Whether you own a small business, a big business, or a start-up, you’ve heard of SEO. Search Engine Optimization is what determines your site’s search engine rankings. You can improve your SEO by optimizing your site to get organic traffic, a form of earned media, thus leading to it ranking higher on search engines like Google. For small businesses who have found themselves stuck on a plateau of sales, technical SEO can be the turning point to attracting new customers.
What is Technical SEO?
Technical SEO is the process of technically improving aspects of a site to meet a search engine’s technical requirements and increase its pages’ ranking. You can steamroll valuable content, but none of it will be of any benefit if the search engine can’t read it. This is where the technical parts come from.
It’s essential to learn the language of search engines. You might be able to read it, but what about Google and its crawlers? Crawlers are search engine robots that crawl and evaluate web pages on multiple factors such as speed and customer experience. Structuring your pages in a way that is clear and easy to use will please search engines. You can do this by removing non-working links, duplicate content, and much more.
The Benefits of Technical SEO
There is a heap of benefits that come along with technical SEO and the best part is how simple it all is! Check out these five things technical SEO can for your small business:
1. Faster Site Speed
People hate being patient, especially when it comes to the internet. Search engines also prefer sites that load faster.
A site’s speed is its first impression on a visitor. If it doesn’t load in enough time, then you’ve just lost a customer. There is also a likely chance that person won’t revisit your site. Investing in a fast site is both caring for your customers and caring for your business.
Speed your site up through using a fast DNS provider, compressing your webpages, and reducing image sizes.
2. Better User Experience
Pleasing your customers is the main part of your business. Afterall, you want organic traffic which we can consider to be a form of earned media.
Customers usually get on a site knowing what they want. If they can’t find it, then they will leave and look somewhere else. Google has made this easier and easier for customers by becoming an answer engine giving the people what they want in fewer clicks. This is your goal for your site.
By taking out useless links and content and offering users the information they want in a few clicks, you gain a positive user experience and raise your ranking on Google. It’s also essential to optimize your site to be mobile-friendly so a customer can achieve the same results on their phone.
If you want to improve your user experience, there are a few things you can do. Start by removing dead links and pages that lead nowhere. Next, fix duplicate content issues by getting rid of printer-friendly versions. Third, ensure your site is fully responsive for all devices (i.e. does it self-adjust automatically based on the device).
3. Up-to-Date SEO Knowledge
Possibly the best thing about SEO is that it’s always evolving. Sometimes it can change rapidly, but no matter what, the end goal is all the same. SEO is an on-going process and not something you can pick up one day and drop the next.
Sure, even the basics of technical SEO will make a difference to your site, but once you start, it’s a bit hard to stop. If you want to keep your business afloat, it’s vital to stay in trend and follow the changes as the industry evolves, SEO included.
Search engines change their ranking algorithm regularly. Google changes it daily to prevent unfair advantage. Therefore, SEO continues to improve and get better day by day. It doesn’t matter what worked one day because it might not work the next.
For those looking to delve deeper into effective ways to enhance their website’s presence, exploring advanced online visibility strategies can provide a wealth of knowledge and tools. These strategies go beyond the basics, offering insights into how to craft a website that not only meets technical SEO standards but excels in them. With the digital landscape constantly shifting, having access to the latest methods and understanding how to apply them effectively can be a game-changer for any business striving for online success.
If you think you want to dip your toes into SEO, know there’s no such thing. You jump in all the way and continue to improve your business alongside it. You have to invest for the long haul.
4. Affordability
SEO is cheap, and it won’t break the bank. Done correctly, you’ll bring in more than you put in. It’s a business investment that will benefit you for years to come. There’s a heap of free information on how to adapt the strategies, what tools to use, how to work the technical aspects, and so much more.
5. Being on Page 1 of Google
Let’s be real; this is the honest end goal everyone has when working with SEO. If you’re not on page 1 of search engines, you are not killing it in the technical SEO department and changes need to be made.
Organic engagement is the driving force behind ranking and making it to the respected page 1. To gain organic traffic, you need that pristine structured site with impeccable speed and incredible content, and it needs to be just a click away.
Implementing technical SEO practices to your site is a valuable asset that is always going to help you grow. If you’ve learned one thing from this, it should be that if you’re not on page 1 then, it’s your time to be!
