Simple Strategies to Strengthen SEO

Search. Engine. Optimization. Few phrases are capable of stirring the senses in quite the way that “SEO” is. Alright, so it’s not the sexiest thing on the planet to talk about. But do you know what? It’s important. It’s kind of like your refrigerator – sure is nice when it works, and oh good lord does it stink when it doesn’t. With that in mind, let’s explore some simple strategies to strengthen your SEO.

The Four Pillars

Let’s start with the four pillars of SEO: technical SEO, content, on-site SEO, and off-site SEO.

Technical SEO describes things like your site speed, mobile adaptability, and content hierarchy. It’s kind of like the condenser coil on your refrigerator – out of sight, out of mind, and it with just a bit of maintenance, it hums along without any issues.

Content is what you fill your site with – services, who you are, blogs, and what kinds of clients you serve. It’s just like – you guessed it – what you put inside your refrigerator.

On-site SEO? These are the technical pieces that work together with your content to boost your site’s ranking. Things like UX, CTAs, and meta descriptions all go in this bucket. Think of them as if they’re containers for your food – sure, you could leave that chunk of parm sitting on the refrigerator shelf for your roommate to admire, but unless you wrap it up in the right package, it’ll go bad QUICK.

Finally, we have off-site SEO. This is mostly focused on building authority for your site’s content – by linking out to other sites and having your site linked to from outside sources in return, Google will look at your site as being an authority on the subject. We’re going out of the refrigerator for this one: off-site SEO is like being invited to a dinner party and bringing the ribs that won you an award at the last alumni cookout. Yes, they’re delicious – but they also make you look like the king of the kitchen.

SEO on the Fritz? Take a Look at the Nuts and Bolts

Depending on the size of your website and/or business, your technical SEO is likely handled on the back end of your WordPress or Squarespace site with little direct maintenance required by you. Still, it’s important to diagnose and remedy common issues like slow load speed or mobile-friendliness. Use this awesome Hubspot tool as a jumping-off point. It’ll tell you in clear language any issues lurking in the back end of your site that might be affecting performance, and it’ll provide you with direction on fixing those issues.

Yep, It Matters What You Put on Your Site

If you’re a vegetarian, you probably won’t be stuffing your fridge with turkey legs and sirloin. Right? The message here is to make sure what you’re putting on your site clearly tells users who you are, who you serve, and what you do. Let your personality shine! If you’re not making blogging a regular practice, you can seriously strengthen your SEO by implementing a blog strategy. Search engines (let’s be real – we mean Google) more regularly index and boost rankings for sites with fresh, relevant, authoritative content, so this is a simple way to boost your digital presence and SEO.

Make Sure Your On-Site SEO is Wrapped Up Nicely

Sure, you might have great content – but if you don’t package it properly, the impact will be lost. The user experience, or UX, is where it’s at here. Can site visitors get where they need to go in three clicks or fewer, or is there a bunch of junk (redirects, pop-ups, broken links) in the way? If you’re trying to convert visitors to leads, are there strategically placed CTAs that offer ways to get in touch, download a relevant piece of material, or learn more about a specific offering? Audit your site objectively, and see what the results are.

For a quick SEO boost, check out some tips on writing effective meta descriptions. These show up in search results and help describe what the site contains or what that search result is all about. If you can capture clicks from users, Google will look upon you favorably – it’ll appear as if you’re properly answering search queries, and it’ll boost your authority in Google’s eyes.

Off-Site SEO, or Showing Off at the Dinner Party

Off-site SEO helps your site build authority. The more often your site’s material appears on outside websites, the more often Google will index and rank you. In Google’s mind, if your site’s content is informative and “good” enough to appear in other places, then it’s probably relevant, useful information.

So, for a quick SEO boost, consider reaching out to partner companies for guest blog posts. Strategically share your site’s content to relevant potential partners and industry thought leaders. And, above all, make sure the content you’re sharing is authoritative, relevant, well-designed, and thoughtful.

Is your refrigerator running? (Sorry, we couldn’t resist.) We hope this article has been helpful and informative. With just a few tweaks, you’ll be on your way to great SEO and, as a result, more leads and site visitors. As always, if you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out.