What is SEO?

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is an overall combination of techniques that can be undertaken to improve a website’s rank on search engine listings (Google, Yahoo, Bing). The higher up the listings your website is the more traffic it is likely to receive and more traffic means more users which means more potential customers. The only real way to improve your website’s rank is to keep your users and potential customers in mind at all times. Search engines notice websites that focus on their users needs and will rank your website accordingly.

How to improve my website SEO

1. Content

Content defines your website. By designing your content so that it’s unique, relevant to your users and naturally incorporates frequently searched words and phrases you can boost your website’s rank. Users want regularly updated content, that is relevant, not paragraphs of text that are crammed with keywords and phrases.

2. Meta Information

Every page of your website has a section of information that search engines can read. Make sure every page has its own title, brief description and a short list of relevant keywords and phrases. This will make each page more relevant to phrases and keywords that potential users and customers search for.

3. No Flash

Any text that is contained within a Flash file is more difficult for search engines to find and index and if the Flash file has key words that are vital for search engines to see, without obstruction, then your website’s rank will suffer as well that there’s also 140 million potential users who won’t be able to see the content at all.

4. Image Alternative

Search engines don’t understand images so it’s important that every image on your website includes an alt tag with descriptive text. This tag is read by screen readers for users with reading difficulties and displays the alternative text should the image not load properly as well as telling search engines what the image is.

5. Less is More

Page load speed has a huge impact on your website’s rank. If any page on your website takes longer than 5 seconds to load users will lose interest fast. By limiting the number of images and custom scripts your website uses as well as subscribing to a good hosting plan you can ensure that every page on your website will load quickly which will benefit your website’s rank and, more importantly, your users.

6. Go Responsive

A Responsive website is a site that adapts (or responds) to the device and screen it is being viewed on to give the user the most suitable layout and content for them. By improving your website’s user experience you’re giving your users more reason to stay on your site for longer. Search engines will notice this and will improve your website’s rank.