The first step to making your new website and SEO powerhouse is to make sure it’s getting the most out of Google. To do this, you need to take a look at this website from two perspectives: what does Google want? And how can I give them that? In order for a website to rank well in search engines, it needs backlinks. The more quality backlinks are pointing towards your site, the higher up you’ll be on the SERPs (search engine result pages).
This article will provide a checklist of steps and tips for ensuring that your new site has everything it needs in order to reach its maximum potential as far as SEO goes.
SEO checklist: How to improve your results
Feature relevant keywords in your page title and meta description
Ensure that images have alt text that describes their contents accurately, and use an image in the post with a relevant name.
Include long-form content
At least 300 words for each blog post you create (possibly more depending on the topic) but definitely over 100. Google prefers sites that offer rich, insightful content to those with short, diluted articles.
Use fresh and relevant media
Don’t just use old photos which have been around the internet for years or clipart you found on Google images – instead, upload your own original pictures using a program like Photoshop or Canva.
Create great titles
This is how search engines pick out which posts to show in results. Use descriptive titles that are related to your content, and try using the keyword you’re trying to rank for one or two times (not three or four).
Don’t spam keywords
Google doesn’t like it when websites use too many keywords without putting much thought into them. If all of your posts are littered with your target keyword or phrase, you’re not being helpful to the reader. Using keywords in a strategic manner will help Google understand what content is about without making it seem spammy.
Don’t use duplicate titles
If every single one of your posts has the exact same title, this makes you look lazy and unoriginal – two things that Google does not appreciate. Search engines can usually tell if titles are copied, and they’ll penalize you for it – so avoid this mistake as much as possible.
Make sure your site is mobile-friendly
Now that more people search from their smartphones than ever before, having a responsive website has become extremely important to SEO success. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, this can cause your rankings to drop significantly. You can hire a professional SEO agency to guide you on how to make your site mobile friendly.
Create a site map
This will help Google crawl your entire website and understand exactly what it contains. In addition, sitemaps are an easy way to show search engines which pages they should be focusing on the most when indexing your site – so make sure you have one!
Avoid using too many ads
Google doesn’t like to see websites that use excessive amounts of ad space, and they can penalize you if it seems as though the purpose is only for advertising. If you want to make money from your site, then go ahead – but limit yourself, so readers still have a pleasant experience!
Include natural links
You don’t want to just pepper your site with links that point back at yourself. Google wants to see a variety of incoming and outgoing links – so link out often!