Content optimization is one of the key elements of SEO, or search engine optimization. SEO is often very complex and difficult to understand. However, the steps and pieces to creating an optimized website page is one of the easier elements to understand, especially if you are only getting started with the basics of SEO.
First and foremost, let me explain to you how SEO works. If you go to Google search results, for example, and type “women’s tops,” the first thing that pops up are web pages that utilize Adwords over SEO. While Adwords has the ability to bring you to the top of search engine result pages overnight, SEO takes time to build. The differentiating factor, however, is that Adwords shows users that the website or link being advertised is, in fact, a paid “ad” with an “ad” symbol. SEO, on the other hand, produces organic search results, meaning that it boosts your rankings organically through link building, offering consumers a trust factor in deciding to choose your site over a paid, advertised one.
Now, in order to have a well-optimized page, you need to have good content. It’s not as simple as writing a blog post and publishing that earns rankings on search engines. There needs to be reasoning behind your content, like educating your audience on a topic, to drive more social engagement or generate leads.
So how can you make your website content optimized perfectly? Here are a few essential elements.
Select a Target Keyword
Every piece of content created should begin with a specific target keyword. This keyword will serve as the foundation for your content, the main topic being discussed, and should be seen in many places within your content. However, while you want to use this keyword a certain number of times within your content, you do not want to “overstuff” your content with the targeted keyword. Search engines will view this as “keyword stuffing,” which will negatively affect your campaign. Having a targeted keyword will also allow you to build additional keywords around it to support the content and influence other parts of your page.
Create a Search-Engine Friendly URL
What is an SEO friendly URL? When creating a blog post and saving it as a draft, you may notice that the URL created for the new post defaults to something like this - http://www.vamtam.com/?p=123. To effectively rank in search engines like Google, a URL that contains three to five words, including the focus keyword, can make a huge difference. Consider the default URL above with this one, which is search engine friendly — https://www.vamtam.com/essential-optimized-website-pages.
Include a Title Tag
A title tag is as it sounds. It’s the title of the page, but not on the webpage itself. In your browser, when you visit a website, you don’t see the URL in the open tabs of your browser, you see a title tag. The title tag uses the focus keyword first and builds out the rest of the title with additional elements of the content. For example, a business owner in Philadelphia may have a title tag with a focus keyword describing his business, but also include his location and top product or service to enhance the title tag.
Include a Meta Description
There was a time when meta descriptions were part of Google’s ranking algorithm. Even though this is no longer the case, a meta description on your content is still very important for your ranking. Think of a meta description like a social media post where you are describing what the page is about. You have a limited number of characters to promote your content with the targeted keyword and draw in consumers and improve your click-through rate.
Enhance with Images and Video
Building your content around a focus keyword is important, but there are other ways you can enhance your content that can help optimize your page. Content is easier to read when images and video are included. These elements increase dwell time, the amount of time a visitor spends on a page, and can increase engagement as well. To best utilize this, use high-quality, optimized images and embed videos from YouTube or another platform.
Internal Links
It’s always important to link to other related content within your own website. It helps both website visitors and search engines easily navigate through your content as a whole. If the topic you are writing about has its own page on your website, link back to that. Obviously linking to pages within your own website makes sense because it keeps visitors on your website.
Social Sharing
Social media sharing does not factor into search engine ranking at all, but it is a way to connect with your visitors and allow them to make more connections for you. If your content is good, visitors will want to share it. Include share buttons so that content can be easily shared.
Looking for help optimizing your site with keyword research or content marketing? Look no further than the experts at VamTam. We work with clients to build a successful SEO campaign with carefully selected keywords to help your eCommerce website succeed. Contact us today!
