Getting found online through organic search is critical for every small business. With more potential customers using Google and other search engines to find local products and services, having an optimized website can help you attract qualified visitors without paying for ads.
Follow this step-by-step guide on important website optimization tactics to implement for earning more organic traffic.
Conduct Keyword Research to Drive Organic Traffic
The foundation of website optimization is understanding what your potential customers are searching for. Spend time upfront uncovering relevant keywords and phrases that prospects use to find your products, services and local areas you serve.
Some easy keyword research tactics include:
- Leveraging free keyword planning tools like Google Keyword Planner to find high-search, low-competition keywords.
- Reviewing keywords your landing pages already rank for in Google Search Console. Build content around these terms.
- See what keyword terms competitors rank well for by analyzing their web pages and content.
Once you identify 20-30 core terms, you can optimize key areas of your website around these phrases.
Optimize Website Pages and Content
Now that you uncovered keywords people search for, it’s time to optimize your pages. Every page should focus on a specific keyword term and thoroughly cover that topic.
Here’s how to build keyword-focused content:
- Choose 1-2 primary keywords per page and include them in title tags, page headers, content, image names and metadata.
- Create at least 300 words of content per page elaborating on the topic so search engines know what the page is about.
- Structure content in an easy-to-scan format using headers, bullets, paragraphs and lists.
- Embed relevant images and videos on the topic to improve engagement.
By targeting each page around specific search queries, you can significantly boost organic rankings and organic traffic.
Improve Website Navigation and Structure
Don’t just focus on individual web pages. Step back and evaluate how your overall site is structured from a search engine’s point of view:
- Ensure your website architecture is simple, logical and intuitive. Page hierarchies around core product/service categories works well.
- Create clear navigation menus linking to inner pages so both visitors and search bots can easily explore your content.
- Implement site search which helps visitors quickly find products and pages.
- Set up XML site maps making it easy for search engines to crawl and understand what content exists.
Improving website navigation and information architecture helps search bots better crawl and categorize your pages, further driving up rankings.
Increase Website Speed
With Google prioritizing fast loading websites, website speed optimization is mandatory. Excess images, plugins, redirects and server issues can significantly slow down site performance.
Test your website speed using Google PageSpeed Insights or Pingdom Tools. Then implement these optimizations:
- Compress images to reduce file sizes without losing quality.
- Minify CSS/JS files through plugins to decrease loading times.
- Enable browser caching allowing pages/resources to load from device memory instead of re-downloading each time.
- Upgrade to faster web hosting for better content delivery if needed.
By reducing page load times, you create a better experience for visitors while improving organic search visibility.
Encourage Backlinks to Your Site
One often overlooked area impacting local search rankings is backlinks from other authoritative sites linking back to your website. Google interprets backlinks as “votes” of confidence that your content provides value.
Proactively build high-quality backlinks through these methods:
- Produce helpful blog content that sites in your industry want to link to.
- List your local business and web pages on relevant directories related to your niche like industry associations and media lists.
- Promote your pages and blogs on social channels to drive natural shares.
- Pursue guest posting and partnership opportunities to earn branded links.
By securing authoritative niche backlinks, you can outperform competitors lacking external references.
Measure, Test and Optimize for Increasing Organic Traffic
The work doesn’t stop once you complete these website optimizations. You need to continually measure performance and test new tactics.
Activities to incorporate in your process include:
- Set up Google Analytics and connect Search Console for tracking keyword rankings and organic traffic. Compare before/after metrics monthly.
- Test new page layouts, content structures, backlinking sources and keyword targets to identify what moves the needle.
- Review rankings and organic traffic from Google updates and algorithm changes. Identify further areas for improvement.
Website optimization for organic search is an ongoing process, not a one-and-done tactic. By continually inspecting data and trying new techniques, you can achieve higher SERP rankings and visitors over time.
Follow this comprehensive game plan for organic search success. Focus on areas like keyword research, content building, site speed and backlink earning to make your website stand out. Then monitor results closely to determine additional high-impact areas to optimize moving forward.
