We all want to get better search ranking. After all, better search ranking means more customers for our businesses. However when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) many people forget the basics. Here are the first three things you need to do when optimizing your website for better search engine ranking.
1. Keyword Research
If you don't know what you're aiming for - you're bound to hit it. Knowing the keywords and phrases people use when searching for products and services like yours is the first step of SEO. To come up with some of these keywords and phrases try making a list of what you'd type into a search engine to find your products and services and then cross reference them with the Google Keyword Planner. If you don't have access to the Google Keyword Planner go ahead and search for it on Google. It will require you to sign up for a Google account if you haven't already done so. The Keyword Planner will provide you with the most similar and popular keywords and phrases people use to find products and services like your online.
2. Page Title
Your page title is the information that appears in the browser tab when someone visits your site. This is the first place Google looks to figure out what your webpage is about. A good page title should be in natural language (don't sound spammy) and included the keywords and phrases people are most likely to use when searching for your products and services. With WebStarts you can change the the page title to any page by clicking file > page settings while in the page editor.
Your page title will also be the title of your Google search results. So it's a good idea to make your title sound like something someone wants to click on. The more relevant your page title is to what the person is searching for, the more likely they'll be to click on your link from the list of search results.
3. Meta Description
Your meta description is a paragraph or two of text used to describe what a webpage is about in detail. Your meta description, like your page title should use the keywords and phrases people are most likely to use when searching for your products and services online. Again, be careful not to make your meta description sound spammy. It should be written in natural language. Your meta description will show up below the title of your search listing on Google. So once again it should be written to encourage the person searching to click on your result.
You can change your meta description using WebStarts the same way you changed the page title. Go to the page editor and click on file> page settings and update the paragraph in the meta description field.
If your website builder doesn't make it easy to update these SEO basics you're at a disadvantage. To create a free website with WebStarts click here.