The rules for optimizing a website are continually changing. If you know the rules for today, it’s not rocket science. The challenge is that the rules that were in existence a few years ago – maybe when your website was first created and optimized – have changed. Dramatically.
The Rules of Successful Website Optimization
The rules of website optimization change all the time. Techniques that used to deliver excellent results a couple of years ago are now connected to SEO penalties. Doing efficient optimization in 2020 is all about following a couple of important rules.
Keywords are Still Important
Keywords have been forming the backbone of website optimization for a long time. Today, they are still important but the technique shouldn’t be abused.
Keywords should look and feel natural in the content. Variations are acceptable, especially after Google announced in 2014 that AdWords would no longer be relying on exact matches.
Thus, keywords can be used to give the content some “direction” but they don’t have to be exact. The illogical and unnatural inclusion of specific phrases in text is going to achieve the opposite effect of efficient optimization.
Mobile and Local
The mobile crowd is continues to grow, with searches being performed more frequently on mobile than desktop devices.
Optimization for devices like smartphones and tablets is quite different from what desktop users are looking for. The focus should fall on local keywords and responsive design that simplifies browsing on a small screen.
According to 2013 statistics, the mobile device internet usage penetration is over 70 percent. Predictions are that by 2017, nearly 90 percent of the mobile device owners will access internet through a tablet or a smartphone. These figures and predictions indicate just how important optimization for such devices is going to be.
Site Speed
Major search engines like Google are putting more and more emphasis on the audience’s experience. Good optimization has become heavily dependent on site speed.
Speed matters in search rankings because the audience of today doesn’t like to wait. Websites that are very slow have an excessively high bounce rate. Apart from losing traffic, the site will also be losing its search engine positions.
Speeding up a website can be accomplished in a number of ways. Choosing the right hosting plan, using smaller images, decreasing the number of plugins and fixing code errors will contribute to a website that loads much faster.
Content
Content has become the single most important factor in the world of search engine optimization.
Well-researched, well-written and unique pieces are a website’s biggest strength. Content can also come in the form of videos, images, infographics and slideshows.
The more diversified and specific a website’s content is, the better its search engine positioning is going to become. Both the quality of the content and the frequency of updates are important, which is why a content plan will be needed.
Website optimization is one of the most efficient marketing techniques and as such, it deserves special attention. Several techniques can boost the quality of the user experience, thus impacting search engine rankings. SEO today is all about creating a quality website. Putting effort in improving the product will certainly have an impact on its search engine traffic, as well.