Search engine optimization is a vital part of any digital marketing plan and requires constant attention to get it right. There are dozens of factors that determine the ranking of a website page, and those factors change frequently. Auditing your website and SEO periodically is essential. Here we look at ten areas to include in your audit.
Make Sure Your Are Publishing Enough Content
Quality content is the most important aspect of your website. This can come in the form of blog articles, product descriptions, and premium content offers such as eBooks, whitepapers, and case studies. These are the tactics that will draw in visitors, establish you as a thought leader in your industry, and convert website visitors into leads.
Provide Contact Information
Contact information should be prevalently displayed on your homepage. If a visitor is interested in reaching out to you, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to do so. Depending on how your business operates, including a directions widget to help prospects find your business can also be extremely helpful.
Add a Call To Action On Each Page
Every page on your site should have a call to action. This could be as simple as a button or link that drives them to provide their information for a value offer. Your website can contain great information and content, but there is no way to convert that visitor into a lead without a call to action.
Make Your Site Easy To Navigate
Your website menu should be concise. Keeping your menu placement standard and using links versus dropdowns not only allows simplicity for your visitors but also enhances search engine tracking. The easier it is for your visitors to find information, the more likely they will convert into leads.
Ensure Your About Us Page Humanizes Your Brand
A well-put-together About Us page provides a visitor with valuable insights into your company's history and experience. This helps build credibility for your company and gives confidence to a prospect considering your products or services.
Include Plenty Of Visual Content
When including images on your website, you must use relevant, professionally designed pieces of work. Images catch the eye of your visitors, and having poor pictures can negatively impact your company. Video has become a powerful marketing tool and can be used for company overviews, product descriptions, demos, and blogs.
Optimize For Mobile
With more than 50% of people using mobile devices as their primary browsing tool, it is now essential that your website is optimized for these devices. A site that is not optimized can be challenging to navigate on mobile devices, causing errors that can close your web pages and cause you to lose visitors due to a poor user experience.
Include Social Media Links
Social media has become an essential part of marketing and branding. Your website pages should include social following and sharing icons. It makes it easier for visitors to follow you on each social channel and share your content on their page with a button click.
Centralize Your Premium Content
Having a resources page where visitors can easily access white papers, eBooks, and links to industry-relevant resources can turn your website into a hub for your prospects. The more frequently people use your website for information, the higher your search engine rankings will increase potential customers' chance of finding you when searching for a solution.
Website Page Load Speed
Anything over 2 seconds is far too long for a website page to load. Not only does this hurt SEO, but it will also discourage people from visiting your site frequently and increase your bounce rates. If your page load speed is too slow, people may close your page before they even get a chance to view your content.