Top 5 SEO Practices

Top 5 SEO Practices

If you are looking for the best advice on using search engine optimization (SEO) to improve your website, there is a lot of information to be found on the topic. However, many sites contain outdated or unproven information.  While there are many seo blog resources you can check out to learn more, here are five top practices that are universally accepted by experts concerning the best SEO practices for your website.

1. Always Use an SSL Certificate

An SSL certificate encrypts the information sent between a site visitor and the site itself, securing the site. Most web hosting companies have incorporated SSL certificates in their plans.

When using an SSL certificate, the URL starts with “https” instead of “http,” and a small padlock icon will appear before it. This indicates that the site is secure. Some browsers may block sites that do not have an SSL certificate.

Other third-party options are Let’sEncrypt, which offers them free, and Cloudflare offers free SSL certificates through their CDN.

2. Make Sure Your Site Loads Quickly

Your page speed is affected by bad coding, images, and the location of the server. Users will leave a site if it doesn’t load quickly, so you must correct any problems to improve SEO.  Learn more about page speed by jumping over here.

Google PageSpeed Insights is the best tool to use. You can enter your URL, and it will report any potential problems, detailing the steps to take to remedy them.

Here are 4 general tips to improve page load:

  • Make use of a CDN – a content distribution network (CDN) will store images and other items that affect page speed throughout different server locations, eliminating the need for everything to be on one server.
  • Make sure images are compressed – image files can take up lots of space. Compressing your images will save server space and help them load faster on your website.
  • Lazy-load resources – Lazy-loading means that all of the resources available on the website aren’t displayed until a visitor needs them. This eliminates everything loading at once.
  • Use themes or templates wisely – make sure any theme or template you use for your website is optimized for faster page loading.

Most CDNs have options that improve page speed settings. Use them to your advantage.

3. Use Target Keywords Wisely

The target keywords should be used in 3 strategic areas of your website. These areas are:

  • Page Title
  • Header Tags
  • URL

It is also recommended that you use your targeted keywords at least 3 times within individual pages.

4. Display More Complete, Relevant Content

Your website should contain relevant information surrounding the topic. Being “complete” does not mean longer, but it does mean using different long-tail keywords that are sub-topics of your main topic. This will help when people are searching for things related to your primary topic.

5. Image Optimization

Keeping your images compressed isn’t the only way for you to optimize pictures. There are other aspects of images that help your SEO rankings.

Using keyword-based filenames for your photos is ideal, as that will establish relevancy to your website. If your keyword is “best websites in USA,” don’t use a filename like “picture1.png” Rename it to “best-websites-in-USA.png” for better SEO results.

Also, the ALT text tag is very important. In the event a picture does not fully load on a website, it is replaced with the ALT text of what the image was supposed to show. It is best to use spaces and not hyphens (like with filenames) for ALT tags.

Implementing these 5 practices immediately will help you enjoy better SEO rankings in the long term. Now that you know them, keeping up with them and making sure everything is up-to-date will keep your website in front of more people for a long time to come.