Digital Commerce Blog - Blackbit

Search engine optimized websites: These six beginner tips help

Written by | Jan 25, 2016 10:53:00 AM

Want to appear high up on Google's hit list? It's easier and cheaper than you think: there are a few tricks that you can use to make your website search engine friendly for free and without much effort. We'll tell you how to do this here!

1) LINK TO YOUR SITE!

Make sure that your website is indexed by the major search engines. If you don't want to wait for Google to randomly scan new web content, you can submit your online presence yourself. A well-structured sitemap that lists, organises and links all the pages of your website is important for search engines. But you can also attract the attention of search engines with external links that lead to your website. Use specialised forums and social networks to link to your pages in meaningful posts.

2) USE KEYWORDS!

Keywords are the word combinations entered by users in search queries in a search engine, which are used to filter the results. So if you integrate keywords into your website texts, you will guide searchers to your pages.

For efficient keyword management, you should research frequently used phrases and terms for your product or service and then systematically integrate them into your content. The following aspects are important for the collection of keywords:

  • Do not use internal or uncommon technical terms.
  • Analyse (e.g. with the help of Google Analytics) which search queries lead interested parties to your website.
  • Search for synonyms and words from the same subject area, e.g. with the MetaGer Web Associator or the Google AdWords Planner.
  • Use the sitemap to determine a primary keyword and two secondary keywords for each page.

3) CHECK YOUR METADATA!

Search engines read the metadata of your website first and use it - especially the title and description - for the display in the hit list. So make sure you take the opportunity to integrate meaningful information and your keywords here.

4) KEYWORDS IN THE TITLE AND SUBTITLE!

Use keywords specifically in your product descriptions and other information texts! The following applies: No irony or flowery formulations in headings - you will make yourself untraceable for search engines. You should include important keywords in every title and subtitle. In addition, the first sentence of the body text should contain keywords and, if possible, the text that follows. But do this in a sensible way: A natural, factually logical writing style is rated better by search engines than an excessive, pointless arrangement of keywords.

5) STRUCTURE YOUR CONTENT!

Organise your website content coherently and clearly. Readers often only skim the pages and read the headline and/or the beginning of the first sentence first. The most important information should therefore be placed right at the beginning of the text and provide an overview of the content of your page. Don't forget the keywords here either!

Google categorises texts of 300 words or more as relevant. However, do not inflate a topic unnecessarily and do not mention too many aspects on one page: it is better to create a new subpage and/or organise the content into several meaningful sections with subheadings. Provide more variety by using info boxes, bold type, lists and enumerations.

The following applies to the text content: Develop empathy for the user, their questions and needs. Create unique and original content that makes your product or service stand out from the crowd. Search engines register good content and rate it positively, as the cancellation of a search is associated with the successful finding of content and a satisfied user.

6) KEEP AN EYE ON EVERYTHING!

Trust is good, monitoring is better! Once you have made the above adjustments, you should also keep an eye on your website in the long term: Check search engine rankings, page views & co. regularly to ensure that they remain findable! Carry out continuous on-page and off-page optimisation, because not only the quality criteria of search engines can change, but also the needs and search queries of your users!