SEO is vital in site ranking and a crucial aspect of content marketing that helps websites and other online pages rank higher for specific keyword searches, so content optimization is unavoidable if you wish to be found on Google Search Results.
Many factors affect the rank of your content on the search engine result page. From link types to content quality and length, the list is extensive.
However, creating content that is optimized for search engines remains elusive to many, considering the best SEO practices keep evolving.
As such, it is essential to keep an eye on emerging techniques and solutions. Here are five ways you can optimize your content for SEO in 2020.
1. Use Proper Title Tags Across All Online Content
Title tags are a must in any written online content, especially if you want to rank on page one of popular search engines like Google.
These are HTML headings that engines use to search for keywords and determine what your content is all about.
Make sure that your content has optimized header tags with readable keywords, so search engines and organic traffic can easily view your content and determine its relevance.
It is advisable to use different text formats to separate your titles, subtopics, bullets, and main content.
Using similar text can confuse search engine crawlers, making it difficult to scan and rank your pages. As such, you should always include proper title tags to organize your content and make it readable for the search engine bots.
2. Use Quality Links That Improve Your Ranking
Quality and authoritative links are vital to search engine ranking. Most engines check and assign weight to different link types within your site.
Having authoritative sites linking back to your pages will also identify you as a credible, relevant choice. You are more likely to rank higher in searches related to your keywords.
There are various types of links you can use in the site, including inbound and outbound links, and on-page navigation links.
Nonetheless, you should avoid spamming your content with worthless links, just for the sake of link building. Instead, maintain high relevance and credibility in all your links.
The best way to earn links is simply by creating worthwhile content that is worth linking to. The practice of buying links is considered a blackhat SEO technique, which is penalized by Google.
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3. Research Your Business Keywords and Use Them Naturally in Your Content
Keyword research is vital before you start creating online content. You should pick keywords that are relevant to your content and use them organically throughout your posts.
However, the best keywords may be taken. As such, it is recommended to research all keywords and how they perform.
You can use the Google Keyword Planner, which shows what people are searching for online and how each keyword performs.
There are various other keyword optimization techniques, including features in title tags, meta-descriptions, image ALT tags, and naturally inside the content.
Long-tail keywords or phrases are also more effective than individual keywords, so you can consider using them more often.
4. Consider Lengthy, High-Quality, Relevant Content
Google prefers rather long posts and most marketers recommend going for around 2000 words, especially for landing pages and other informative articles.
However, there is no standard length as it depends on the information you are providing. What’s important, though, is the quality of your content.
It is essential to provide helpful content that offers a solution for your visitors. It’s even better if you can offer longer, high-quality content.
Short, compact content is likely to rank lower than lengthy content, so it is recommendable to break down the article into smaller, readable chunks instead of providing a wall of plain text.
You can separate your content by using short paragraphs, bullets, numbers and several subheadings.
5. Optimize Your Images with Keywords and ALT Tags
Page responsiveness has a huge role to play in generating traffic to your content. Slow loading pages are likely to have a higher bounce rate as opposed to fast loading websites.
Images are the primary cause of slow loading and unresponsive pages, especially if they are not compressed to the optimal size required for web pages.
Therefore, it is necessary to optimize your images accordingly, using the right formats and sizes.
Use high-quality images and remember to provide sources to avoid copyright infringement.
To know what might be slowing your site down specifically, you can use a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights. It’s going to highlight all areas of improvement for your site.
You should also offer ALT tags, complete with relevant keywords. Share the photos across multiple platforms and set up an archive for images that you own, in case your customers wish to download.
Image source: canva.com
Conclusion
There are numerous other ways to optimize your online content for search engine optimization.
It is essential to think from the consumer’s standpoint, especially when designing your content and building links.
Make sure your content is authentic and high-quality. You can also optimize the meta-descriptions, hyperlinks, URLs, CTAs and other content in your site. Otherwise, you can always trust SEO agencies like us to get the best help for your rankings. We are ready to help!
Nonetheless, there are several different aspects to search engine optimization other than content curation, which calls for a holistic approach.
I am a passionate blogger and the chief editor at my own content marketing company PRable. Since college, I was interested in break-through technology and technical writing about innovative products and services that change our everyday lives for the better. I am also interested in web design and photography.