So, you have a website but when you search for it on Google, it’s way down the bottom of the list and you have to really scroll to find it. How do you make sure that your website is in the first few that appear on the list? Introducing… SEO.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, it is the process of optimizing a website to improve its ranking in search engine results and increase visibility to your target audience.
Okay, but what does that actually look like? And, how do you make sure you are doing everything you need to in order to have great SEO?
In reality this can be very complicated, but to make things simple, there are a bunch of ways you can make your website better and in doing so you convince Google that your site should be at the front of the line.
To have great SEO, here are some best practices:
- Keyword research and optimization
- On-page optimization
- Quality content creation
- Link building
- Mobile-friendliness and speed
Keyword research and website optimization
Keyword research and optimization is an important part of SEO that involves discovering and using relevant keywords in a website’s content and meta-data to improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results. It involves analyzing and selecting keywords that are frequently searched by your target audience and incorporating them in the website’s content, meta-titles, descriptions and other relevant areas in a natural and strategic manner. If it isn’t natural, this doesn’t work, but rather just ruins the flow of copy on your website.
When you include keywords in your site content, it helps search engines understand what the website is about and match it to relevant searches, leading to increased traffic and a better ranking.
On-page website optimization
On-page optimization is the process of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. It involves optimizing various elements on a page, such as your page’s content, HTML code, images, and URLs, to ensure that they are search engine friendly and relevant to the target audience.
This includes tasks such as optimizing page titles and meta descriptions, using header tags, internal linking, and making sure the website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly. Effective on-page optimization helps search engines understand what a web page is about, and it can improve the relevance and visibility of a website in search results.
Quality content creation
This is exactly what it sounds like. Quality content creation refers to the production of high-value, informative and engaging content that is relevant to the target audience and provides a positive user experience. The main goal of quality content creation is to attract and retain visitors, establish the website as an authority in its niche, and improve its ranking in search engines.
Quality content can take many forms, including blog posts (like this one!), articles, videos, images, and infographics, and it should be well-researched, well-written, and optimized for search engines with particular keywords and copy. Effective quality content creation helps build trust and credibility with the target audience, increases engagement and shares, and can lead to better rankings and more organic traffic.
Link Building
Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks to a website from other relevant and trustworthy websites. Backlinks, also known as inbound links or incoming links, are links from other websites that point to a specific page on your website. Backlinks are considered a key factor in search engine optimization (SEO) because they indicate the credibility and authority of a website. The more high-quality backlinks a website has, the more likely it is to rank higher in search engine results and receive more organic traffic. You can check authority of a website by using programs like ahrefs authority checker. The quality and relevance of backlinks also matter, as search engines penalize websites for low-quality or spammy backlinks. The trick is to never link to a website that has lower authority than your site.
Link building can be achieved through various tactics, including creating valuable and shareable content, reaching out to other websites for guest posting opportunities, participating in relevant online communities and forums, and leveraging social media. The goal of link building is to increase the number of high-quality backlinks, improve the website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results, and drive more targeted and organic traffic to the website.
Mobile-friendliness and website speed
Mobile-friendliness and site speed are important factors for SEO as they impact the user experience and can affect a website’s ranking in search engine results. You don’t want someone opening your page on their phone and giving up because it is slow to load and isn’t the right formatting for mobile.
- Mobile-friendliness refers to the design and accessibility of a website on mobile devices. A mobile-friendly website should have a responsive design that adjusts to the screen size of the device being used and provides an optimal user experience.
- Website speed refers to how quickly a website loads and responds to user actions. A fast-loading website provides a positive user experience and can improve engagement, reduce bounce rates, and increase conversions.
Search engines prioritize websites that provide a positive user experience and penalize those that are slow to load or not mobile-friendly. Ensuring that a website is mobile-friendly and has a fast load time can improve its ranking in search results, increase its visibility, and drive more organic traffic to the website.
We know this can all seem like an information overload, but every little bit that you do helps to drive your website to the top of the queue. Ultimately, you are trying to convince Google that your website has authority, offers quality and valuable content and should therefore be first in line when people search for artists like you or for similar keywords.