Whether you’re new to building a website or your site just isn’t ranking on SERPs (search engine results page) like you’d hoped it would, there’s never been a better time to look at your SEO strategy. There are several aspects of your optimization that you can work on, from load times to content. We get it. It can seem like SEO practices are constantly changing — fast enough to make your head spin. As of 2021, 92% of internet searches come from Google. Not only that, 67% of buyers (B2B) begin the buying process with a broad web search.

Google analyzes two main factors:

• 
  Relevance between the query and the content
• A website’s authority and expertise

Think of the acronym EEAT: Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.

Why is good SEO important? You want to be found. This is not hide and seek. You want users to be able to find your website. Quickly and easily. Did you know that 63% of website traffic comes from organic searches? That means people are searching for something related to your site, not clicking on a paid ad or a link posted on social media. (Only 5% of traffic comes from organic social media.) You should also know that 22.6% of internet traffic comes from local search results, so good local SEO is essential. 

So, what best practices can you implement to improve your rankings?

Here are eleven SEO tactics you can work into your site today:

   1. Use primary keywords early.

When Google crawls a website, it sees keywords high up or earlier in the content as more important than keywords lower down. We suggest using a few main keywords to include in your content. Be sure not to fall victim to keyword stuffing, a practice that was obliterated by the 2011 Google Panda Update.

   2. Don’t rehash the same metadata.

Metadata can include your page titles, descriptions, and headers. Google wants to see unique metadata on a site, or it will view the pages as duplicates. Trust us — Google hates duplicate content.

   3. Implement a sitemap.

An XML sitemap is a blueprint of your website. It helps search engines find, crawl, and index all of your content and tell Google which pages are most important. You can also implement an HTML sitemap, which is visible to users. This can enhance the user experience by giving them an easy way to navigate your site.

   4. Use only one keyword per title tag.

This goes along with the previously mentioned “keyword stuffing.” It can happen in title tags as well. That’s why we recommend only using one main keyword in your titles.

    5. Check your load times.

Google is all about user experience, and this experience includes how long it takes for your site to load. What causes slow load times? Tons of images that aren’t compressed, heavy themes (such as on WordPress), and lots of content. To boost your load time, make sure to compress all image files, use a light theme if possible, or look into “lazy loading.” It’s sometimes called “on-demand loading” and is an optimization technique that loads only a fraction of the webpage at a time.

    6. Optimize images.

If you haven’t optimized your images, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. To optimize images, utilize alt tags. They are the text that pops up on an image when a cursor hovers over it, and they tell Google what the image is. You can also use descriptive file names with targeted keywords. With these two techniques combined, you have the power to optimize your images!

   7. Utilize internal linking.

Internal linking is easy to do and can help Google crawl your site. When you post content, you can briefly mention a related page that may be helpful to the user. Link a portion of that text to the corresponding page and even enhance it with alt tags.

   8. Build backlinks.

Okay, maybe this tip isn’t about implementing best SEO practices directly on your website. Backlinks (also called “inbound links”) require networking to get other sites to link to yours, but it will help you build credibility and authority in Google’s eyes.

   9. Post original content.

This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often web admins post duplicate content. Ensure all of your content is original and that you’re not rehashing the same stuff repeatedly. Your content should be helpful to users in some way, whether it teaches them something or tells them about a product you offer.

   10. Don’t forget to look at your bounce rate.

Some people tend to forget about bounce rates. What is it? It’s the frequency of how often people click on your site and immediately leave. If you have a high bounce rate, you may want to look at your site from a user’s perspective. Is it user-friendly? Is it appealing? Is it easy to read? Are there any dead links or redirects (such as 404 Errors)?

   11. Responsive sites are simply better.

This goes hand in hand with the above suggestion regarding the user experience. A responsive site adapts to the user’s chosen device, whether desktop, mobile, or tablet. Some phones and related tablets can shift content back and forth between devices, so having a responsive website is crucial for a good user experience.

If you’re still struggling to improve your rankings, give Ghost Brands a call! We are more than just your average marketing agency. From SEO content and website design to videography and branding, we can help you make your business flourish. Contact us today to find out exactly how we can help you!