Improve SEO Right Now With These Quick & Easy Steps
If you’re a search engine wiz or an avid reader of the District Maven blog, you know that SEO isn’t just one thing – it is everything. Even seasoned marketers would feel overwhelmed after taking one look at our digital marketing glossary or post about best practices for 2022. We get it. After all, there is a lot to remember when it comes to implementing effective search engine optimization strategies and most of those things take a significant amount of time to actually yield results.
If we’ve learned one thing after nearly 15 years in business, it is that it sounds complex and scary but doesn’t have to be. In reality, it is the combination of several separate actions taken on a regular basis that produce a well-oiled SEO machine. We won’t deny it, either. Many of the best search engine optimization methods are time-consuming to produce and do take a while to move the needle in a noticeable way.
However, there are also a number of strategies that can make a huge difference in your search engine results that aren’t tough to implement or take forever to show results. Below, we’ve outlined our top techniques that are not only effective but quick and easy too.
Check Your Site's Core Web Vitals Often
If you haven’t noticed by the myriad of algorithm updates Google has released recently, they take the user experience really seriously. One of the tools they provide that helps webmasters see where their website stands (in the search engine of things) is using their Core Vitals Tool. In addition to being free to use, the insights it provides are invaluable.
Choose A WordPress Friendly Hosting Registrar
Don’t get it twisted – the hosting registrar you choose for your website really, really matters. Aside from being the overall foundation of your digital presence, it can impact the site’s overall performance and visibility. Slow loading speeds or downtime can impact your SEO efforts, and not in a good way. By building your website with a hosting registrar that concentrates on WordPress ensures it has the server infrastructure required to produce the best performance possible. (We personally recommend Flywheel for this!)
Perform Regular Keyword Research & Change Onpage Optimization Accordingly
Seasons change and so do the relevance and impactfulness of keyword phrases and terms. In addition seasonal fluctuations, popular terminology and how Google interprets search inquiries is constantly evolving. Stay on top of your digital marketing game (and the results pages) by making a habit of regularly doing keyword research and adjusting your onpage optimization strategy accordingly.
Compress & Optimize Media & PDF Files
It may sound elementary, but everything you add to your website takes up space. Overload your server with too much and you run the risk of slowing your site down or taking it offline entirely. An easy way to combat this is by always compressing media files and PDF documents with a third-party site such as SmallPDF.com, CompressJPG.com or something similar. By reducing the file size, the amount of space it takes up is also reduced ultimately making it less likely to negatively impact your site speed.
Another SEO smart rule of thumb is to make sure that all images on your site are properly optimized. Media files like these have slightly different optimization rules, as Google requires an alt tag to determine what a photo is of or signifying. Make sure the search engines have no issues crawling your website’s media by simply adding the appropriate alt tag when you upload it.
Compress The "Guts" Of Your Website
Similarly to how media files and PDF documents can take up a lot of room on a server, a website’s internal coding can account for a lot of space as well. Prevent slow site speeds and loading problems by optimizing the “guts” of your website. Utilizing tools to minify things like your javascript and CSS can make an enormous difference in your page’s overall performance in more ways than one.
Fix 404 Errors Present On Your Website
No matter what algorithm update Google releases, its ultimate goal will always be to deliver the best, most reliable results possible to searchers. With this in mind, it is understandable as to why having 404 errors present on your website would negatively impact your SEO efforts. Webmasters who utilize Google Webmaster Tools will be notified via email if they discover errors like these when crawling any given page, and plugins like All-In-One SEO can also help as well.
Regardless of how 404 errors are discovered, the important thing is that they are fixed in a timely manner. This can easily be done by installing the 301 Redirects plugin or something similar, which will allow you to add the URLs of all dead pages and instead point that traffic elsewhere – hence the name “redirect.” When you’ve finished inserting all of the 404 errors, alert Google that the updates have been made and that they should crawl your website again. Resolving problems such as these is easy to do, but will go a long way in improving your marketing performance for both humans and search engines alike.
Submit A Sitemap To Google Webmaster Tools
Another simple and easy way to boost your website’s presence in the search engines is to submit a sitemap through Google Webmaster Tools Console. Think of “sitemaps” as a table of contents found at the beginning of a book, only for search engines. When submitted, Google is signaled to follow the sitemap as a proverbial outline for how your site and its pages should be crawled and indexed. Especially if your digital marketing efforts have been sluggish for a long time, this is one quick way to get your SEO campaigns back on track.
Want To Learn More About Giving Your SEO A Boost?
We’re always open to talking about the ins and outs of search engine optimization. Contact our premier marketing agency for a free consultation and learn how you can improve your SEO strategies for your business or brand.
If you’re a search engine wiz or an avid reader of the District Maven blog, you know that SEO isn’t just one thing – it is everything. Even seasoned marketers would feel overwhelmed after taking one look at our digital marketing glossary or post about best practices for 2022. We get it. After all, there is a lot to remember when it comes to implementing effective search engine optimization strategies and most of those things take a significant amount of time to actually yield results.
If we’ve learned one thing after nearly 15 years in business, it is that it sounds complex and scary but doesn’t have to be. In reality, it is the combination of several separate actions taken on a regular basis that produce a well-oiled SEO machine. We won’t deny it, either. Many of the best search engine optimization methods are time-consuming to produce and do take a while to move the needle in a noticeable way.
However, there are also a number of strategies that can make a huge difference in your search engine results that aren’t tough to implement or take forever to show results. Below, we’ve outlined our top techniques that are not only effective but quick and easy too.
Check Your Site's Core Web Vitals Often
If you haven’t noticed by the myriad of algorithm updates Google has released recently, they take the user experience really seriously. One of the tools they provide that helps webmasters see where their website stands (in the search engine of things) is using their Core Vitals Tool. In addition to being free to use, the insights it provides are invaluable.
Always Keep Your Website's Backend Updated
Just like humans can’t function properly if their insides are running on fumes, a site will not perform its best in the search engines if its backend is outdated. Keep your business or brand website in top performing shape by ensuring that it always has an updated PHP, WordPress version, theme and plugins. Not only will this set your site up for success when Google crawls its pages, but it will prevent security breaches as well.
Choose A WordPress Friendly Hosting Registrar
Don’t get it twisted – the hosting registrar you choose for your website really, really matters. Aside from being the overall foundation of your digital presence, it can impact the site’s overall performance and visibility. Slow loading speeds or downtime can impact your SEO efforts, and not in a good way. By building your website with a hosting registrar that concentrates on WordPress ensures it has the server infrastructure required to produce the best performance possible. (We personally recommend Flywheel for this!)
Perform Regular Keyword Research & Change Onpage Optimization Accordingly
Seasons change and so do the relevance and impactfulness of keyword phrases and terms. In addition seasonal fluctuations, popular terminology and how Google interprets search inquiries is constantly evolving. Stay on top of your digital marketing game (and the results pages) by making a habit of regularly doing keyword research and adjusting your onpage optimization strategy accordingly.
Compress & Optimize Media & PDF Files
It may sound elementary, but everything you add to your website takes up space. Overload your server with too much and you run the risk of slowing your site down or taking it offline entirely. An easy way to combat this is by always compressing media files and PDF documents with a third-party site such as SmallPDF.com, CompressJPG.com or something similar. By reducing the file size, the amount of space it takes up is also reduced ultimately making it less likely to negatively impact your site speed.
Another SEO smart rule of thumb is to make sure that all images on your site are properly optimized. Media files like these have slightly different optimization rules, as Google requires an alt tag to determine what a photo is of or signifying. Make sure the search engines have no issues crawling your website’s media by simply adding the appropriate alt tag when you upload it.
Compress The "Guts" Of Your Website
Similarly to how media files and PDF documents can take up a lot of room on a server, a website’s internal coding can account for a lot of space as well. Prevent slow site speeds and loading problems by optimizing the “guts” of your website. Utilizing tools to minify things like your javascript and CSS can make an enormous difference in your page’s overall performance in more ways than one.
Fix 404 Errors Present On Your Website
No matter what algorithm update Google releases, its ultimate goal will always be to deliver the best, most reliable results possible to searchers. With this in mind, it is understandable as to why having 404 errors present on your website would negatively impact your SEO efforts. Webmasters who utilize Google Webmaster Tools will be notified via email if they discover errors like these when crawling any given page, and plugins like All-In-One SEO can also help as well.
Regardless of how 404 errors are discovered, the important thing is that they are fixed in a timely manner. This can easily be done by installing the 301 Redirects plugin or something similar, which will allow you to add the URLs of all dead pages and instead point that traffic elsewhere – hence the name “redirect.” When you’ve finished inserting all of the 404 errors, alert Google that the updates have been made and that they should crawl your website again. Resolving problems such as these is easy to do, but will go a long way in improving your marketing performance for both humans and search engines alike.
Submit A Sitemap To Google Webmaster Tools
Another simple and easy way to boost your website’s presence in the search engines is to submit a sitemap through Google Webmaster Tools Console. Think of “sitemaps” as a table of contents found at the beginning of a book, only for search engines. When submitted, Google is signaled to follow the sitemap as a proverbial outline for how your site and its pages should be crawled and indexed. Especially if your digital marketing efforts have been sluggish for a long time, this is one quick way to get your SEO campaigns back on track.
Want To Learn More About Giving Your SEO A Boost?
We’re always open to talking about the ins and outs of search engine optimization. Contact our premier marketing agency for a free consultation and learn how you can improve your SEO strategies for your business or brand.
