In case you have not heard about it, search engine optimization (SEO) is not dead. In fact, SEO is an absolute must for effective content marketing, but the time is past when the first two words dictated the way you run the third.
Since Google made its update Penguin and Panda, the user experience has become the main goal of all good SEO. Today’s SEO is about finding the perfect balance between user-centric content and compelling content for search engine robots.
I agree that everything I have just said is not really new. However, achieving that perfect balance may be something that is bothering you today. It is in this sense that I come to help you.
Here are some of the best practices and tips for optimizing your content for users and search engines. You can learn SEO easily by joining SEO classes Singapore.
1 – Put yourself in the mind of the user
Identifying and understanding the needs and intentions of your audience will help guide your keyword strategy and content creation. You will then be able to provide the best information for your potential customers and search engines.
If you were looking for your product or services, what information would you need? What would your search engine queries contain? What are your problem points? How can your product or service help solve your problems?
2 – Forget the stuffing of keywords
While keyword stuffing could be a common and acceptable practice, this is no longer the case today. The accumulation of keywords adds nothing to the user experience. In addition, search engine robots are becoming smarter and the risk of being penalized for this practice is growing more and more.
3 – Know the basics of SEO
All the elements below are essential elements on an optimized page. The content of each page must be unique and incorporate the keywords appropriately.
- SEO Title: Your page title must not exceed 70 characters and your target keyword must be placed at the beginning.
- Meta Description: The meta descriptions should not exceed 160 characters and should contain your main keyword. The text must inform users and encourage them to click on the page. (Tip: Start with an action verb like “learn” or “read”)
- H1: The H1 tag tells search engines the most important title on the page and is also a visual cue for readers. Only one H1 must be used per page.
- Image alt: describing the image is extremely important. Search engines cannot see the image as users. It is best to include your keyword here.
- URL: it’s best to have the shortest URL possible while making sure to include your main keyword. URLs are visible in search results and can have an impact if users click on them.
- Text: Include the main keyword at the top of the page and at least two or three times in the rest of the text with also variations of the keyword.
4 – Be honest and accurate
If you lead users to your content with a promise and it does not appear when they reach the content, you create a very bad experience for the user. Any text in the title, meta description, H1, alt image tag, or URL must accurately describe what the user will find when he lands on your page.
5 – Make links
Linking your content to other pages on your site is an absolute must. Not only does this add relevance to the pages, it also keeps users’ attention moving through your website. They can then create traffic to your priority pages. (Tip: Make sure your link strategy favors your sales cycle, so you can move users throughout the sales funnel.)
6 – Make the content easy to read and scan
We cannot deny that we are in the age of information overload. To combat user fatigue, it is essential to give them content that is easy to digest. Here are some tips for creating easy-to-read content:
- Avoid large blocks of content
- Use bullets and numbering for lists
- Use the H2 or H3 tags as subtitles to aerate the layout
- Put words or phrases in bold or italic to highlight key points
Let the content flow naturally
If you stick to all the guidelines presented above, this should not be a problem. Keywords and keyword variants will naturally appear throughout the body of the text, the content will be visually appealing and easy to read, links will help guide users to other areas of your site and search robots will be able to easily explore the page. You can learn seo by joining digital marketing classes Singapore.
