X things,” and “top 20.”
- Guides and numbers drive up to 2 times more traffic.
6. Organize your content and make it more readable
Content is best when it is structured well and easy to read. To ensure that your content is organized and readable, consider doing the following:
- Use subheadings and preferably several different ones (H2 and H3)
- Write one paragraph per “idea.”
- Avoid too long, complex sentences
- Highlight the importance with, i.e., bold
- Make sure your content is adequate.
7. Feel free to add one or more visual elements
Visual content such as images, graphs, and videos brings value to the users who read your content as it has a catchy effect and is quick to overlook. But the visual content must be both relevant, sharp, and appropriate. Therefore, consider the following:
- Optimize the size of the visual content
- Optimize the names of the visual content
- Optimize the “alt” tags of your images.
Read more about 5 free tools to create visual content and achieve a good SEO optimization.
8. Make your URLs readable
Your URL indicates what your content is about and is therefore essential in terms of user overview. Your URL should also be “nice” so that users are not “scared away” by the fact that they think it is spam. A good, nice URL is:
- Descriptive
- Easy to read
- Contains keywords
- Uses hyphen (-) instead of underscore (_)
- It uses lowercase letters and is short.
Good luck with creating a successful SEO optimization!
This article is written with inspiration from SocialMediaToday.