Everyone knows by now that SEO is important. “Yes, we get it,” they say. But when it comes time to improve rankings, even those familiar with SEO’s importance have a hard time picking a starting point. The key is to remember the four fundamental pillars that hold up today’s rankings:
- Content
- Mobile Responsiveness
- Tidy Code
- Inbound Traffic Sources
Content
The adage surrounding strong SEO material is that “content is king,” and there’s a reason for that. Obviously if people are searching for particular keywords that pertain to your web page’s content, you will want to be using those keywords in the material. A modern twist to content however, is that simply dumping keywords onto a page really won’t help you. The content as a whole has to be related to what was originally searched for, providing answers or generally enjoyable or helpful material to the reader.
Mobile Responsiveness
Similar to how content must meet visitor expectations to keep them on the page, mobile responsiveness has become a crucial piece of the SEO ranking puzzle. When a web page is not optimized for mobile use, any visitor who is accessing the page on their mobile device will likely have to play a game of “scroll to fit,” or use surgical precision to click any links. This leads to a frustrating user experience and much shorter time spent on your content, a factor that impacts your ranking.
Another factor that makes mobile design absolutely crucial is the recent “Mobilegeddon” update from Google. As of April 21, 2015, websites have been penalized on Google’s search rankings if they aren’t mobile-friendly. When in doubt, stick to the rules – because if Google ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.
Tidy Code
Unfortunately, we’re not all trained or equipped to dive into the back-end of a website and optimize metadata and alt tags, but that’s why it’s so important to invest resources in making that back-end better. Gaining an edge over a competitor offering similar info may mean having a faster loading time or having a better organization structure for your content. All of that is achieved through meticulous coding.
Inbound Traffic Sources
The web is truly interconnected, and that means that if you’re getting visitor referrals from a less-than-reputable site, your own page is going to have a tarnished reputation. Clean backlinks and inbound sources from well-established sites, social media pages, or review sites like Yelp are factors that make your page appear squeaky-clean and deserving of a good SEO rank.
Whether you already have an SEO plan or you’re just considering it, review these tips to drive traffic, improve your rank, and stay visible. After all, everything after Google’s page one results… might as well be hidden.