Website Optimization

Website optimization is a complex topic that touches on both on-page and off-page optimization, keyword utilization, graphics optimization and a great deal more. All of these efforts are designed to help your page rank better in organic search results, to load faster on all devices, and to provide a better overall visitor experience while pushing profitability (or other success metrics) higher.

Why Optimization Matters to Your Success

If you think that building a website is all that’s required to obtain success online, you’ll be sadly disappointed. You need to optimize your site by adding content peppered with keywords and phrases that tell Google what your website is all about, but also that relate to what your audience searches for when using Google, Bing and other search engines.

What’s a keyword? Really, it’s nothing more than a search term that your audience might use. For instance, if you sold running shoes, a key phrase that you might target could be “running shoes for women”, or “best trail shoes for beginners”. It’s important that you understand your audience so that you can predict the keywords that they’re likely to use when searching for products or services similar to what you have to offer.

It’s also important that you realize no business operates without at least some competition. The more competitors you have, the more difficulty you’ll have ranking for some of the most commonly used keywords. For instance, to go back to the shoe store example once again, targeting a keyword like “running shoes” would not be advisable. While your customers no doubt use this, it’s simply too broad and too highly targeted. You compete with every other shoe store out there using that keyword, and it might be impossible to rank highly enough in the SERPs (search engine results pages) to make it worth your time.

Does that mean that basic search terms like this aren’t usable at all? Not necessarily. If you have a brick and mortar store, rather than just a web store, you can localize and combine those basic search terms with geo-specific phrasing. For instance, “women’s running shoes” might be too broad, but what about “women’s running shoes in Baltimore, Maryland”?

Other Considerations with Website Optimization

Website optimization is about more than just making sure that you have the right keywords in your copy. You also need to optimize the meta content of your site. You should consider how quickly your site loads, and whether or not your images contain the right alt tags and have been optimized for display on the web. In addition, you need to make sure that you have optimized for mobile visitors. Once, this meant having a mobile version of your site and a regular version. Today, it means you need to have a responsive website that will automatically adjust to the device your visitors are using.

These are just the beginning when it comes to website optimization. If you’re struggling with SEO or other optimization issues, working with a professional is vital.