How SEO Can Affect Your Website

Internet has become a major player in determining your sales. As much as 28% of Google searches for something located nearby result in purchase (Google, 2016), indicating that people are slowly moving away from brick-and-mortar stores and entering the world of ecommerce.

In order to keep the customers coming, you’ll need to find a way for them to see your store first. However, getting to the top of Google’s search results is no easy task. That’s where Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) comes into play.

What do you need to do in order to acquire and maintain high place in the listing? Here are a few tips:

1. Determine the most relevant keywords for your website

I’m going to use this word a lot later on, but they are absolutely crucial in order to maximise your results. Try to keep them consistent and relevant to your pages. You can use a tool such as Google Keyword Planner in order to determine their estimated traffic.

2. Create compelling content that people will want to read

72% of marketers agree that this is the most effective SEO strategy. Google’s algorithms are best influenced by people who will further spread your article and cause them the system to link back to it. That’s part of the reason why social media interactions are so important - they allow large groups of people to notice you and communicate their findings to their friends.

3. Pay attention to your URLs

Inserting keywords and keeping them short are just a few ways to boost your search engine placement.

4. Avoid unauthorised (“Black-hat”) practices

Using tactics that artificially boost your presence will sooner or later be detected and penalized by Google, resulting in diminished ranking and possible financial loss. Even if you do manage to achieve growth and get away with it, it will in long term be outweighed by your lack of quality content.

5. Optimise your HTML code

Several aspects of it (notably <meta name = description> and <title> tag) are also analysed by Google’s search engine. Try to include your keywords and keep them relatively short - a good rule of thumb is under 70 characters for the titles and under 140 for descriptions.

6. Follow your visitors and their patterns

7. Use social media

8. Go mobile

Google has already implemented an algorithm which promotes mobile-friendly websites in its search results. Portable devices already account for 50% of all time spent online, and this number is only going to increase along with the growing popularity of apps and fast wireless connections.