By: Cecilia Bennett
There are many aspects that come into play when building a new website. Whether it is the design, layout, copy, or images, they all have to work together to get the best organic search results. However, there are some aspects of your website that most people forget can greatly affect their website’s overall search engine optimization (SEO). We have compiled a list of the main website standards to get the most out of your SEO campaign.
XML Sitemap
In order for your SEO campaign to be successful, your website must be up to the standards set by search engine. This starts with making sure your website has an XML sitemap enabled. Your sitemap is located on the backend of your website, and it alerts search engines which pages are included on your site. This will help your website have higher organic search results because it makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site and be continually updated of newly generated content being added to your site. The best way to automatically update your sitemap every time you add new content to your site is to use SEO plugins, especially on WordPress.
SSL Certificate
Have you ever immediately left a website because the website had a “not secure” warning? That is because the website does not have the safety feature of an SSL certificate to protect their site. When you have your SSL certificate enabled your HTTP traffic will be redirected to HTTPS, which is a secure connection. This helps make sure your customers feel comfortable browsing and purchasing products/services on your site. Also, this is crucial for your website’s organic ranking because search engines like Google are docking website’s organic ranking positions if they are not equipping their sites with secured connections.
Google’s Marketing Platforms
It is pretty obvious that if you use Google’s marketing platforms such as Google Analytics and Google My Business, they will favor your website over people who do not utilize them. That is only one of the many benefits of using Google’s marketing platforms.
Google Analytics helps marketers and business owners to improve their search rankings by providing valuable data on a consistent basis. This data includes an insight into your website traffic, call to actions, and links. When you take advantage of the information Google Analytics is providing you, you can gain an advantage over your competitors that are not utilizing it.
Google My Business is crucial to being successful in any local SEO campaign. When your prospective and current customers are searching your business locally, it is important to have all your accurate contact and company information available to view. When you establish your Google My Business listing, completely fill out your profile, pick relevant industry categories, update company photos, your local SEO rankings will greatly increase and improve your overall brand awareness. In the end, if you want to attract local customers an updated Google My Business account has proven to be more beneficial than social media.
Consistent Dynamic Content
Creating a blog for your website is another excellent way to not only enhance your overall search rankings, but add even more benefits to your website. For example, if you post a blog once or twice a month you are adding new content to add to your sitemap. In return, your sitemap helps notify Google that your website has recently updated content allowing them to crawl your site and increase your search results.
Need Help With Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Are you looking to improve your SEO, or start your first SEO campaign? Blue Ridge Media Company in Cleveland, OH is here to help you! Check out our search engine optimization (SEO) services on our website to learn more about how we can boost your overall search rankings, and make sure your SEO website standards are up to date. Contact us and give us a call at (216) 233-3009 to start improving your search rankings today!
