Creating great content is a pillar of good SEO, but it can’t stand on its own. To get to the top of the SERPs and stay there, you need to focus on other search fundamentals including some technical aspects of SEO. Some of the SEO solutions to boost rankings take a bit of advanced know-how and research, but they pay off.
Whether you’ve seen a drop in rankings, are looking to launch an SEO campaign or want to solidify your place ahead of the pack, there are some easy and smart SEO solutions you can implement right now.
Fix Broken Outbound Links
Sometimes, websites you’ve linked to shut down or are acquired by someone else. Their pages may have been removed or the page content you’ve link to might have changed into a completely different incarnation – therefore not being relevant anymore to your readers. In any of these cases, you may not know until it’s too late that the external link is causing problems for you and your audience.
To make sure all of your outbound links stay in tact (without returning a 404 redirect or multiple-step linking structure) and are relevant to your readers, scan each one of them periodically. Tools like Screaming Frog help you ensure your links point to a relevant web page in just one step.
Pay Attention to Internal Links
When you add content, modify it or remove it from your website, you take the chance of creating links that are missing or point to irrelevant pages. Just like outbound links can lead a user astray if they’re broken, your internal links can mislead and turn off a reader. Faulty internal links don’t normally become as big of a problem as damaged external links, but they’re definitely not helping you.
Avoid causing problems for the search engines and your site visitors by fixing any missing or irrelevant internal links. Scan your website’s internal linking structure to make sure all links point where they’re supposed to. By doing this, you create a positive experience for users and a beneficial ranking signal for you.
Evaluate Page Speed
If your web pages load extremely slowly, you’re creating a miserable experience for your users and Google will take notice. Mobile search is becoming increasingly important so you’ll want make sure every page on your website loads quickly on mobile phones and tablets.
Google’s Doantam Phan and Zhiheng Wang offered that page speed would soon become a mobile search ranking factor. They referred to a “Speed Update” that will affect pages delivering the slowest experiences for users. Aside from this notice regarding the search giant’s pending speed requirements, page speed has long affected user experience, which is already a ranking factor. Speed matters more than ever, so you may want to hire a web designer to build a lightning-fast site if yours leaves even a bit to be desired.
Focus on Meta Descriptions
A well-crafted meta description can make a huge and beneficial difference in your organic click-through rates. While it’s often best not to make any changes to existing meta content, if your pages’ descriptions are lacking intent-focused keywords and copy relevant to its pages, an overhaul might be warranted. When you change a page’s focus entirely or update it with fresh content, make sure your meta description is modified accordingly.
When creating meta descriptions for the first time – or deciding whether or not you should update meta content – consider that Google just increased the maximum length of search snippets. Instead of being tied to 160 characters like we have been for so long, marketers can now use 320 characters to accurately describe a page and engage readers.
Leverage these easy and smart quick-win SEO solutions to boost your content’s effectiveness and gain more conversions. Need help or want to learn more? Contact Galileo Tech Media.