In part 1 of our article we talked about how to make sure your web content gets discovered and how to improve your search engine ranking. We also talked about the importance of identifying your audience, having good links and creating a SEO-friendly website. However, we all know that these are just a few of the requirements, so roll up your sleeves, because there is plenty more to work on. Here are some more useful tips for your website that will ensure it gets noticed.
Place Keywords Strategically

Want your website ranking well in search engine? Then make sure you have the right keywords for your industry in the right places. Start with the copy, i.e. the text on your website, and make sure the keywords are included in the header. Your keywords should also be in the first 25 words of the text on your website. Each page needs a title that is relevant to the content and contains relevant keywords. That being said, you need to have page titles with no more than 64 characters and the preference would be for the keywords to be at the start of the title. Pay attention to the web page file names, image names and link tags. It’s important to understand how the proximity of your keywords matters too. If you rely on a combination of keywords, e.g. marketing strategy, then the web page which has the two words close to each other (What is the best marketing strategy for your business) will rank better than the page with the words far apart (Why you need to have a strategy when it comes to good marketing).
Research Keywords Continually

Since keywords are those words and phrases that people use to discover your website, you need to continually research the most relevant ones and have a clear idea of what people are searching for the most and how they find your website online. You might be surprised by some of the keywords that brought up your site as a result. Once in a while you need to go through the content on your website and ensure that it meets popular demand, i.e. the relevant keywords that people are actually using.
Get Links on/to Other Websites

We have already mentioned the importance of having quality links on your website leading to others and vice versa. The reason you need incoming links is because you want more traffic. However, stay away from link farms; you need legitimate sites linking to yours and you linking to relevant results as well. You need to understand the difference between having 200 random visits with an 80% bounce rate and having 10 visits from your ideal clients. There are quite a few websites out there that offer directory services or social bookmarking links to websites for free or at a low cost. If you decide to pay for the service, keep track of the number of unique visitors to your website. If you are in the UK, you can try the following websites that offer free links: HotFrog (Online Business Directory) and UK Small Business Directory. A good strategy is to trade reciprocal links with non-competitors. If you have beauty treatments business for example, your target audience might be interested in all or some of the following: hairdresser’s, holidays, home décor, eating out, retail shopping, other beauty treatments, furniture, etc. Your task is to find popular websites locally and offer them to link to their website in return of the same. Avoid automated backlinking – Google and other search engines are too smart and spot these techniques quickly which can harm your website ranking considerably. You need to respect your web visitors and only offer links that are relevant, appropriate and you genuinely recommend.

Put these simple tips into practice this week and let us know how this changes the traffic you get to your website. Stay tuned for part 3 of our article which is live next week. You can get your free SEO report from us too.