Search Engine Optimization or SEO can be tricky for those who have never heard of it before. While things are constantly changing with SEO, there are many other principles that have remained the same. With so many techniques involved, you want to make sure you are following the ones that will help your website the most. Rather than trying to sift through all the options on your own, follow these tips:

Outbound Links

You may think that linking to other sites is not beneficial because it leads users to a website other than yours, but it actually adds value to the user’s experience because it leads them to yet another credible source. You would be pleased to see another website linking your site as a source of information, so why not do the same for others? Always make sure that your source is truly credible before linking; you don’t want to give out false information from an untrustworthy site.

Increase Page Speed

The days of waiting minutes for a website to load are long gone. If users have to wait more than just a few seconds for your website to load, you might lose them. It may also lead them to believe that your site isn’t reliable. Page speed is important to both search engines and users, so it is a good idea to get rid of anything that may be slowing down your website. This could mean decluttering your sidebar or deactivating plugins that you no longer need. Just a half of a second can cause users to leave your site, and no one wants that to happen.

Meaningful URLs

If your URL isn’t easily understandable for people, it won’t be understandable for search engines either. For example, if your URL ends in …../blog/23982934, it may confuse search engines. A URL such as /blog/how-to-braid is much easier to understand. Try to keep your URL down to about 2-4 words to keep it nice and simple. Don’t use capital letters and always use hyphens, as Google does not read underscores.

People First

Rather than creating content solely to please search engines, focus first on pleasing your audience. People are likely on your site either because they are returning customers or they are interested in what you have to offer. Write your content for those people; they are the ones reading it and taking it into consideration when purchasing from you, not the search crawlers. Consider integrating long-tail keywords, like “social media marketing techniques,” rather than just “social media.”If you need assistance with SEO in New Bern, don’t hesitate to contact Viamark. We are here to help! We would be happy to perform a free website analysis.