When we sit down to plan a new website, we consider what domain we want, the design of the website, what video and imagery we need, how best to communicate our products or services and how to ensure the website is optimised for search engines.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is defined by SEM Rush as a set of processes aimed at improving your website’s visibility in search engines, (such as Google), all with the goal of getting more organic traffic.
Essentially, by following SEO’s rules and best practices, the content on our website can be prioritised by Google and other search engines when potential audiences are searching for relevant questions.
For example:
My business sells thick, padded socks manufactured specifically for marathon runners. If my website follows SEO’s checklist, then content from my website will appear in people’s search results when they are Googling searches like ‘best socks for marathon runners’. If my website isn’t optimised, then it is likely that my competitors, both direct and indirect, will capitalise on the opportunity to rank in my place, and I will miss out on organic traffic I could have otherwise attracted.
Thankfully, Google has provided a detailed checklist guide to the factors that impact a website’s organic ranking. The only downside – the list features more than 200 factors – and while large companies will have the resources to ensure every feature listed is addressed and maintained, however, for many small to medium businesses this isn’t achievable.
So, what factors should you focus on as a priority when building a new website to give you the best chance at ranking organically?
User experience is everything. SEO is more than keywords and optimised content, it’s equally about the user experience, from page load times to mobile responsiveness and navigation. If your website is clunky and unpleasant to navigate or makes it hard to find the answers someone is looking for, you could be penalised by Google in its rankings.
Create content for the user – not for search engines. Websites with content that is written purely to please Google’s search algorithms often don’t make sense and sound like something Chat GPT would produce. It doesn’t need to be overworked – it should be simple, clear and straight to the point so that both people who have some knowledge about you and your products and those who are entering the market with absolutely no knowledge can understand you and find answers to their questions.
A navigation that makes sense. Perfecting your website’s navigation can be tricky – especially if you have a lot of content to house on your website. It’s worth having a friend who is removed from your business visit your website with the goal of finding a product or piece of information. Watch their natural path to look for that information, and remember, the more clicks it takes, the more likely people will leave your website before they have found what they are looking for!
Keywords still matter. Although there is more importance placed on user experience these days, keywords still matter. You should identify keywords – short and long tail – that you would like to rank for relevant to your business and create content around them. Don’t over-saturate your website with keywords, but it’s important that they are used in the headings, opening paragraphs, URLs, meta descriptions and image tags in a way that makes sense – not just for the sake of it.
The list of SEO factors that impact your websites ranking can seem never-ending, but by prioritising the above-mentioned four elements, you will be putting your best foot forward and creating a great foundation that will allow you or an SEO expert to continue to grow your SEO approach.
