Page Title Optimization - Best Practices for SEO
Search engine optimization is one of the most cost-effective ways for website owners to rank among the top results on search engines results. But SEO is not as easy as most people think. It can be difficult and confusing especially for starters. Nevertheless, you can succeed in SEO by applying the best SEO practices. In this piece, we will share with you some of the best SEO practices that you can use to achieve great results and dramatically improve your site’s organic rankings. Read on!
1. Invest In High-quality Content
If you want to convince search engine algorithms that your site is worth to be on the first results page, you need to invest in high-quality content. Search engines reward websites that offer quality content to the searchers. If you invest in high-quality content, therefore, search engines will certainly reward you with a top ranking. In order to offer relevant and quality content, do your research and check the keywords that are likely to help your site rank high on search engines. For example, if you are trying to write an article about the best GPS devices, Google “the best GPS devices,” and try to make your article better than the top 10 results. If you do this, you’ll have high chances to rank among the top websites in search results.
Knowing your audiences’ likes, dislikes and pain points can also help you come up with relevant content ideas and trends that will help your site rank high on search engines.
2. Use The Right Keyword
You can’t succeed in search engine optimization without using the right keywords. Therefore, you have to perform keyword research before you come up with your content. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of free keyword search tools out there that can help you know which keywords to use. These tools will give you keyword suggestions based on what your targeted audience is searching on Google and other search engines.
Another method of finding out what your audiences are searching for is searching for the keywords you want to use on search engines. You’ll get suggestions based on the most popular searches. Choose keywords that have higher search volume and low competition. However, you should not forget relevant keywords with less search volume. If used appropriately, the long tail keywords can help your website rank high fast.
3. Page Title Optimization And Meta Descriptions
Make sure you use compelling and unique title tags; avoid duplicate ones. Title tags are the HTML elements that tell Google what the page is about and whether the page is relevant for that keyword. Here are more page title optimization best practices:
• Keep your title tags at 55 characters or less in length
• Use a dash between the primary and secondary keyword and a pipe before your brand name.
Also, make sure your meta descriptions are unique. Sure, meta descriptions are currently not as valuable as they used to be but they are extremely important in guiding searchers to your website. Here are some best practices you should follow when coming up with Meta descriptions:
• Include a compelling description that a searcher would want to click on
• Keep your meta description between 130 and 160 characters in length
• Don’t use quotes or non-alpha characters (search engines cut non-alpha characters out of the meta description)
4. Internal And External Page Linking
Lastly, make sure you distribute your anchors in the right proportions. What are the right proportions? Well, while the safe answer to this question is debatable. A few time-tested tips can help you out. Here is the formula:
• 50%: Branded anchors
• 10-20%: Naked URL
• 10-15%: Page Title/Blog Post Title
• 15%: WebsiteName.com
• 1-5%: Generic anchors
• 1-5 %: Exact and partial match anchors
There are people that will you that internal and external page linking will not help improve your SEO. Some will tell you that internal and external page linking goes against Google’s rules and regulation. Don’t let the mislead you. Internal and outbound links are extremely important and relevant. They will help strengthen your keywords and give search engines an idea of the structure of your website. They also allow the readers to navigate your site easily and quickly. Here are some best practices that will help you get the most out of your internal and external page links.
• Keep your anchor text natural and versatile
• Select the most efficient anchor text: checking what anchor texts your competitors are using will help you find the most effective anchor texts
• Keep your link text as succinct as possible
• Avoid over-optimization
• Keep anchors relevant to the content
5. Get Rid Of Zombie Pages
Your website is probably infested with zombie pages, even if you don’t realize it. The search engine’s algorithms hate zombie pages because they don’t offer value to searchers. Zombie pages often take the form of out-dated articles, duplicate content, out-dated press releases and pages for services or products that nobody needs or buys. Kill all zombie pages where possible. This will help your SEO, help you provide real value to your traffic and improve your user experience.
SEO best practices can help you dominate search engines. But you must do it right. The tips highlighted above can help you attain a top ranking fast. Make sure you follow them to the latter
