Even if you aren’t an expert marketer, it’s unlikely that you’ve gone a day without hearing the term “SEO” and how important it is. It’s not just a buzzword; and the people you’ve heard using the word “SEO” are right – it is important for your overall marketing strategy and brand exposure.

So, what is SEO? It stands for “search engine optimization,” which is a fancy way of saying that a brand’s content attracts a solid amount of website traffic through organic, or unpaid, search results. Essentially, the key to boosting your online presence is knowing what your target audience likes and choosing the right keywords to draw them to your website.

No one is a mind reader, but ideally, your business is generating content that appeals to prospective customers or clients. Social Spice Media shares the following ways in which you can dominate SEO:

1. Leverage Data from Google

Did you know that three of every four internet searches are conducted on Google? And it probably comes as no surprise that the businesses, brands, and websites listed on the first page of those Google results enjoy the most user activity. This is why SEO is so crucial for getting your brand on that coveted first page.

Fortunately, you don’t need to be a Google Analytics pro to know how you can use its data to your advantage. Here are a few simple ways you can use Google Analytics to improve your SEO strategy:

• Searches – You can see what percentages of your web traffic came from organic or direct searches, referrals, paid searches, and email or social media links. From here, you can identify where most of your audience is finding you, and how you can be more accessible to them.
• Top Page and Keywords – You can also determine which pages of your website saw the most activity and what keywords are resonating most with users. For example, if you operate a law firm in Los Angeles, words like “legal defense,” “LA attorney,” “lawyers in Los Angeles,” or “LA divorce attorney” might be garnering you the most web traffic.
• Periodic Reports – You can see how well your current marketing and SEO strategies have worked for you over a month-to-month or year-to-year period. You can see how many conversions (i.e. sales or subscriptions) you’ve made during these time frames and identify when and why your counts might’ve increased or declined.
• Page Load Times – Often overlooked, the amount of time it takes for your web page to load will affect if and for how long users decide to browse your site. A 2018 report by Google revealed that just over 50% of people using mobile websites will abandon a site if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds. With Google Analytics, you can compare a website’s loading speed with its conversion rate and see how many people decided to bounce away before giving you a real chance.

2. Optimize Content with Title and Meta Tags

Are you familiar with the term “dwell time”? In short, this measures how long users are spending on your site. If you have great content that people can truly get on board with, you’re more likely to have higher dwell time.

That’s why it’s important to ensure that the content you are producing provides value to your audience. Besides including keywords in the body of your content, you should also keep in mind the importance of optimizing your content with title and meta tags too.

What are title and meta tags? Basically, they’re part of a special HTML code that Google uses when determining what web pages will be at the top of its search engine results page. Your title tags will appear on social media pages that link back to the web page and Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). The title of your content and its corresponding meta tag can be the same, but they don’t have to be. Ideally, you should keep your title tag between 50 and 70 characters so that it shows up in Google searches without any words disappearing.

A meta tag or meta description, on the other hand, can be up to 150 characters. This will show up underneath the title tag on a search results page as well as with a social media post sharing your content. Optimize your meta tags by providing detailed descriptions of what you’re promoting.

When coming up with your title tags and meta tags, think about what’ll be most engaging to your site’s visitors – what will make them click to read more?

3. Add Multimedia

Keyword-rich content is a great start but adding pictures, videos, audio elements, and interactive media will make your site more attractive to visitors and help boost your SEO. In fact, Facebook reports that people are five times more likely to watch a video online rather than look at static content.

People will not only be impressed by the aesthetics of your website; they’ll be more likely to stick around to see what else you have to offer.

4. Use Outbound Links (and Fix Broken Ones)

If some of the data or information your content references is something you found from an outside source, link to it! Not only is this basic research 101, but it will also help Google validate your site as more trustworthy thanks to the related site links.

But don’t forget about your own brand’s links. Few things are more annoying than trying to click on a link, only to be led to a 404 “Page Not Found” message. Other than being a nuisance, users that come across an error page on your website may be led to believe that your site is old and outdated or worse, irrelevant. Do an audit to see how many broken links your site has and work to fix them.

5. Improve Website Usability

Google rewards websites that are optimized for mobile use. With more people than ever using smartphones and portable technology, making your website mobile-friendly isn’t just good for SEO purposes; it makes you look better as a brand and enhances the overall user experience for your site’s visitors.

SEO doesn’t have to be complicated. If you need help boosting your SEO, get in touch with one of our team members at Social Spice Media. We stay up-to-date on web and digital marketing trends because we want your business to thrive as much as you do.

Get in touch with Social Spice Media to learn more about creating a marketing plan for your business and how you can effectively spend your marketing dollars. Our team pays attention to your goals and creates a custom strategy that delivers results. Do you know someone who could benefit from our services? Refer them to us today! Our team is eager to connect with businesses in any industry! We serve the local needs of Ventura County and Santa Barbara as well as anywhere in the United States.