With the current pandemic, businesses have found it necessary to rethink their strategies. As so much of commerce has shifted toward online formats in the last year, digital marketing strategies are of increasing importance.
Businesses would be well advised to prioritize SEO (Search Engine Optimization). With proper SEO, businesses will find their Websites ranking higher on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This was further supported by the Core Update rolled out by Google last May. A Core Update targets the search algorithm Google uses to rank the sites it crawls. With this update, Google hopes to apply its improved understanding of the searchers’ intentions. This has resulted in a dramatic change in rank for many sites.
Here are a few lessons we’ve learned from last year’s events that can help you get started on your SEO journey.
3 SEO Lessons from the Pandemic
Lesson 1: The importance of auditing your site
This lesson applies to both new and established Websites. The thing with owning and managing a Website is that you tend to have a lot to think about. The main thing people forget with site management is to audit their site. This simply means going back through the site’s files and making sure everything is in order. Redundant files and files too big to make sense all have to go.
Here are three places to focus your site audit:
- Site content
Double-check all your pages. Some things to watch out for are thin pages. These are pages whose contents are lackluster and don’t necessitate the use of a whole page.
Another thing to check during this time is your content’s quality and consistency. The best kind of content educates and provides actual substance. You’ll want to steer away from promotional content.
You also have to ensure you are capable of releasing quality content consistently. What works best is maintaining a healthy number, such as three to five posts in a week.
- Site performance
Site performance pertains to your site’s ability to load things efficiently. This means that when a user clicks a link for an external gallery, they won’t have to wait five seconds for it to load.
You’ll need to go through each of your pages, but it will be worth it. Double-check everything, from forms to hyperlinks. Look for links that make you wait for three seconds or functions facing consistent errors. These will be your primary target.
- Site loading speed
This gets tricky when you have many things happening on your site. It’s best to keep things simple on your Web page.
A site’s loading speed is one of the biggest factors when it comes to ranking. That’s because it impacts the users’ experience. Google prioritizes its users and will offer them sites that will be convenient for them. Aim to be one of those convenient sites. There are a couple of tools to help you figure out your site’s loading time:
These are just some examples of Websites that offer this service. Any of them should help you determine how well your site loads.
Lesson 2: Link building plays a big role in SEO
Simply put, link building is the process of creating links and backlinks between sites. These backlinks act as “referrals.” These tell Google your site often is cited as a source of information.
Modern link building focuses on the creation of quality educational content, among other things. With this kind of content, your site has something to offer others. Understandably, the benefits won’t be felt immediately, but it’s a method that remains a popular SEO practice for businesses.
Link building has had an interesting impact. In a 2020 link building survey, 79.05 percent of respondents found link building to be effective when used in conjunction with other SEO practices.
It’s a lengthy process but worth the effort. Because of certain constraints, some businesses opt to outsource their link building. Fortunately for smaller businesses, some professional link building firms offer affordable options.
Lesson 3: The users’ experience is the priority
Your Website is like a physical store. In that sense, your priority should be the comfort and convenience of your customers. This is why user experience is important. These are your potential clients or customers. Your site’s design and development should cater to their needs.
To help you with your site development strategy, It’s important that you gather information and insights into the preferences of your target audience.
As mentioned above, site loading speed is one aspect that contributes to users’ experience of your site. Other aspects of site performance to watch for:
- Ease of site navigation
- Visual layout of content
- Accessibility options
- Architecture of information
These should help you figure out where you may be lacking. One more reason to keep this in mind is Google’s Core Algorithm. If Google notices site visitors immediately leave your site, they’ll know your site is not up to standards.
Keep the Audience in Mind
Ultimately, much of successful site development hinges on your attention to detail. It doesn’t have to be as complicated as it sounds. The key is keeping your target audience in mind.
Impressing and attracting that audience should be your goal. That means maintaining a standard for your site. Avoid spam content as much as possible and keep promotional stuff to a minimum. Offer your audience useful information. Things should work out fine from there.
Dan Martin has hands-on experience in digital marketing since 2007. He has been building teams and coaching others to foster innovation and solve real-time problems. Martin also enjoys photography and traveling.
Photo credit: Stock photo from Pexels.com
