Tips for Optimizing Websites for Search Engines

Photo by Christopher Gower on Unsplash

Have you ever reflected on how much we search on Google? For every little query, the next we do is Google it. From getting quick recipes to the latest news about earthquakes, the next thing – let’s check on Google. According to the latest statistics, there are 99,000 searches every single second on Google, a whopping number indeed! 

Think about it! If the Google search engine is so popular among the masses, it is definitely a thing for your competitors, too; just like you, they also want to take the lead & be on the top when a user searches about a service you provide. Along with marketing your products & services, SEO – Search Engine Optimisation is also vital in getting your website on the top. 

Today, we’ll talk about some tips & tricks suggested by a leading web development company, which is well-known for developing great websites, as well as leading them on top with top-notch SEO & marketing tactics. 

First of all, let’s know what is SEO, ooo!!

What is SEO? 

The full form of SEO is Search Engine Optimisation, which means optimising your website for the Search Engine so that your website gets recognised by the Search Engine. 

With SEO, your website gets recognised by search engines and eventually discovered by users. 

For example, if you have a mental health website, and you want it to be visible to people who wish to seek mental health advice, then you will have to work on the SEO of your website.

How do you do that? 

First, you will have to build an awesome website that follows all the norms laid out by the search engine. 

Second, you will have to offer them valuable content, like articles on ‘how to keep your mental health in check’ or ‘how to remain mindful daily’ or ‘best meditation practices to follow.’

Third thing, you will have to follow the best SEO practices. 

So subsequently, if a user searches about ‘best meditation practices to follow’, and you have worked on the SEO of your website, then your article will have greater chances of showing up in your user’s search result — and eventually, your mental health website will be visible to your users. 

That’s how strong SEO is! 

Up next, let’s know how you can leverage the power of SEO & use it to rank your website at the top. 

7 exceptional tips to optimise your website for search engines. 

Have a responsive website.

First and foremost, make your website responsive. Your website should work considerably both on desktop & more importantly, on mobiles because that’s where your potential audience is. A responsive website will ensure that your website fits in & adapts itself to any kind of device, and screen size & minimise/maximise according to the user’s requirements. 

Besides, Google has also introduced the mobile-first-index, where your website has a higher chance of ranking at the top if your website is mobile-friendly. So website optimisation is done right there. 

In addition, if your website is responsive, it will also offer an impressive user experience because most users seek consistent website experience across all their devices. 

Reduce your page load time.

Do you know? 53% of users abandon websites if they don’t load in three seconds! 

Think about it, a user comes to your website & your website takes longer to load – you will lose one user right in 3 seconds. Over and above that, they will click the back button and go to your competitor’s website. You don’t want that, right?

Thus, website loading speed is definitely crucial in SEO.

Because Google is likely to promote websites that are faster, and their website loading time is less in comparison to slow websites & users also don’t like slow websites. So in SEO optimisation, you need to take care of the — website load time. 

In order to improve the website’s loading speed –

Host your website on a good server.  

Optimise the images/videos on your website.

Avoid any unnecessary redirects. 

Keep your website cached at all times. 

Focus on the keywords.

You will need to tell the search engine that this is what your website offers and this is where ‘keywords’ come into the picture. 

Keywords are words that define what services you are offering. Those words are the ones that your users will type to avail your kind of service. 

If a user wants to buy bottles, then the user would search ‘buy water bottles online’ and get a list of water bottles.  

Keywords open up the doors for your website to get featured in results. And for that reason, you have to use keywords carefully. So that when bots from search engines come to your website, they know what you’re explicitly selling. The quality of a high-ranking website is that they optimise keywords naturally & strategically & that leads its website to the top. 

Consistently update your website. 

Google is smart; it has a record of everything – the date, time, year when you last published a blog or updated your website. The point is – it has a record of everything. If you consistently update your content, then Google will keep a track record of all things, and in the area where Google finds that your services fit well, it will surely increase your ranking. But to get the desired results, you must update your website consistently, for example, by posting an article every week or keeping up with the latest trends. 

Optimise your alt & meta tags.

Search engines can not see photos! Yes. And that’s why there is an Alt tag. An alt tag is a short description of what the image is about. 

So, if you want a Search-engine optimised website, then ensure to give alt tags for all your images. It will render help your search engine & will make it SEO-specific. 

Another thing to take care of is the meta tags on your website. Meta tags are in the header of your website and are a short description of your website page. It renders help to the search engine in knowing what your website page is about in Meta tags – two things need to be taken care of – meta title & meta description. Moreover, try using your main keyword in the meta title & description & also ensure that all your pages have meta tags.

Analyse your competitor’s website.

Another tip for optimising your website is to analyse your competitor’s website. 

Check what they are doing that they are leading from the top. Note the keywords they are using, their marketing strategies, content, main CTAs, etc. Know your competitor’s pain & gain points. 

Try to follow their best practices & do things even better than what they’re doing. 

Build a network of trust.

Last but not least, if you want an optimised website, establish yourself as a trusted company by providing details. 

Provide your contact details – email, phone number, address, social media logins, etc. We suggest having a separate page for contact us, where clients can contact you directly.  

In addition, a website is incomplete if you don’t have cookie settings & privacy policy. So without fail, establish yourself as a trusted company by publishing the legal stuff. 

Over & above that, we have listed some reasons why optimising your website is essential. 

Why should you optimise your website? 

An optimisation website brings leads and turns them into conversion; There’s no reason you shouldn’t have an optimised website. Below are the top 3 reasons why optimising your website is a must. 

It helps your website gain organic traffic. 

It creates a conversion-focused website. 

Renders help your users in finding the best product. 

Conclusion

Just as important is to optimise your website & rank it on the top, & turn visitors into customers, another thing that holds much importance is to create a network of trust & loyalty.  

For example, 

If a customer has availed your service, now is the time to show up and not just give your 100% but to give your 110% and ensure that your customer gets satisfied with your service. 

Of course, it all boils down to an optimised website because if your website is optimised for search engines, only you will get better leads & eventually, conversions. But that’s not it – your goal shouldn’t just be to sell but provide satisfactory services.

The trick is to start today and connect with web developers Ireland and SEO specialists who can create strategies for you to up your game. If you’re looking to create an optimised website from the start, you’ll need to connect with a trusted web development company in Ireland that knows the website market in and out and can help you reach your goal. 

Get started sooner and, more importantly, today!

All the best 🙂