So, you’ve paid a small fortune building your perfect website but you’re still not ranking well on Google. It’s so frustrating but there’s more to being found on Google’s search engine than having a pretty website. It’s all about content and SEO. What exactly is SEO? Well, let me give you some seo tips.
SEO is short for search engine optimisation. Basically, it’s using methods and strategies that will help drive organic traffic to your website. Now, organic is the word here! Because honestly, who has the money to fork out, week after week after week, to pay for traffic to your website? Especially when given the right tools and information, you can successfully drive traffic to your website for free!
So, sit down, grab a cuppa or wine (it’s 5 o’clock somewhere right?) and buckle-up because I’m about to share my top tips for boosting your website’s Google ranking.
1. Implement Google Analytics
Before you even start blogging, you need to install Google analytics on your website.
This way you can keep track of what’s working, who’s visiting and what isn’t working. After all, you’ll want to know if all your fantastic research and blogging is working…right?
2. Research Your SEO Keywords Before You Blog
You’ve got an amazing idea for a blog post. It’s informative, it’s funny, you’ve got the pretty images to go with it and you’re a pretty darn good writer. Your blog is bound to go viral, right? Wrong! Unless you’ve done your keyword research your fantastic blog is destined to wind-up at the bottom of the blog pile.
Keyword research is paramount! It’s like going to a library to find a good book; except you don’t know the title, the author or what the book is about. You need a keyword and you need to know that people are actually searching for that particular keyword.
For example, your blog might be about ‘bottled water’. However, a bit of keyword research shows that your little website has zero chance of ever ranking for such a popular keyword. But ‘apple flavour bottled water’ is easy to rank for and drives some impressive traffic. Now you have something you can blog about and can actually rank for on Google.
A bit of blogging homework saves you from sending out your fantastic blog article aimlessly into the interweb universe. Do your research!
3. Don’t Over-Do Your Keywords
You’ve done your research and discovered that awesome keyword that everyone is searching for. And you can rank for it! Don’t over-do it! There is a fine line between keyword optimisation and completely over-cooking your biscuit! Google doesn’t like blogs stuffed with keywords. Instead, you need to work your keywords into a blog, so they sound both natural, and somewhat repetitive. I know, it sounds contradictory, but there is a fine line between keyword stuffing and keyword optimisation.
4. SEO Tips – Google Loves Images Too
Don’t forget to optimise your images for SEO. And while Google loves images, it doesn’t mean you can use just any old image. Google is a clever beast and it knows if the images on your blog don’t match your keyword. So, make sure you use images that are relevant to your keyword.
Make sure the ALT text for your image matches the content of your blog. This will help the search crawlers, that only recognise words, find your images.
Adding ALT text to your images also helps readers who are visually impaired, identify your images.
Images not only help your SEO, but it makes your article more interesting and visually appealing.
5. Resize Your Images
While we all love beautiful, high-quality imagery, if your images are too big, they will slow your website down. Make sure your images are resized, compressed, and uploaded in the correct format for your website.
Because we all know what happens to slow websites. Absolutely nothing! And that’s bad.
6. Blog What Is Topical
Keep up with current trends. People are always searching for new and better ways to do things. So, for example, if the entire world is in lock down due to a pandemic and socialising is no longer allowed, you could write a blog on the platforms that help you socialise online.
There are no rules on what topic you can or should blog about. People are just searching for information so why not be the best and most entertaining source of information for them? And in the process, you’ll boost your Google ranking.
7. Important SEO Tips – No Duplicate Content
So, you’ve written a fantastic blog post. Do not fall into the trap of ‘copying and pasting’ into another blog post. Google does NOT like duplicate content! In fact, it hates it and will send you straight to the sin bin. Particularly if you’ve been naughty and copied and pasted from another website. While it’s true that a lot of information is simply recycled from one source to the next, you need to do the work and re-write the information you’ve sourced. Plagiarism is never cool, and Google will most definitely punish your website for it. And it will tank your SEO.
8. Don’t Be Verbose, Loquacious or Use Superfluous Words
The above heading alone is enough to send a reader to noddy-land! Your readers want to be spoken to like a regular person, not some academic writer studying for their Masters in Big Unnecessary Words. When you’re writing your SEO blog, think about your audience. You don’t need to impress them with ridiculously big words that most people have never heard of. You need your readers to stay on your website and read your blog. So, keep it simple and conversational!
9. Argh! Don’t Be A Snooze Fest
Whatever you do, do it well and be interesting. Your readers won’t get past the first paragraph if you sound like you’re reading the weather forecast. Make sure you entertain your readers! Remember, it’s your website so you have a bit of creative freedom when it comes to writing. And readers want to know who you are so don’t be afraid to let a little of your personality shine through.
10. Lose the Sales Pitch
Don’t be salesy. The last thing your readers want is the ‘hard sell’. And you don’t need to be salesy. The purpose of writing SEO blogs is to drive traffic to your website AND to become an authority in your chosen industry. Think about it. How many times have you bought from a business because they were super helpful? Informing, educating, and sharing your knowledge is all part of good old- fashioned customer service. And when people get great customer service, they turn into clients. Or at the very least, future clients.
11. Link Building – SEO Tips
What’s link building you ask? Link building is when a link to your website features on another website. This is called a backlink. A backlink is a link created when one website links to another which in theory, helps boost your SEO and Google ranking. While backlinks can be good for building your domain’s authority, there is also a catch. Do NOT fall into the trap of buying backlink packages from SEO experts. This is one of the most important SEO tips. Often your website’s backlink will end up on some foreign and questionable website that gives your business no credibility and will eventually damage your SEO and Google ranking.
It’s far better to concentrate on networking with likewise businesses and building reputable backlinks with legitimate websites.
12. Share The Love
While we’re talking about link building, why not share the love and support other businesses? A little bit of love, a ‘shout out’ via a link on your website or social media generates a lot of good faith. Many businesses have survived solely on good old-fashioned word-of-mouth for decades. It literally takes no effort to include a link to a similar business, yet it can generate goodwill, word of mouth and reciprocal backlinks. So, go forth and share the love!
13. Don’t Forget to Link Yourself
If your readers are enjoying your blog, there’s a good chance they’ll enjoy reading other blogs on related topics. The purpose of blogging is to keep your readers entertained and, on your website, as long as possible. So, don’t forget to link similar blogs to your current blog. Remember, readers like to be told where to find information.
14. Use CTA
Always use a ‘call to action’. Your readers can’t ask you a question or ask for directions, so tell them where to go.
‘Want to know more about Kylie? Learn more here’
People are impatient online and if it’s not right there in front of them, well, they’ll go looking elsewhere.
Or ask a question. For example, if you’ve written a blog about wine, ask you readers:
‘Wondering what cheese to serve with your red wine? Maybe you’ll enjoy this blog”.
Make sure you include internal links to keep your readers entertained and, on your website, longer.
15. Tidy Your Website
These days, people are time sensitive and if your website is slow and clunky, you’re losing potential clients. A slow website is the virtual ‘kiss of death’! So, do regular house cleaning on your website and remove non-essential plug-ins and elements from your website. And make sure you back-up your website regularly!
16. Perfect Your Content For SEO
Many people are great at business, yet not so great with words. So, it’s best to acknowledge your strengths and concede your weaknesses. Your website and all the content throughout your blogs, need to be consistent. There’s no point paying a professional copywriter to write you a few SEO blogs when the tone and language doesn’t match your business.
If you’re not a confident writer or great with words, it doesn’t mean your voice and tone shouldn’t come through in a blog or on your website. A professional copywriter will know how to write in your words and speak your own language. Otherwise, your readers, and potential clients, will question your authenticity and wonder who it is they’re ‘talking’ to.
17. Think of Random Topics To Blog About
This is the biggest trap most people fall into.
“I’ve run out of topics to blog about”.
This is so not true. Because the list is never-ending.
And remember, you don’t have to blog about what you do, you can blog about anything related to your field.
For example, a florist doesn’t need to blog just about flower arrangements. Their potential clients might be looking for flowers to send to a new mother. While looking on their website, they might stumble across a blog on “The Top 10 Gifts For A New Baby”.
Well that’s an interesting read, right?
A website that sells wine might give advice on how to design the best cheese platter.
Or a tree-lopping website might provide a useful blog on ‘How to Sharpen Your Chainsaw’.
The entire point of blogging is to drive traffic BUT you need to be useful, informative, and entertaining. It’s a fine blend…much like a cheese platter on a wine website.
18. Don’t Confuse Your Readers With Too Many Pages
There is such a thing as too much variety. While you want a good variety of options on your website, be careful not to overload it with too many pages. If your visitors have too many options, they’re bound to lose interest, get lost and hotfoot it off your website, and onto a cleaner and easier to navigate competitors’ website.
19. Be A Regular Blogger – SEO Tips
Don’t be a ‘one-blog-wonder’. Google loves consistency! So, if you’re going to blog, you need to blog regularly. Now, you don’t have to blog every day, or every week. But get into the habit of blogging at least once or twice a month. If you’re a happy blogger and can do more, go for it! But a stagnant website isn’t good for SEO and will only harm your Google ranking.
So, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my top SEO tips so now it’s time to have a crack and get blogging.
About Kylie
Kylie Garner is a journalist, photographer, blogger, social media and brand strategist. She’s dedicated to helping business owners ROCK their SEO, web, branding and social media.
And, Kylie is a bit of a brand fanatic who lives and breathes all things social media and online marketing.
Her goal is to inspire you to discover your passion, dream big and make it a reality by giving you the tools and strategies to transform your business.
Kylie believes dreams need to be bold; scary even!
Kylie is passionate about helping people who want to challenge the status quo.
Want to book a call and transform your business? Book a call here.
Need help with keywords and blog topics? Grab an SEO blueprint here.
