When people turn to search engines, they don’t spend very much time contemplating the link they choose; I know I don’t.
What usually catches my attention most is seeing the information I was looking for before I even click a link. These small previews of text that appear as part of your search results are called “rich snippets.” Search engines like Google or Bing will take information from a website if they see it as valuable and place it as text clear at the top of the search result. This result will show as position 0 – meaning it’s placed even higher than the typical number 1 position.
So how do search engines identify this copy as valuable enough for position 0? It all starts with SEO.
What is SEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is all about improving your website traffic by getting more people to your website who actually want to be on your website. I like to think of SEO as adjusting your business to be more in line with what the consumer is searching for.
The tricky part – SEO is always changing and evolving to stay ahead of the latest search engine algorithm. There are, however, a couple of SEO best practices you can follow to help you stand out.
SEO Best Practices
Research Keywords
Before starting any SEO optimization, I utilize keyword research to determine what keywords will work best for the type of content on your site. Keyword difficulty and average monthly searches are components that I look at when thinking about if a keyword is the right fit. I also like to make sure the website has lots of rich content.
Include Rich Content
Rich content that is updated frequently will get noticed by search engines and the consumer. Writing blog posts, news sections, and overall updates to content throughout your website can help you stand out amongst your competitors. This type of content is more conversational than a product or service page and is more likely to be noticed by search engines.
Takeaway
As search engine algorithms continue to change, it becomes more and more difficult for in-house marketing teams to stay up with the trends. Companies have to do more than ever to attract their target audience.
It doesn’t have to be difficult, though. We can help.
Contact OffWhite today and let us help you with your SEO strategy.
