Search engine optimization (SEO) can be tricky to master. Luckily Kendra Lee, president of KLA Group, shared some helpful tips during her recent webinar on what to do when SEO is not meeting expectations. Kendra sheds light on the following questions to help you overcome common SEO challenges.
Q: What elements can help drive more SEO traffic?
There are four key elements that can drive more SEO traffic. There’s no particular order to the importance of these four elements, but there are key areas to look for in each.
On-page optimization:
- Keywords: It’s important to define the keywords you want your site to be associated with. They are the foundation for on-page optimization.
- Content: Create content that addresses the needs and interests of your audience while incorporating targeted keywords naturally.
- Page structure: A well-organized page structure enhances your visitor’s user experience and facilitates search engine crawling and indexing.
- Linking: Search traffic is influenced by the quality and quantity of links on a website. It impacts how much search traffic your website receives. This includes internal and external links and backlinking from authoritative and relevant sources.
Technical:
- Speed: Website speed refers to how quickly your web pages load for users. In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, speed is a critical factor that directly impacts user experience and search engine rankings. Slow-loading websites frustrate users and increase bounce rates, signaling to search engines that your site may not provide a satisfactory experience.
- Performance: This includes factors like page load time, time to first byte (TTFB), and overall site responsiveness.
- Crawlability: This refers to a search engine’s ability to discover and index your website’s content. A crawlable website ensures that search engine bots can efficiently navigate through your site’s pages and understand its structure and content.
- Optimization: With the increasing prevalence of mobile devices, mobile friendliness has become a critical ranking factor for SEO. A mobile-friendly website is optimized to provide a seamless and engaging experience across various devices and screen sizes.
- URL structure: A well-structured URL communicates the content and hierarchy of a page, making it easier for users to understand and navigate.
Off-page influencers:
- Social channels: Social media platforms have become integral to SEO strategies, as they provide opportunities to amplify content reach, engage with audiences, and build brand authority.
- Google My Business (GMB): This is a powerful tool for local SEO. Especially so for businesses with physical locations or serving specific geographic areas.
- Yelp: Having a presence on Yelp allows businesses to showcase their products or services, gather customer feedback, and influence purchase decisions.
- Backlinks: These are links from external websites pointing to your site. Backlinks are a crucial ranking factor in SEO. They signal to search engines the authority, relevance, and popularity of your website.
Local SEO:
- Local content: Local content refers to the creation of website content that is tailored to a specific geographic location or target audience. By doing this, businesses can improve their visibility in local search results and attract nearby customers.
- Keywords: These play a crucial role in local SEO by helping search engines understand the relevance of your website to specific geographic locations. To make the most of it, conduct keyword research to identify terms and phrases that local users are likely to use when searching for products or services in your area.
- Directories: Online directories, also known as citation sources, are websites that list business information such as name, address, phone number (NAP), and website URL. These directories play a significant role in local SEO. They serve as authoritative sources of business information and contribute to local search rankings.
Q: How do you know which keywords to focus on?
Review your metrics to see how your keywords are performing. Find answers to the following questions:
- What are your highest-ranking pages?
- What are the top keywords used on those pages?
- How are those keywords ranked?
Once you have answered these, it will guide you to whether you should be rethinking your keywords and making some changes. Also, if your keyword is too broad, it can be problematic. For instance, keywords such as “managed IT services” is a very broad term, and therefore lots of people are using it. That means there is a lot of competition for it. While that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the keyword, it does mean it should not be the primary keyword that you’re trying to rank for.
Ready to up your SEO game?
If you want to ensure you’re following best practices regarding your SEO, watch the webinar replay, What to Do When SEO Doesn’t Produce Leads or Traffic, to learn more.
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