Search Engine Optimization or SEO, is the process of optimizing your content to be visible by search engines. To expound further, it is all the effort you put into your online content to ensure that search engines prefer to show it at the top and as the best result for searches related to a particular keyword.

SEO encapsulates so many aspects that sometimes it becomes difficult to understand what works and what doesn’t.

Although the world of SEO continues to evolve, certain fundamental principles have remained the same. It is the SEO techniques that revolve around these principles that will help improve your ranking and drive more traffic to your site without risking penalties from Google.

Here are 5 important SEO tips you should know:

Create Content Targeted to Humans

Search engines may fall for poor quality keyword-stuffed content and rank your site but you can’t bank on it. In any case, Google may eventually catch on, downrank your site or even remove it altogether.

However, you can always bank on good quality content. When people interact with your product or service through informative and value-adding content, you have a better chance of lead generation and conversion.

Google evaluates and rewards high-quality content. Also, search engines follow users, and if people are spending more time on your site, these search engines assume that you must be offering value and will give you priority over others.

Optimize your Website

Nobody wants to use a slow loading site; it is both frustrating and untrustworthy. In fact, most users will abandon a slow site before they even access the content that you put in so much effort to create. The speed of your site falls under technical SEO.

Back in 2010, Google added site speed to the list of important ranking factors. To counter this, you must find out everything that is slowing your site and work with a professional technical SEO consultant to take care of it fast.

Keep People on your Site

Creating high-quality content is important for SEO but it is no good if someone clicks on your site and leaves within a few seconds- this is called pogo-sticking and it can lead to downranking by Google.

To keep your content appealing and interesting, you must keep it up-to-date and fresh. Also, people find it easier to read content that contains bullets and sub-headings. Multimedia such as videos, images, infographics, quizzes, and charts make your content more appealing to the eye, however these should only be included if they don’t affect the speed or usability of your site.

Use Keywords and Related Keywords Wisely

The right keywords are what will pitch your content as relevant for specific keyword searches. Knowing where to place them in your content is equally important. Ensure you put the main keyword in the page title’s tag, in the web page URL, domain name, descriptions, blog categories, and within the first 100 words of your blogs.

It’s also wise to use synonyms and related keywords in your content. Google’s Hummingbird algorithm allows the browser to go beyond keywords into the subject matter of your page. This will enable you to rank not only based on your specific keywords but also on their variations or other related keywords used in searches.

Images Need Keywords Too

Google also allows users to search for images. If you have images as part of your content, then include keywords in their names or captions to help them rank in searches related to a particular keyword.

Conclusion

No one particular strategy can take care of all your SEO needs. Nevertheless, one has to start somewhere and the tips above are a great place to start. You can then evaluate their progress over a given period of time and make necessary adjustments. With time, you can add other SEO strategies until your site is ranked where it should be.