Top 5 SEO Do's and Don'ts.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical for any business to increase your google ranking. Google’s search algorithm, which changes throughout the year and can be difficult to understand, it determines your Google ranking. SEO refers to the strategies and tactics used to increase google ranking. Also known as SERPs – Search Engine Results Pages.

There are numerous methods to increase your search engine ranking, many of which can be perplexing to newcomers. That’s why we’ve created an easy-to-follow SEO DO’s and DON’Ts guide to help you generate more organic traffic to your website.

Our Top SEO Do’s:

1. DO use related keywords

Firstly, conduct keyword research prior to writing any content. You should come up with a ‘Primary Keyword’ that you want to rank for. That’s essential to your success. Secondly, find ‘related keywords’, produce a list of keywords and phrases that relate to your title and integrate them throughout your content. We recommend Google keyword planner as a good tool for finding related keywords.

Top Tip: Include your primary keyword in your SEO title and metadata.

2. DO use accurate long-tail keywords

Keywords are essential, long-tail keywords are crucial. These are longer, more specific keyphrases that have clever search intent. For example, say you ran a value clothing company for children, instead of ‘clothing’, you’d use ‘affordable clothing for kids’. The competition is lower and you’re increasing your conversion rate chances.

Top Tip: Simply type your keywords into the Google search bar for help finding long-tail keyword suggestions.

3. DO create effective title tags

A meta title tag is what Google displays as a clickable headline on SERPs. You want it to be an accurate description to your content whilst drawing users in, make sure to include your primary keyword. Additionally, ensure each page on your website has unique metadata; this is just another way for Google’s algorithm to understand the structure of your site.

Top Tip: Keep them between 55 and 60 characters long for the best chance of increasing your ranking.

4. DO create effective meta descriptions

Just like title tags, metadata should be an accurate description of the context of your page whilst simultaneously drawing users, making sure to include keywords and phrases.

Top Tip: Keep it between 155-160 characters to describe the content of your page.

5. DO have a clear site layout

For a user-friendly experience, having a clear layout that is easy to navigate across is an important SEO factor. Breaking up content into smaller paragraphs or bullet points is an easy way to do this; try to avoid large sums of text. Include a plenty of subheadings and headings to create a clear well-structured format.

Top Tip: Investing in website design is worthwhile; consumers will form an opinion of your company within seconds of visiting your website. Make sure it’s a positive one.

For extra tips on website design, read our blog on the common website mistakes or how to make your website more attractive.

Our Top SEO Don’ts:

1. DON’T Keyword overload

Use relevant keywords, more isn’t necessarily a good thing. Overloading your metadata, meta titles, and page content with keywords and phrases will only have a negative impact on your ranking. Text should flow naturally and not appear forced (just to include more keywords); doing so will put users off and reduce your chances of conversion.

Top Tip: Use an appropriate amount of keywords relative to the volume of content on each page, and limit yourself to one primary keyword per page.

2. DON’T have slow page speeds

The reason for this is simple: website visitors are impatient. According to a recent study, 83% of users expect website pages to load in three seconds or less. Meaning that you need your website to be fast, there is no point in spending money on a fancy website if the pages don’t load quickly; users will simply go to a competitor’s site.

Top Tip: An easy way to improve site speed is by image compression, reducing the size of your CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files that are larger than 150 bytes.

3. DON’T neglect responsive design

In 2021 mobile devices accounted for nearly 57% of web page views worldwide, meaning your page needs to work just as well as it does on desktop as it does on mobile devices for it to rank highly on google.

4. DON’T ignore user-search intent

Google can tell if something is relevant and will rank it accordingly. For example, you came to this page looking for information on SEO, imagine the first thing you saw was a gloversure product/service offering, it would put you off, right? Exactly, it’s not user-search intent, and the results would be a higher bounce rate, lower engagement, and fewer organic search conversions.

Top Tip: Don’t deceive customers into visiting pages that are trying to sell them something. This will only have a negative impact on their perception of your brand.

5. DON’T ignore Key Performance Indicators

An absolute must. There’s no point doing any of the above if you fail to track KPIs. SEO is a trial and error process that must be taken slowly, some things work and others don’t. Using Google Analytics, you can track site metrics to see what is and isn’t working, enabling you to make any necessary changes.

Top Tip: Check them on a regular basis! At least once a month to check on any changes that have been made and to make further improvements.

Wrapping Up

Now that you understand some of the basics of SEO, don’t forget to conduct keyword research before you begin writing any content.

This blog scratches the surface of SEO; Google’s search algorithm has over 200 ranking factors, so there are always ways to keep improving your SEO strategy and increase your Google ranking for more organic search traffic. If you require additional assistance, the team at gloversure are always happy to help, get in touch today.

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