SEO Tactics That Work: 2023 Edition
SEO is, at its core, an effort to demonstrate that your website is superior to the competition. When it comes to SEO, going beyond the fundamentals, it’s crucial to incorporate advanced SEO strategies into your approach. Effectively optimizing your website to enhance its position in the SERPs translates to increased site traffic, enhanced conversions, and ultimately, higher revenue.
Setting up your website for basic SEO optimization is relatively straightforward. If you’re managing a self-hosted WordPress site, you can easily kickstart the process by installing and activating plugins like RankMath. Conduct your SEO research, input your keywords and metadata in the appropriate sections, and you’re on the right track.
Nevertheless, relying solely on fundamental SEO practices, such as keyword research and utilizing SEO plugins, won’t propel your website to the next level. To elevate your online presence, you need to implement more advanced SEO techniques.
Here, we’ll guide you through some next-level SEO tactics that can significantly enhance your website’s performance.
SEO Tactics That Work: Step One – A Comprehensive Website Audit
Conducting an SEO assessment of your website stands out as one of the most vital advanced SEO strategies you can implement. This process offers valuable insights into your site’s performance, providing a plethora of useful information.
There are a number of online SEO tools that can help guide you, though many carry a fee. SaaSQL provides a, convenient, comprehensive (and free) resource with the SaaSQL Free Website Grader and SEO Analyzer.
Performing an SEO audit provides a comprehensive overview of your website’s optimization efforts. It helps identify issues related to how Google indexes your site, among other critical factors. In addition to providing a deep look into your website’s performance, it will prioritize the areas that require the most attention, including off-page SEO efforts, and on-page optimization tactics. Ultimately, it will help identify issues related to how Google indexes your site, among other critical factors.
From there, third-party tools and plugins provide an efficient way to address any issues highlighted by the SaaSQl Website Grader and SEO Analyzer. Integrating these tools into your strategy can make a substantial difference in optimizing your website effectively.
SEO Tactics That Work: Step Two – Image Alt Text
Incorporating your SEO keywords into image alt text is a convenient way to increase the presence of the focus keyword on your page or post. Because search engines are unable to “see” pictures, alt text essentially serves as metadata that enables them to be read.
Here’s the step-by-step process for adding alt text to an image in WordPress:
•Begin by uploading to your website or blot post.
•A menu will appear on the right-hand side of the screen, featuring a box labeled Alt Text.
•Enter Alt Text that clearly portrays the purpose of your image, incorporating your SEO focus keyword or phrase. To maintain ADA compliance, also ensure that a clear description of the photo is included. This is unique to the alternative text, as it seeks to provide description of the photo itself, as compared to its keyword relevance.
SEO Tactics That Work: Step Three – Your Linking Strategy
While SEO is most commonly associated with keywords, link building is one of the most important SEO factors. The SaaSQL Website Grader and SEO Analyzer will provide you with a comprehensive evaluation of your links, encompassing both backlinks and permalinks. Ensuring the functionality of the links on your website and maintaining high-quality backlinks is essential.
Some key linking strategies that will positively impact your SERP ranking, listed in order of easiest to most-difficult to achieve.
- Clean up 404 errors and broken links. Google Search Console will show you where these are a problem. If you’re on WordPress, there are many easy plugins that will help to fix these errors.
- Build internal links. This is an incredibly easy tactic that provides a massive SEO benefit. It’s a simple process: write a blog post and link it to a page on your site. Link from page to page, or post to post.
- Optimize your permalinks to ensure your target keywords are represented.
- Create excellent content that is more likely to get linked by other sites. Referred to as “Backlinking”, this is the most challenging tactic to employ. The secret is all about producing unique and useful content, with a focus on sharing that content across all available channels. As with most efforts, consistency is as important as quality.
- Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of employing a link-building service to facilitate your site’s growth
SEO Tactics That Work: Step Four – Incorporate Schema Markup
Integrating schema markup into your website can significantly enhance your search engine ranking, making it easier for potential customers to find your content online. With a wide array of schema plugins available, you can choose the one that best suits your needs, making the task of optimizing your website both straightforward and effective.
By implementing schema markup, not only will your website’s visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) improve, but it will also provide valuable context to search engines, aiding them in understanding your content better. This enhanced understanding can lead to higher click-through rates and increased traffic to your site. Start leveraging schema markup today to optimize your online presence and attract more visitors to your site.
SEO Tactics That Work: Step Five – Optimize Your Website for Lightning-Fast Page Speed
Having a speedy website is not just a user experience enhancer; it’s also favored by Google’s algorithms and that definitely makes it one of the SEO tactics that works. If you haven’t yet explored your website’s loading speed, there’s no better time to do so. Start by utilizing SaaSQL’s Website Grader & SEO Analyzer to capture insights into your website’s speed. It will provide you with a clear understanding of the issues that may be slowing down your site, suggestions for improvement.
The following is a list of actionable steps you can take to improve the speed and performance of your site. As with many tactics detailed in this article, there are numerous (specific) plugins available for WordPress users to assist with each of these, If you’re not experienced with technical SEO
1. Optimize Images and Media: Large image and media files can significantly slow down your website. Compress images and videos without compromising quality to reduce loading times.
2. Minimize HTTP Requests: Each element on your web page, such as images, stylesheets, and scripts, requires an HTTP request. Minimize these requests by combining files and reducing unnecessary elements.
3. Enable Browser Caching: Caching allows frequently accessed resources to be stored in a visitor’s browser, reducing loading times for returning users. Configure your server to enable browser caching for your website.
4. Utilize Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): CDNs distribute your website’s static assets across multiple servers worldwide. By serving content from a server closer to your visitors, CDNs reduce latency and improve loading speed.
5. Clean Up Your Code: Messy and inefficient code can slow down your website. Remove unnecessary spaces, line breaks, and comments from your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to streamline your codebase.
6. Consider Lazy Loading: Implement lazy loading for images and videos. This technique ensures that media files are loaded only when they become visible on the user’s screen, reducing initial loading times.
An important note about plugins: while plugins and themes contribute to speed, the choice of hosting provider plays a crucial role. Opt for a reputable hosting service optimized for speed, offering features like SSD storage, efficient server configurations, and built-in caching mechanisms.
By incorporating these strategies and investing in the right hosting solution, you can significantly enhance your website’s speed, user experience, and SEO rankings. Stay proactive in optimizing your site for speed, and you’ll reap the rewards in improved search visibility and user satisfaction.
SEO Tactics That Work: Step Six – End Keyword Cannibalization
Keyword cannibalization occurs when you unintentionally pit your own web pages against each other in the race for top Google rankings. It happens when the same focus keyword is used repeatedly on different pages or blog posts on your website. Essentially, it’s like competing with yourself. Instead of repeatedly using the same keyword across different content pieces, consider refining your approach.
One effective way is to enhance the quality of your existing content—update it, make it more informative, or add a unique perspective that sets it apart. Alternatively, you can explore variations of the keyword or delve into related long-tail keywords that align with your content. By giving each piece a distinct focus, you not only avoid internal competition but also send a clear signal to search engines, boosting your overall SEO efforts.
SEO Tactics That Work: Step Seven – Ensure Your Website Is Mobile-Friendly
The next of the SEO tactics that work is a cheat because it might be hard…but it’s also incredibly important. In today’s digital landscape, having a mobile responsive website is no longer a choice—it’s a necessity. Mobile optimization might not seem like an advanced SEO technique, but it plays a pivotal role in your website’s search engine rankings.
When users perform a Google search using their mobile devices, Google prioritizes mobile-optimized sites, granting them top indexing preference. This means that content tailored for mobile devices receives a higher ranking in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). In the first quarter of 2023, Statcounter reported that 58% of all global 2023 website traffic occurs on mobile devices. In other words, ensuring your site is mobile-ready is paramount.
By embracing mobile responsiveness, you not only cater to the majority of online users but also enhance your website’s visibility in search results. A seamless mobile experience not only pleases your visitors but also earns you favor in the eyes of search engines, ultimately boosting your overall SEO efforts. Again, the SaaSQL Website Grader and SEO Analyzer will help you understand if your site is mobile-friendly. If not, it’s likely time to invest in an upgrade.
SEO Tactics That Work: Step Eight – Perfect Your Google Business Profile with These 5 Tips
- Complete Your Profile Information: Ensure all your business details are accurate and up-to-date. This includes your business name, address, phone number, website, business hours, and categories. A complete profile not only provides essential information to customers but also signals trustworthiness to search engines.
- Add High-Quality Photos: Visual appeal matters. Upload clear, high-resolution images of your business, showcasing your products, services, team, and the interior and exterior of your establishment. Engaging visuals can significantly influence potential customers and make your business stand out.
- Encourage Positive Reviews: Satisfied customers can be your best promoters. Encourage happy clients to leave positive reviews on your Google Business Profile. Respond to reviews, whether positive or negative, professionally and promptly. Engaging with customers demonstrates your commitment to their satisfaction and builds trust among potential clients. SaaSQL’s Review Generation software makes the process easy.
- Use Updates…Weekly: Use the Updates feature to share updates, events, offers, and news related to your business. Regularly posting fresh content not only keeps your profile active but also enhances your visibility. Posts appear in local search results and Google Maps, giving you an opportunity to attract more customers.
- Respond to Customer Inquiries: Timely responses to customer questions and inquiries demonstrate your responsiveness and dedication to customer service. Google allows customers to ask questions directly on your Business Profile. Be proactive in providing accurate and helpful answers to potential customers, showing your commitment to their needs.
By following these steps, you can optimize your Google Business Profile effectively, making your business more appealing to potential customers and improving your online visibility. For more some local search cheat codes, which includes some unknown Google Business profile optimization tactics, click here.
SEO Tactics That Work: Step Nine – Keyword Mapping
Keyword mapping is the meticulous process of aligning specific keywords with relevant pages on your website. Think of it as creating a roadmap that guides search engines and users to the most relevant content on your site.
By mastering keyword mapping, you’re essentially telling search engines, “Hey, this page is the go-to source for this particular topic.” It not only clarifies your content’s purpose but also streamlines your website’s structure, making it more user-friendly and search engine-friendly.
Start by conducting thorough keyword research to identify the most relevant and high-performing keywords for your business. Resources like Google Trends, the Google Keyword Tool and SEMRush can help illuminate keywords that are worth your time.
Once you’ve got your list, match each keyword to a specific page or piece of content on your website that closely relates to it. From there, it’s just a matter of integrating those target keywords into the content. This means they’re represented in the title, H1, H2, H3 and paragraphs.
Again, if you’re unsure what this means, WordPress plugins like RankMath and Yoast make it easy. This precision ensures that when users search for those keywords, they land directly on the most relevant page of your website.
Moreover, consider the user intent behind each keyword. What are users expecting to find when they search for a specific term? Tailor your content to meet those expectations. Whether it’s informational blog posts, product pages, or service descriptions, align your content with the intent behind the keywords.
SEO Tactics That Work: Pulling it All Together
Incorporating these advanced SEO Tactics That Work into your website optimization efforts is not merely a choice but a necessity in today’s fiercely competitive online landscape. SEO is not just about satisfying search engine algorithms; it’s about delivering a seamless, informative, and engaging experience to your users.
By combining technical prowess with user-centric strategies, you create a website that not only ranks high on search engine results but also captivates and retains your audience. The dividends of these efforts are profound: increased traffic, improved conversions, and ultimately, higher revenue. So, don’t just stop at the basics; take your website to new heights by embracing these advanced SEO tactics. Your online success story awaits, and it begins with a strategic approach to SEO that goes beyond the fundamentals. For more tactics designed to use hyperlocal SEO tactics to drive local leads, read about SaaSQL’s Local Lead Magnet solution.
