Every business is aware that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a key factor in driving traffic to websites, which means that the most efficient methods need to be implemented for this purpose. In order to do that, you first need to understand what SEO actually is. Put simply, automatic algorithms are used by Google and other search engines for grading websites. Their ‘crawlers’ or ‘spiders’ evaluate a website based on numerous indicators and thus, decide if a website is valuable and useful or not. SEO refers to the tactics used for ensuring these crawlers are able to find what they are looking for.
But, SEO is a constantly-changing and unique art that needs to be updated regularly. Regardless, there are some elements that have remained the same and some of these effective SEO techniques are highlighted below:
Get your own domain and hosting
Most entrepreneurs don’t realize that making free websites is not doing them any favors in regard to SEO. Websites that are reliable are preferred by search engines and these are websites that have their own domains and hosting space. Free websites are not within the control of the users and can be removed by the domain owners, which makes them unreliable. Therefore, the first step is to ensure that your website has its own domain and you have a good hosting service that offers the highest uptime.
Create original and unique content
Google regularly updates its search algorithm because its aim is to ensure that it can provide its users with the most pertinent and relevant content for their query. Even if you stick to the topic, but don’t really offer any solution or useful information, your website is not going to get the ranking you want. Not only should your website’s content be original, but it also needs to satisfy the needs of the visitors in order to work in favor of your SEO efforts. Otherwise, the high bounce rate will only cause a decline in your ranking.
Get natural and relevant backlinks
Links that direct visitors to your website from other websites and blogs are referred to as backlinks. Link building has been a part of SEO since its inception, but has evolved. Previously, Google did not weigh the quality of the backlinks and highest rankings were awarded based on the number. Things have changed nowadays as link building doesn’t just mean posting your link in as many places as possible. These days, the quality of link carries a lot of importance. If it is from a well-recognized domain name that has good rankings, then Google will consider it useful and decide your rankings accordingly.
Social media present is crucial
For both SEO and traffic building, a strong social media presence has become crucial as it is now considered a key factor in a website’s influence and relevance. In other words, if there are lots of shares on Facebook, plenty of pictures and responses on Instagram and thousands of tweets and re-tweets concerning a business, then the website will be rewarded in better rankings.