Building a website is the first step in creating an online presence, but ensuring that it’s optimised for search engines is what helps potential customers discover your site. A well-structured, SEO-friendly website can boost your visibility on search engines like Google, and which can help grow your business. In this guide, we’ll provide essential tips on creating an SEO-friendly website that ranks well and provides a great user experience.
Why making your website SEO-Friendly matters
Having a website is just the beginning, but to truly succeed online, your site needs to be optimised for search engines. That’s where SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) comes in. Here are some of the key reasons why SEO is so important:
- Boost Your Brand’s Visibility: When your website is optimised for search engines, it’s more likely to appear on the first page of search results. This is vital because most users rarely look beyond those first few results. In fact, over 90% of search traffic goes to websites on the first page of Google.
- Cost-Effective Marketing: SEO helps drive organic traffic to your site, meaning people find you through unpaid search results. Unlike paid advertising, organic traffic can generate ongoing results without additional costs, making it a cost-effective marketing strategy.
- Prioritise User Experience: SEO and a great user experience go hand in hand, because search engines like Google reward websites that provide a great user experience. This means your site should follow SEO best practices like being mobile-friendly, loading quickly, and using the right keywords.
1. Start with a Solid Website Structure
A well-organised website is the foundation of good SEO. Search engines prioritise websites that have a clear, logical structure, as it helps them crawl and index pages more efficiently.
- Easy Navigation: Your website should be easy for both users and search engines to navigate. Use intuitive menus and ensure that important pages are easily accessible.
- User-Friendly: Google considers user experience when ranking your website. Ensure your website layout is clear, intuitive, and easy for users to navigate.
- SEO-Friendly URL Structure: Create short, descriptive URLs that include relevant keywords. For example, instead of “example.com/page1,” use “example.com/seo-friendly-websites”.
- Mobile Responsiveness: As more users access the web via mobile devices, it’s crucial that your website is fully responsive. Google also considers mobile-friendliness, so be sure your site is optimised for all devices.
2. Conduct Keyword Research Beforehand
One of the most important steps before optimising your website is conducting thorough keyword research. Keywords are the specific words and phrases that people type into search engines when looking for information, products, or services. Understanding what your target audience is searching for helps you create content that aligns with their needs and interests, increasing the chances of your website ranking higher in search results.
How to Conduct Keyword Research
- Start with Seed Keywords: Think of the basic terms related to your business or industry. For example, if you run a bakery, terms like “fresh bread” or “gluten-free pastries” might come to mind.
- Use Keyword Research Tools: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to find related keywords and see how often people search for them. These tools can also suggest alternative keywords you may not have considered.
- Consider Search Intent: Search intent is the reason behind a user’s query. Are they looking for information, or are they ready to make a purchase? Ensure your content aligns with the user’s search intent — whether it’s informational, navigational, or transactional.
- Analyse Competitor Keywords: Look at what your competitors are ranking for. This can help you identify opportunities or gaps where you can create better or more focused content.
3. Optimise Your Website’s Content
The Basics
On-page SEO refers to optimising individual pages on your website to improve their ranking potential. These elements play a vital role in ensuring search engines understand your content.
- Title Tags and Meta Descriptions: These are the first things users and search engines see when your page appears in search results. Each page should have a unique title tag that includes relevant keywords, and the meta description should be compelling and provide a clear summary of the page content.
- Header Tags (H1, H2, H3): Use header tags to structure your content, making it easier for search engines to understand the information hierarchy. Your H1 tag should include the primary keyword for the page, and subsequent headers (H2, H3) should outline supporting topics.
- Keyword Optimisation: Integrate relevant keywords naturally throughout your content, but avoid keyword stuffing. Use synonyms and related terms to cover a wide array of search queries.
Going a step further
Consider integrating advanced tools like Surfer SEO and PageOptimizer Pro into your workflow to elevate your on-page SEO efforts. These platforms provide data-driven insights to refine your content strategy effectively.
Surfer SEO
Surfer SEO is a comprehensive platform that analyzes over 500 on-page signals to enhance your content’s relevance and performance. Its key features include:
- Content Editor: Offers real-time optimisation suggestions, such as ideal word count, keyword density, and structural elements, to align your content with top-ranking pages.
- SERP Analyzer: Evaluates search engine results pages to identify common patterns among high-ranking content, providing actionable data for improvement.
- Keyword Research: Helps discover relevant keywords and assesses their difficulty, aiding in developing a robust content strategy.
PageOptimizer Pro
Developed by SEO expert Kyle Roof, PageOptimizer Pro focuses on precise on-page optimization through:
- Detailed Recommendations: Analyzes your content against competitors to provide specific advice on keyword usage, content length, and placement of terms in titles and subheadings.
- E-E-A-T Analysis: Assesses your content’s Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, offering guidance to enhance these critical ranking factors.
- AI Writer: Utilises GPT-4 to generate high-quality, SEO-friendly content, streamlining the creation process.
By incorporating Surfer SEO and PageOptimizer Pro into your content optimization strategy, you can make informed, data-backed decisions that enhance your website’s visibility and ranking potential.
4. Create meaningful Internal Links
Why Internal Links Matter
Internal linking is a critical SEO component that helps search engines and users navigate your website. When done correctly, it ensures that all your important pages are discoverable and share authority across your site. Internal links act as pathways that allow search engines like Google to crawl your content, index your pages, and understand the hierarchy of your website. Additionally, they help users easily find related content, keeping them engaged and encouraging longer session durations — two factors that can positively impact your search rankings.
Best Practices for Effective Internal Linking
- Use Descriptive Anchor Text: When linking between pages on your website, make sure the anchor text (the clickable text in a hyperlink) is relevant and descriptive. For example, if you’re linking to a product page, use text like “Learn more about our SEO-friendly web hosting plans” rather than vague phrases like “click here.” Descriptive anchor text gives search engines more context about the linked page’s content.
- Link to Relevant Content: Ensure that your internal links naturally fit into the content and provide value to the reader. For instance, if you have a blog post about “On-Page SEO Techniques,” linking to a post about “How to Choose the Right Keywords” is highly relevant and useful to users. Avoid inserting internal links just for SEO purposes without considering user experience.
- Prioritise Key Pages: Identify the most important pages on your website — such as service pages, product pages, or high-performing blog posts — and ensure they are receiving internal links from other pages. This helps to spread link equity and signals to search engines that these pages are significant within your site.
- Use a Hierarchical Structure: Search engines value websites with a clear structure. To maximise SEO value, make sure that your internal linking follows a logical, hierarchical flow. Important pages should not be more than two or three clicks away from the homepage. This makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site and ensures your most valuable content is easy to find.
- Link to New and Old Content: As you create new content, be sure to include internal links to existing relevant pages on your site. Likewise, revisit old content and add links to newer pages where applicable. This helps distribute authority throughout your site and can breathe new life into older, underperforming pages.
Link Depth and Page Accessibility
The depth of your internal linking matters for both user experience and SEO. Pages that are buried too deep within your site (more than three clicks away from the homepage) are harder for search engines to find and index. Ensure your most valuable pages — such as key product or service pages — are easily accessible with fewer clicks. This approach benefits search engine crawling and ensures that users can quickly find the information they’re looking for.
5. Ensure Fast Page Load Speed
A slow-loading website frustrates users and can lead to higher bounce rates, which in turn hurts your search rankings. Google considers page speed as a ranking factor, so you’ll want to ensure your site loads quickly.
- Optimise Images: Compress images without sacrificing quality to reduce page load times.
- Enable Browser Caching: Allow visitors’ browsers to store files, such as images and stylesheets, to speed up repeat visits to your site.
- Minify CSS and JavaScript: Remove unnecessary characters and spaces from your code to make it more efficient.
6. Create People First SEO-Friendly Content
High-quality content is the cornerstone of SEO. Search engines reward websites that provide valuable, informative content that meets user intent.
- Write for Your Audience: While SEO is important, you’re ultimately creating content for real people. Focus on providing valuable insights, solutions to problems, and engaging information that keeps users on your site.
- Keyword Research: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to find keywords that your target audience is searching for.
- Content-Length and Value: Longer, more in-depth content generally performs better in search results, especially when it provides comprehensive answers to search queries. Aim for blog posts and service pages that thoroughly address your topic.
7. Optimise for Local SEO (If Applicable)
If your business serves a local audience, optimising for local SEO can drive targeted traffic to your site. Google prioritises businesses that are relevant to a user’s location, making it essential to optimise for local search.
- Location-Based Keywords: Include local keywords (e.g. “plumbing services in Melbourne”) in your content and meta descriptions.
- Google My Business: Claim and optimise your Google My Business profile with up-to-date contact information, business hours, and customer reviews to boost your local rankings.
8. Make your site secure
A secure website is important for protecting visitors and is also favoured by search engines. Websites with SSL certificates (HTTPS) rank higher than unsecured sites, providing users with a secure browsing experience.
- Install an SSL Certificate: Ensure your website uses HTTPS encryption to protect data and build user trust. Most modern hosting providers offer free SSL certificates.
- Regular Security Updates: Keep your website’s software, themes, and plugins updated to prevent vulnerabilities.
9. Don’t Forget About Analytics and Monitoring
SEO is not a one-time task, you need to monitor your website’s performance and make adjustments on an ongoing basis. If not, you will usually find that your website loses rankings over time.
Here are some tools you can use to monitor your website for free:
- Google Search Console: Set up Google Search Console to monitor your site’s indexing status and search traffic.
- Google Analytics: Use Google Analytics to track visitor behaviour, page performance, and traffic sources to better understand how users interact with your site.
Make Your Site SEO-Friendly with Ease
Creating an SEO friendly website doesn’t have to be complicated. By focusing on key elements such as site structure, on-page optimisation, and internal linking, you can set your site up for success and attract more organic traffic. Whether you’re building a new website or optimising an existing one, following these steps will help improve your search rankings.
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